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King's Breakfast
- 3–5 players
- 15 min
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- 2003
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Knights of the Rainbow
1999
Rules assistance for Knights of the Rainbow
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 30–45 min
- 10+
- Complexity 1.2/5
Rules assistant for Knights of the Rainbow
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Knights of the Rainbow is a board game released in 1999 for 2–6 players, 30–45 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. It was designed by Alan R. Moon and Aaron Weissblum.
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About the game
Knights of the Rainbow is from FX Schmid USA. The box rates the game for 2-6, the rules rate it for 2-4, and the body of the rules refer to a maximum of five players. It is recommended that players stay within the 2-4 range, where 3 players seems ideal, otherwise the benefits of the honor cards (see below) are far too strong. Players start with seven strength, two gold, and no cards. On each turn a player can flip one, two, or three cards from the deck, keeping one of them and discarding the rest. All of a player’s cards are kept face-up, stacked by type so everyone can see them. Players win by knocking out all opponents or having the highest score after three passes through the deck. Most of the cards are distributed among five color-coded types: strength, force, gold, magic, and honor. The player with the most cards of each type gains an advantage, usually at the start of his turn. The simplest of these increase a player’s strength or gold, or decrease other players’ strength. The leader in magic can trade any of his cards for any card from the discard pile, or sacrifice any one of his own cards to destroy an opponent’s card. Honor works differently. Shuffled into the deck are four “King’s Favor” cards. When one of these is turned up, the player with the most honor gets two gold, two strength, or the top card from the deck. Misfortune cards are the dark side of the same coin, forcing loss of gold, strength, or cards from all players. Many cards bear a rainbow icon, however, and the player showing the most rainbows at the top of their stacks is protected from Misfortune. A player can spend gold at the end of his turn to buy another card from the deck, decrease an opponent’s strength, or trade cards with an opponent. A player losing his last strength is knocked out of the game. Anyone who survives to the third appearance of the Long Live the King card (which triggers a reshuffle) scores a point for each magic card, strength, and gold they have. The highest total wins.
Questions and answers
Knights of the Rainbow supports 2–6 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Knights of the Rainbow is 30–45 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Knights of the Rainbow for ages 10 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Knights of the Rainbow has a complexity rating of 1.2 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Knights of the Rainbow belongs to these categories: Card Game and Wargame. Categories describe the theme, setting and style of a game rather than its rules. Filter the catalogue by the same category to find similar games when you enjoyed Knights of the Rainbow and want something comparable for your next game night.
The credited designers of Knights of the Rainbow are: Alan R. Moon and Aaron Weissblum. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Knights of the Rainbow as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.