Overview

Kings & Things is a fantasy board game where 2-4 players are minor nobles vying for control of the broken kingdom of Kadab. Players expand their territory across varied terrain hexes, recruit rag-tag armies of mythical creatures, hire powerful Heroes, and build fortifications (towers, keeps, castles, and finally a citadel). The first player to build a citadel and successfully defend it wins the game.

Components

• Hex tiles (various terrain types: jungle, plains, swamp, desert, forest, frozen waste, mountains)
• Thing counters (creatures, events, special items — drawn from a bag)
• Hero counters (powerful leaders with special abilities)
• Building markers (towers, keeps, castles, citadels)
• Gold counters and treasure counters
• Special income counters (Diamond Field, Timberland, Farmlands, Oil Field, Copper/Silver/Gold Mine, Elephants’ Graveyard, Peat Bog, Pearl)
• Player shields (to hide recruited Things)
• Dice

Setup

1. Place starting hex tiles on the table. Each player starts with a small kingdom of hexes.
2. Place unexplored hex tiles face-down around the starting positions.
3. Each player draws initial Thing counters from the bag and places them behind their player shield.
4. Each player places starting fortifications (tower) on their home hex.
5. Distribute starting gold to each player.
6. Determine first player.

Turn Structure

Each turn follows a fixed sequence of phases:

1. Gold Collection: Collect income based on controlled hexes and special income counters.
2. Hero Recruitment: Attempt to recruit a Hero by rolling dice (gold can modify the roll).
3. Thing Recruitment: Draw free recruits from the Thing bag. May pay gold for paid recruits. May trade Things with the bag.
4. Deployment: Place Things, Heroes, and bluff counters from behind your shield onto hexes you control.
5. Movement: Move stacks of counters across the board (movement speed depends on terrain and creature type; flying creatures have special movement).
6. Exploration: When moving into unexplored hexes, reveal the terrain and fight native defenders.
7. Combat: Resolve battles between opposing stacks.
8. Construction: Build or upgrade fortifications (tower → keep → castle → citadel).

Actions

Gold and Income

• Each controlled hex produces income based on terrain type.
• Special income counters (mines, farmlands, etc.) provide bonus gold.
• Treasure counters provide one-time gold bonuses.

Hero Recruitment

• Roll dice to attempt recruiting a Hero. Gold can be spent to modify the roll.
• Heroes have special abilities and lead armies.
• Heroes can be discharged or may flee if their army is defeated.

Thing Recruitment

• Free recruits: Draw Things from the bag at no cost.
• Paid recruits: Spend gold to draw additional Things.
• Trades: Exchange unwanted Things with the bag.
• Player shields hold Things in reserve until deployment.

Deployment

• Place Things and Heroes on hexes you control.
• Bluff creatures can be deployed as decoys (face-down counters that may or may not be real).
• Things can only be placed on terrain matching their type (jungle creatures in jungle, etc.).

Movement

• Regular creatures: movement varies by terrain.
• Flying creatures: Can move over any terrain and have extended range.
• Cannot move through enemy-controlled hexes without stopping to fight.

Exploration

• Moving into an unexplored hex reveals its terrain type.
• Roll to determine native defenders.
• Bribery: May attempt to bribe defenders instead of fighting.
• If defenders are defeated, the hex is claimed.

Combat

• Battles are resolved in rounds.
• Each combat round: players roll dice for hits based on their creatures’ combat values.
• Hits are applied; creatures are eliminated when hit.
• Retreats are possible after any combat round.
• Special creatures have abilities that affect combat (magic, ranged attacks, charging, etc.).

Construction

• Build fortifications on controlled hexes to protect territory.
• Tower (cheapest) → Keep → Castle → Citadel (most expensive, required to win).
• Each level provides increasing defensive bonuses.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

The game is won by building a Citadel and controlling it. Specifically:

• A player must accumulate enough gold and resources to build a Citadel (the final upgrade from Castle).
• The Citadel must survive — if opponents cannot destroy it, the player who built it wins.
• If multiple players build Citadels, the game continues until only one Citadel remains.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Bluff counters: Decoy deployments create uncertainty about army composition. Bluffs are revealed only in combat.
• Event counters: Some Things drawn from the bag are events (Weather Control, Defection, Dark Plague, Small Pox, Vandals, Good Harvest, Terrain Disaster, etc.) that have immediate effects.
• Special characters: Named Heroes (Jungle Lord, Dwarf King, Elf Lord, Ice Lord, etc.) have unique terrain-specific bonuses.
• Magical items: Talisman, Dust of Defense, Elixir, Bow, Golem, Lucky Charm, Sword — provide combat or exploration bonuses.
• Terrain matching: Many creatures can only be recruited or deployed in specific terrain types.
• 2-3 player variant: Adjusted starting positions and hex layout for fewer players.
• Thing bag management: When the bag empties, discarded/eliminated Things are returned to it.

Player Reference

Turn: Income → Recruit Hero → Recruit Things → Deploy → Move → Explore → Combat → Build

Construction: Tower → Keep → Castle → Citadel (win condition)

Combat: Roll dice per creature → Apply hits → Retreat or continue

Win: Build and hold a Citadel.