Kingmaker The Solo Challenge; Set up and first turn

[@mdcs1992]

I'm getting on and find learning rules hard these days. I just got this game because I love the theme, English History and maps! Thanks for this. It's the only solo Kingmaker on the whole of KZbin as far as I can see. It would be great to see a multi player playthrough but I can imagine this would be very time consuming. Haven't watched the whole thing yet but already know it will be helpful, so thanks again.

[@PlaytheBoardgame]

Hi @mdcs1992 , yes, this series of three are the only videos for solo Kingmaker on KZbin. I hope that you found it useful for learning the game, and that you've had a chance to play Solo subsequently. If so, how was your experience? Although I was fortunate enough to contribute to the rules development and playtesting to bring Kingmaker into the 21st century, the Solo Challenge was my baby; I'll leave it to others to video a multiplayer game. Thanks for your comments, Steve

[@johnseadog3975]

There are now several multi player videos on BGG/KZbin.

[@mmcdaniel17]

Thanks so much! looking forward to the next video.

[@PlaytheBoardgame]

Hi Daniel, You can find Part 2 here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qqSxpKuFqpJ3nNU and for Part 3: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p3nNY2qbjZumbZo Enjoy! Steve

[@johnseadog3975]

In video you state Stanley in his ship will have to circumnavigate from Douglas to Bamburgh because all other ports at risk. However, the Solo Rules state that an untitled Noble who is not with Bot’s stack with most troops is never at risk? Surely at this point in the game Stanley is an untitled Noble?

[@PlaytheBoardgame]

Hi John, you are correct, thanks for drawing attention to this (go to 19:00 minutes to see it); the full rule is "Identify the unfortified or Bot-controlled port that is both nearest to the Area with the Bot Stack with the most troops and is not At Risk" (page 7). You are correct, without a Title Stanley is never "At Risk". So, the destination for Stanley will be "the unfortified or Bot-controlled port that is... "nearest to the Area with the Bot Stack with the most troops"; this is still Kingston, as it is the nearest port to the "Bot Stack with the most troops" outside York. Note that Stanley did not go to Preston, as that is the nearest port to Stanley, which is not the same as "nearest to the Area with the Bot Stack with the most troops" (Kingston). Essentially just ignore the phrase "that is not a risk", when you have an untitled Noble.

[@johnseadog3975]

Great video! Thank you. About to try my first solo game. Really looking forward to Part 2.

[@PlaytheBoardgame]

Thanks John. Let us know how the game goes. Either here or on BoardgameGeek (which I monitor more frequently) Ditto, any questions. I travel off and on but the Developer of the re-launched Kingmaker, Alan Paull, also knows the Solo rules in detail, so one of us should catch a query pretty quickly. boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/371431/kingmaker/forums/66. Have fun, Steve

[@pauloldham4605]

My copy posted yesterday can't wait lol

[@PlaytheBoardgame]

Hi Paul, how did you get on with Solo? Steve

[@ashmclaren8456]

Err Steve. I think on the first turn that DeVere could reach London but maybe he doesn't have enough troops or whatever to be a valid target but if not, you didn't explain why he couldn't get there. Could you let me know why?

[@ashmclaren8456]

Shortly thereafter, you show when you are looking at Richard in York, that fortunately Bot has the Archbishop Card so he can get into York to secure Richard whereas London was actually not possible but it would have been nice to try for Henry, discover that he couldn't get there, then go for Richard. Don't want to seem picky but just trying to clarify that I am understanding the selection process correctly.

[@PlaytheBoardgame]

Hi Ash, you are correct. at 7:45 - 8:04 I miss the fact that DeVere could reach London so I should have gone onto the second Target Selection criterion, "Does Bot have the appropriate control or cards?". Looking at Bot's cards, the answer is "no", so I would then continue onto the the third criterion, "Does Bot have enough troops for combat, if required?" Now, as you noted, King Henry VI is inside London protected by a garrison of 300 troops unfriendly to Bot. Again looking at Bot's cards, DeVere, being the only noble that could reach London, could not be given the 300+ troops to besiege it, so Bot would not select Henry as a Target on turn one. At which point we continue down the Target Selection Bot Player Aid as described from 8:04. Since I was recording this live, so each card and situation was a revelation, I suspect that my excitement pushed me forward without sufficient explanation. Thanks for pointing this out, I'll try to put a margin note into the video. Steve

[@MuckyduckMel]

Yikes that's a LOT of busy work.

[@-Markus-]

Not too bad, but a game like this solo is definitely not something you will be stressing through.

[@PlaytheBoardgame]

Hi Mel, yes, it took almost two years to develop the game, with really helpful playtester feedback. These are the first videos I've made. They look less work as I gained experience The first took three days to shoot, two for the second, and a day for the third. Similarly with editing, the first takes for the first video were binned and re-shot, the audio for some sections needed over-dubbing, and I was learning how to use ClipChamp. Editing was down to a few days for the third video. More than most I suspect, but I wanted to include the arrows and annotations to help viewers follow the narrative easily. For the solo game, as for multiplayer Kingmaker, there's a learning curve for the game mechanics. After playtester input, for ease of play I abandoned following the headings of the Kingmaker rulebook and adjusted the order of the solo rules to follow that in which you perform each action. After a couple of games, you'll be using the memory jogging headings in the Game Turn Player Aid and only picking up the solo rulebook at intervals. A few game later I found the sequence embedded in my memory and only needed to skim down the Target Selection Player Aid (jumping over options that did not apply), and looked at the Combat Selection and Awarding Crown Card Player Aids only on the occasional turns that these were needed. Bot turns then speeded up considerably. At which point, play time was then dominated by making and implementing my decisions as Player. Each game told a different story, some turns even making me laugh out loud (a game saving capture of Margaret of Anjou thwarted by Bad Weather being particularly memorable). Have fun, Steve

[@johnseadog3975]

@@PlaytheBoardgame Thanks for all your hard work Steve. It is very much appreciated

[@PlaytheBoardgame]

​@@johnseadog3975 Hi John, thanks for the encouragement. It was a great deal of fun, which more than compensated for the long hours and hard work. Let me know how your games turn out. If you have questions, you'll get a quicker response from me if you post on BoardgameGeek boardgamegeek.com/. Enjoy your games! Steve