I just recently did a bit of research on Reiner Knizia -one of the most prolific designers of our times, if not the most - for the Dice Tower. When going through his games, I discovered that he's done quite a few excellent games for two players from Lost Cities to Battleline to Spy, etc. After reading the rules for Knights of Charlemagne (Playroom Entertainment, 2006 - Reiner Knizia), it seemed very similar to these games - especially Spy. After playing the two player and four player game, I enjoyed the game; but it felt a little easy - a bit simplistic.
And I would have relegated Knights of Charlemagne (KoC) to the "nice, but nothing special" category. Then, I played it with three players, and my opinion of the game completely changed. With three players, KoC became a tremendously good, albeit still light game - almost a "Lost Cities for three players". I was even more surprised to find out that while Playroom is releasing the game this year, it had already been produced in 1995 (it's also known as Tabula Rasa). A good two and four player game mixed with a truly entertaining three player game makes KoC an excellent addition to my collection.
The game is made up of a deck of fifty cards (which are numbered from "1" to "5" in five different colors: red, purple, blue, green, and yellow - two of each card) and twenty tiles. Five "manor" tiles, numbered from "1" to "5"; are placed in a row, separated from another row of five "city" tiles, each numbered "5" - but showing one of the five different colors. One treasure tile (numbered "1") is placed next to each of the manor and city tiles, and a five point bonus tile is placed at the end of the row. The deck is shuffled, and two of them are secretly removed from the game. Each player is dealt eight cards, and the game begins.
On a player's turn, they play any card from their hand to either the matching manor tile (same number) or the matching city tile (same color). Players place the card on their side of the tiles (in a four player game, players are paired in two teams, and in a three player game, the third player places their cards in between the manor/city tiles and treasure tiles). They then draw one card, and play passes to the next player. Players may place as many cards per tile as they like, and the game continues until all cards have been drawn and played.
At this point, each tile is scored. Starting with the manor tile "1" and proceeding down the row, players check to see who have the most cards there. The player with the most cards takes the manor/city tile, with the player who has the second most taking the treasure tile. If there is a tie for first place, the manor/city tile is flipped over, transforming it to a one point treasure tile, and each player gets one. The first player to win two manor tiles receives the bonus five point tile. After all tiles are handed out, the player with the highest total points from the tiles is the winner!
Some comments on the game…
1.) Components: As usual, Playroom Entertainment does a stand up job producing the game, and the fabulous cards are a testament to that fact. Each color shows a different (nicely done) pose of a knight, helping differentiate between colors, and the cards have a high quality vinyl finish. This finish is also applied to the large, easy to see and handle tiles, which fit (along with the cards) inside the smaller box (although possibly too big). All the artwork is top notch, and the game can take a bit of play before showing any wear.
2.) Rules: The rules for this game are actually quite simple and are summarized on only three pages in the rulebook. Everything is quite clearly explained with pictorial references, and a few key rules are highlighted. One rule in particular may take players a bit to get accustomed to, and that's that the numbers of the Knights do not refer to point values. Even with this in bold, I completely missed it in my first playing, and it does make a difference (reduces luck factor). Really, though, it's an easy game to teach and learn - even less complicated than most of Knizia's games, I think.
3.) Players: As I stated at the beginning of the game, I think that play is optimal with three players. Usually I have lesser feelings about this in games, but in KoC three players is almost twice as good as two and four, simply because it adds a better dynamic to the game. Second place means something now at each area, and players must pick and choose their battles with greater care.
4.) Choices: One thing I really enjoy about KoC (and it's something that Knizia manages to lace his games with) is that there are only a couple of simple choices to make each turn. Each card can only be played in two different places, so the more important choice is the order that the cards are played in. The truly excellent thing about this is that kids and teenagers will easily understand the strategy and can hold their own against adults. KoC is an excellent game about teaching folk how to allocate their resources in a simple, fun way.
5.) Lost Cities/Battleline: When compared to Knizia's two most popular card laying games, I'm not sure how KoC should be rated. Both Battleline and Lost Cities offer more choices, but at the end it would appear that the strategies are the same. In KoC one can count the cards (although with the two cards removed, it's not perfect information), and there's slightly less tension as in the other two games. In Battleline and Lost Cities I often hold onto cards, simply so that my opponent won't get them; in KoC I'm going to play every card I can get my hands on. I think that both Battleline and Lost Cities are superior to KoC but that KoC can handle three players well, making it a keeper.
6.) Fun Factor: The most enjoyable feature of KoC is how light the game is. It's fascinating, though, how the game has a degree of luck (the cards players get), but that the order players lay their cards is of great importance. I can explain and play a game with folks in less than ten minutes - and often play several "rounds", adding scores together.
Knights of Charlemagne shows what Knizia does best, taking some simple mathematical mechanics, and making a small but excellent game out of them. It has tremendous components, is easy to set up and play, and is one of the few games that caters exceptionally well to three players. The theme is basically nonexistent, but the gameplay is light enough that no one will likely care, and you'll see this game often appear in my gaming bag.
Tom Vasel
"Real men play board games"
www.tomvasel.com
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Comped Playtest Review
Tom Vasel
September 27, 2006
Style: 4 (Classy & Well Done)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)
A good game, similar to Spy, for two or four players. A great game, similar to Lost Cities, when played with three players. Knizia hits us with another light card game.
Tom Vasel has written 565 reviews, with average style of 3.47 and average substance of 3.39. The reviewer's previous review was of Skyline of the World. This review has been read 1454 times. |
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In 2 reviews, average style rating is 4.00 and average substance rating is 4.00. |
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