In short
Number of players: 3 to 6
Duration of the games: 10 to 15 minutes per player
Recommended age: 12+
The theme
In the 5th century, the Roman Empire dominated the Mediterranean periphery. When the Horde des Huns smashes over Europe, it forces the Germanic tribes to flee towards the borders of the Empire. After decades of wandering, looting and war, these “barbarians” peoples end up sedentary and founding autonomous kingdoms inside the Empire which will eventually lead to the fall of it.
In Barbarian Kingdoms, each player plays a barbaric kingdom (Huns, Ostrogoths, Vandals, Visigoths, Francs and Saxons) and competes for supremacy on Western Europe.
The specificities
- An original fighting mechanics: “pots-of-the-vine” (hidden auction).
- Asymmetry: each kingdom has a specific position, power and king
- Simple and intuitive rules: 10 minutes of explanation of rules
- Fast parts: 10-15 minutes per player, with one action per turn
- Replayability: thanks to asymmetry and scenarios (combinations of kingdoms)
- Little chance: only the implementation of “chests”
- Up to 6 players
- A single unit per maximum province
Pots-de-vins
The battles are resolved by the majority of battle points. Battle points are allocated according to which controls the province at war, for the units engaged and for the “pots-of-the-vinza” paid.
Concretely, after the units’ commitment phase, the two players who compete will each bet secretly (in a scholarship) part of their “treasure”. The scholarships are then exchanged. This money, paid to his opponent whatever the outcome of the fight, will allow the battle points to be won. This original mechanism brings a dimension of bluff and creates tension, because it consists in sacrificing the future (by becoming poorer and enriching his opponent) on the altar of the present.
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