Overview

Kingmaker is a strategic board game set during the Wars of the Roses in 15th-century England. Players control factions of nobles who maneuver across a map of medieval England and Wales, fighting battles, besieging castles, capturing royal heirs, and summoning Parliaments. The goal is to crown and protect the last surviving royal heir as King. The game draws from the historical conflict between the Houses of Lancaster and York.

Components

• 1 game board (map of England, Wales, Calais, and surrounding seas with terrain squares)
• Crown deck cards: Noble cards (titled and untitled), Title cards, Office cards, Bishop/Archbishop cards, Mercenary cards, Ship cards, Town/City cards
• Event deck cards: Plague, Storms at Sea, Raid & Revolt, Embassy, Writ, Free Move, Parliament
• 7 Royal Heir counters (Lancaster: Henry VI, Margaret of Anjou, Edward Prince of Wales; York: Richard Duke of York, Edward Earl of March, George Duke of Clarence, Richard Duke of Gloucester)
• Noble counters (one per Noble card)
• Ship counters
• Faction markers (7 sets of 12, one set per player)
• Dice

Setup

1. Remove all cards and counters marked with an asterisk (*) for the Basic Game.
2. Shuffle the Crown and Event decks separately. Place the Event deck face-down on the board.
3. Remove 36 cards from the Crown deck and deal them evenly to all players. Return any remainder to the deck.
4. Each player arranges their Crown cards:
   • Noble cards placed face-up
   • Title cards allocated one per untitled Noble (extras to Chancery)
   • Office cards allocated one per titled Noble (extras to Chancery)
   • Town, Bishop, Mercenary, and Ship cards distributed freely among Nobles
5. Place Royal Heir counters at starting locations: Henry VI in London, Margaret of Anjou in Fotheringhay, Edward Prince of Wales in Coventry, Richard Duke of York in York, Edward Earl of March in Harlech, George Duke of Clarence in Cardigan, Richard Duke of Gloucester in Calais.
6. Place each Noble counter in one of the castles listed on their card.
7. Place ship counters at their listed ports.

Turn Structure

Each player’s turn has 6 phases in strict order:

1. Chance Phase — Draw the top Event card and resolve its instructions (affects all players).
2. Movement Phase — Move all, some, or none of your counters (Nobles move up to 5 squares in any direction including diagonally, subject to terrain).
3. Combat Phase — Resolve any battles or sieges.
4. Parliament Phase — The sole King or Chancellor of England may summon Parliament.
5. Coronation Phase — A senior royal heir in line of succession may be crowned King at a cathedral.
6. Crown Deck Phase — Draw one card from the Crown deck. Noble cards are played immediately; other cards may be kept hidden and played later.

Actions

Movement

• Nobles move up to 5 squares per turn (including diagonally), subject to terrain restrictions.
• Ships move up to 5 sea squares per turn. Ships carry passengers and are never involved in combat.
• Royal Heirs cannot move independently — they must be captured and always accompanied by at least one Noble.
• Movement into fortified locations (castles, fortified towns) occupied by unfriendly forces requires siege.

Combat

• When opposing factions occupy the same square, battle may occur.
• Troop strength is calculated from Noble cards, town garrisons, mercenaries, and terrain bonuses.
• The side with more troops wins; captured Nobles may be ransomed in the turn of capture or must be executed.
• Siege: Required to enter castles/fortified towns held by unfriendly forces. Sieging force must have more troops than the garrison.

Capture of Royal Heirs

• A royal heir is captured when all accompanying Nobles are defeated in combat.
• Captured royal heirs may be executed and removed from play at any time.
• A player may not hold royal heirs of both houses for more than 2 consecutive rounds — must execute or transfer heirs of one house.

Parliament

• Only the sole King or Chancellor of England (if no sole King) may summon Parliament.
• The summoner must occupy an unfortified town or city (not a castle, not Calais, not under siege).
• A Writ card is played to summon each Noble. Summoned Nobles move immediately to Parliament, ignoring movement limits.
• Any Noble may voluntarily attend.
• The summoner draws cards from Chancery equal to the number of attending Nobles and distributes them to Nobles without titles/offices.
• The King’s Peace forbids combat at the Parliament location until the summoner’s next turn.

Coronation

• Only the senior surviving member of a royal house can be crowned King.
• The royal heir must occupy a cathedral with one or more Nobles possessing an Archbishop or two Bishops.
• Both houses may have a King simultaneously.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

A player wins by controlling the last surviving royal heir in the game who has been crowned King.

Line of Succession:

• Lancaster: Henry VI → Margaret of Anjou (Queen Regent) → Edward, Prince of Wales → Beaufort (if all Lancastrians dead)
• York: Richard, Duke of York → Edward, Earl of March → George, Duke of Clarence → Richard, Duke of Gloucester

A royal heir cannot be crowned until all those above them in succession are dead. If the last crowned royal heir on the board is controlled by a player, that player wins (with special rules for Beaufort).

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Chancery: Face-down pile of unallocated title and office cards. Redistributed during Parliament.
• Transfers: Town, ship, bishop, and mercenary cards may be voluntarily transferred between Nobles in the same square. Noble and title cards are never transferable. Office cards may only be voluntarily transferred during Parliament.
• Trade and Gifts: Unplayed ship, bishop, town, mercenary, and writ cards may be given or traded between players.
• Terrain: Forests, roads, estuaries, borders, and sea squares each have specific movement and combat effects. Estuaries block land movement. Islands are accessible only by ship.
• Plague Event: Kills Nobles in affected areas.
• Storms at Sea: Ships at sea may be sunk.
• Raid & Revolt: Towns change control or troops are lost.
• Two Kings: Both houses may have a crowned King simultaneously.
• Beaufort: If all Lancastrian royal heirs are dead, the Noble Beaufort may be crowned King (effectively 4th in Lancaster succession).

Short Game Variants

• Distribute all Crown deck cards during setup instead of just 36.
• Allow coronation without a bishop requirement.
• End the game after a set number of rounds; player controlling the most powerful faction wins.

Player Reference

Turn: Chance → Movement → Combat → Parliament → Coronation → Crown Deck Draw

Movement: Nobles up to 5 squares (any direction, including diagonal). Ships up to 5 sea squares.

Win: Control the last crowned royal heir in the game.

Key Rule: Royal heirs cannot move alone. Once captured, they must always be accompanied by a Noble.