- BGG rating
- 7.3
The City of Kings: Dexterity Micro Expansion
- 1–4 players
- 45–180 min
- Complexity 3.0/5
- 2018
- BGG rank
- BGG #1,456
- BGG rating
- 7.4
The City of Kings
2018
Rules assistance for The City of Kings
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 1–4 players
- 45–180 min
- 14+
- Complexity 3.2/5
For 1 player
Rules assistant for The City of Kings
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
The City of Kings is a board game released in 2018 for 1–4 players, 45–180 minutes per game, and ages 14 and up. It was designed by Frank West and its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Dice Rolling, and Square Grid.
Expansions
- BGG rating
- 7.9
The City of Kings: Ancient Allies Character Pack #1
- 1–4 players
- 45–180 min
- Complexity 3.5/5
- 2019
- BGG rating
- 8.0
The City of Kings: Ancient Allies Character Pack 2
- 1–4 players
- 45–180 min
- Complexity 4.0/5
- 2019
- BGG rating
- 7.9
The City of Kings: Ancient Allies Side Quest Pack #1
- 1–4 players
- 45–180 min
- Complexity 3.0/5
- 2019
- BGG rating
- 7.0
The City of Kings: Scenario Pack 1
- 1–4 players
- 60–720 min
- 2023
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About the game
This world used to be a garden full of life; from the flying Vadora to the deep-dwelling Dwarves – but that was before Vesh came. The world has been lost and only one city remains; the oldest city in the world – and the last refuge for all of us. Now... we fight back. The City of Kings is a co-operative, puzzle-based, fantasy adventure board game for 1 - 4 players in which your character is tasked with exploring the hazardous world, trading for vital resources, and battling your enemies whilst uncovering a story of a world imperiled. You start by choosing one of seven stories or twelve scenarios, then select your hero, with each of the six heroes featuring twelve unique skills and nine customizable stats that allow you to specialize in attacking, healing, tanking, worker management, or whatever you desire. Aside from your hero, you need to manage your workers, who must gather resources in order to trade for new items and build structures to gain powerful bonuses. You explore across the Ageless Realms by turning over tiles, discovering resources, side quests, hazards, building sites, traders and creatures as you continue to power up whilst preparing to enter Azure Rise. At its heart, The City of Kings is a complex puzzle featuring endless strategic battles. Each creature is generated from a pool of spells, characteristics and stats offering over 10,000,000 unique battle situations. There are no dice, damage is persistent, it’s up to you to customize your characters and work together to come up with a strategy to defeat whoever stands in your way.
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- The City of Games
Questions and answers
The City of Kings supports 1–4 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 The City of Kings is 45–180 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 The City of Kings for ages 14 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.
The City of Kings has a complexity rating of 3.2 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-weight 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.
The City of Kings belongs to these categories: Fantasy, Fighting, and Exploration. Its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Dice Rolling, and Square Grid. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of The City of Kings are: Frank West. 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 The City of Kings 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.