Cardboard critique got me thinking about other board games that people round here might like and one that sprung to mind was Kingmaker
Published by Avalaon Hill (I think) back in the 70s or 80s it’s a War of the Roses themed scramble to grab a royal and get them crowned at the same time of bumping off the other pretenders to the throne.
My copy long since disappeared but does anyone else still remember or even play it? Is there an app?
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Yes!
A friend of mine had the game. I think we only ended up playing it once. It seemed very complicated. We spend a good amount of time looking at all the pieces, their abilities, and the rules. Good times.
We played around with it around 1982. I looked a few years ago and found that copies were available on eBay.
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Gosh, Kingmaker! I used to play that by mail in 'zines of the 70s/80s. A notable one being Herald which was produced by Robin Hood (no, not that one, I am talking about the very late 1970s/early 1980s) and was mostly about Kingmaker (hence the name of the 'zine).
I am sure I still have my copy but a quick rummage failed to locate it. I have never come across an app for it
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I played this in college a few times (around 1989-90) and loved it!
I wish somebody would reprint it.
Also played the Avalon Hill edition of Britannia a lot as well. Loved those games!
(though the majority of my college game-playing was Titan and Squad Leader)
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Yes!
Kingmaker is a classic. I’ve got the AH bookshelf version from the '80s sitting on the game shelf in my office.
I also have the computer version. Published by Avalon Hill in 1993 for MS-DOS 5.0. If I remember correctly it wasn’t very good. It’s on 3.5" floppy disks, so I don’t know if I have any way to install it now, but I can’t bring myself to get rid of it.
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Ah … I forgot that there was an AH version … and there it is, I can see it as I type … between Starship Troopers and Panzer Blitz.
The image in my mind was the Philmar version so I was looking for a flatter, broader box. I guess that is how I first came across the game. Now to try and avoid the time-sapping urge to open and wallow in the smell of the good old times in those boxes.
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Kingmaker is available for free via abandonware : )
This looks very current with good install instructions too. Enjoy!
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WOW!
Nice one!
Thank you, will give it a go over the weekend
Childhood memory, even! We played it to bits, despite having to houserule that the noble titles permanently disappeared once the Chancery deck was exhausted. I suspect the rules will seem dated-verging-on-bad today.
Also, yes to Britannia!
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I know a more recent edition of Britannia has come out, but I don’t know how much (if at all other than cosmetically) it’s changed.
I’m sad that my gaming group doesn’t really do war games (or 2-player games, which can make playing war games hard) as I’d like to get back into them a little.
But these are multi-player games, so nothing’s stopping them from being played other than lack of availability.
A friend of mine owns Kingmaker. I keep meaning to get a game together. If I ever do I’ll provide some photos.
In the meantime I play The Cousin’s War and wish.
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I seem to recall reading an interview in which the designer of GMT’s Crown of Roses mentioned taking substantial inspiration from Kingmaker. Given the depth of their catalog, I doubt it’s high on the priority list for translation to digital, but it might be a nice update for face-to-face play.
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I tweeted at them with the very same thought. And they liked the tweet! That means they’re doing it, right? 
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And it’s even available this side of the Pond. Knock me down with a player aid.
Has anyone bought any old games recently? Why do I ask? No reason.
I have that issue of Command. Victory at Midway is a good game.
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On the subject of nostalgia, how about Conquistador BGG link which as an impressionable teenager I bought purely on the basis of its hex map of the whole of the Americas. Huge game, which we managed to break by playing relatively peacefully. The game in retrospect was designed to give players lots of money to fight wars, but we got into the exploration/settlement/mining/building networks of colonies side of the game and usually ended up falling off the end of the gold track. This probably tells you quite a lot about SPI’s playtesters as well.
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That they were largely mythical beings of immense power and laziness.
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I have played Kingmaker a couple of times at gaming conventions, and also own the AH version, which sadly has not been played yet. For some strange reason, the previous owner spilled nail polish on some of the cards.
In one of the convention games, the game owner made a super pimped up version of the game with a 10’x10’ wooden board for the map and miniatures for the pieces. One player per house. It was glorious.
This game just begs for a modern re-print. Kickstarter anyone? or let’s petition GMT Games!
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Who bought Avalon Hill again? Hasbro?
Wizards of the Coast (which is Hasbro). And they’ve merged many of their own games into the Avalan Hill brand (Robo Rally, Betrayal at House on the Hill). Unfortunately, most of the older Avalon Hill games don’t have a clear legal trail for the digital rights. Last year, WotC created a new full time position for someone to manage the Avalon Hill brand, so they are focused on at least some of the AH games.
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