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Kingdom: What Changed

If you’re a Kickstarter backer who got the advance release of Kingdom at the end of July, this is a review of what changed in the final version. There are lots of places in the text that have been revised or cleaned up to make the game easier to understand and play without actually changing the rules, but a few critical changes were made that I think improve the game quite a bit.

You don’t need to read any of this: just burn your old copy and follow the final rules as written. But if you’re curious, here are the changes.

  • Terminology changes. Renamed Challenge & Overthrow. These new names are more intuitive, I think. Moments are still a game concept but the term is emphasized less to avoid confusion.
  • You can now Challenge anything another character does, instead of just things they do with their Role. By taking away that restriction, Challenge becomes the go-to method for resolving miscellaneous conflicts with other characters. Want to stop someone from burning down the courthouse? Step up and Challenge them.
  • Overthrow is completely revised. The final version goes back to an earlier draft that is a better fit with the rest of the rules. The new Overthrow is basically the equivalent of Changing your Role + Challenging someone else’s Role, with the caveat that the defender cannot simply say no. It also adds the option for two characters to fight it out and try to Overthrow each other at the same time. Which of us really has Perspective? Me? You? Neither of us? We’ll see.
  • Removed the clause that Power could use their authority to override what another Power did. Challenge is the correct way to handle that.
  • Moved Locations earlier in character creation order.

The big changes are Challenge and Overthrow.

    Ben Robbins | November 9th, 2013 | | leave a comment