Game Objective

Welcome, kingdom builders! In Kingdom Builder, your objective is simple yet challenging: create the most prosperous and extensive kingdom, accumulating the most gold by the end of the game. How do you do this? By building settlements efficiently and strategically, always keeping an eye on the 3 Kingdom Builder cards that define the scoring conditions for each game. Prepare to expand your domains and become the greatest builder!

Setup

Let's set up the table for your building journey! Follow these practical steps:

1. Assemble the Board: Choose 4 of the 8 available board sections and join them to form a rectangular board. For your first game, we suggest using the sections containing the tavern, corral, oasis, and farm, as shown in the manual's figure.
2. Location Tiles: Place 4 location tile summaries next to the board, corresponding to the location hexes. Then, place 2 corresponding location tiles on each location hex on the board.
3. Terrain Cards: Shuffle all terrain cards and form a face-down pile, within everyone's reach.
4. Kingdom Builder Cards: Shuffle the 10 Kingdom Builder cards, choose 3 randomly, and place them face-up next to the board. These are your scoring goals! For the first game, use the "Fishermen," "Knights," and "Merchants" cards.
5. Scoring Track: Flip over one of the unused board sections and place it next to the board. This is the gold point track.
6. Player Component Distribution:
   • Each player chooses a color and takes all 40 settlements of that color, forming their personal supply.
   • Each player takes 1 gold marker and places it on the black space of the gold point track.
   • Each player takes 1 terrain card from the pile and keeps it hidden in their hand.
7. First Player: Give the 1st player token to the oldest player. They will be the first to play.
8. Unused Components: Put any components not used in this game back in the box.

The Game Turn

The game unfolds over several rounds, with players taking their turns clockwise, starting with the 1st player. Here's how a turn works:

Mandatory Action: Build Settlements

During their turn, the player must perform the mandatory action:

1. Play a Terrain Card: The current player plays a terrain card from their hand, face-up, for everyone to see.
2. Build 3 Settlements: Then, the player must build 3 settlements from their personal supply on unoccupied hexes of the same terrain type as the card they played.

Crucial Building Rules:

• Only one settlement can be built on any appropriate terrain space.
• Settlements can only be built on hexes of the following terrain types: grassland, canyon, desert, flower field, and forest.
• A player must always build each new settlement adjacent to at least one of their own already existing settlements, if possible.
• If it is not possible to build adjacent to one of their settlements (either due to lack of space or terrain type), the player must choose a new unoccupied hex where they can build their settlement. The choice of hex depends on the action type:
  • For the mandatory action (or extra Oracle or Barn actions), the player must choose a hex of the same terrain type as the terrain card played.
  • For extra Oasis, Farm, or Harbor actions, the player must choose a hex of the terrain type required by the location tile.
  • For the extra Tower action, the player can choose any appropriate hex on the edges of the board.
• Rare Exception: If there are no appropriate hexes to build on at the beginning or during the turn (i.e., no hexes of the same terrain type as the card played), the player immediately draws a new terrain card. The unused card is removed from the game. If necessary, the player draws cards until they find an appropriate one.

Location Tiles and Extra Actions

• Taking Location Tiles: When a player builds a settlement next to a location hex, they immediately take one of these location tiles (if available) and place it in front of them, image side up. They can use this extra action starting from their next turn. A player can only take one location tile from a given location.
• Using Extra Actions: Location tiles grant extra actions. Players can perform each extra action once during their turn, before or after their mandatory action. To indicate that an extra action has been used, flip the location tile to its image side. At the end of the turn, flip it back to its pictogram side.
• Maintaining Location Tiles: The player keeps the location tile as long as at least one of their settlements is adjacent to the corresponding location. If they move their last settlement away from that location using an extra action, they must discard that location tile and remove it from the game.
• Types of Extra Actions (examples):
  • Oracle: Build an additional settlement on a hex of the same terrain type as the card played.
  • Farm: Build an additional settlement on a grassland hex.
  • Oasis: Build an additional settlement on a desert hex.
  • Tavern: Build a settlement at the end of a line of at least 3 of your settlements.
  • Tower: Build a settlement on the edge of the board, on any of the 5 appropriate terrain types.
  • Barn: Move one of your already built settlements to a hex of the same terrain type as the card played.
  • Corral: Move one of your already existing settlements 2 hexes in a straight line. The destination hex does not need to be adjacent to one of your settlements.
  • Harbor: Move one of your already built settlements to a water hex. This is the only way to build settlements on water hexes.

End of Turn

After a player performs their mandatory action and does not want (or cannot) perform any extra actions, they place their terrain card in the discard pile and draw a new card from the deck, keeping it hidden in their hand. If the terrain card deck runs out, shuffle the discard pile to form a new deck.

End of Game and Scoring

The game ends when a player builds the last settlement from their personal supply. However, the current round must be completed; the player to the right of the 1st player is the last to take their turn.

Now it's time to count the gold!

1. Evaluation of Kingdom Builder Cards: The 3 Kingdom Builder cards are evaluated one after another for each player, starting with the 1st player. Each player marks the gold earned on the gold point track.
2. Castle Scoring: Then, each player calculates the gold earned from their settlements next to castle hexes. Each settlement next to a castle is worth 3 gold. Add these points to your total score. (Note: Even if a player builds more than one settlement next to the same castle, they still only earn 3 gold for that castle).

The player with the most gold is the winner! In case of a tie, the tied players share the victory. Congratulations to the new king (or queen)!

Tips for Winning

To start your journey in Kingdom Builder on the right foot, here are some tips:

1. Claim Location Tiles Quickly: Try to build your first settlement next to a location hex. This will give you a location tile that can be used from your next turn, increasing your building options and flexibility on the board.
2. Consolidate Your Areas: Early in the game, try to build your first 3 settlements adjacent to the fewest possible different terrain types. This reduces the chances of being forced to build in undesirable areas and allows you to expand into other board sections more quickly when needed.
3. Keep an Eye on the Kingdom Builder Cards: The 3 Kingdom Builder cards are the key to victory. From the start, plan your constructions with how they can maximize your gold based on these conditions. Sometimes, a construction that seems less advantageous at the moment can be crucial for a high score at the end.