Warrior Knights
A board game of baronial intrigue and conquest.
Warrior Knights is a board game for two to six players, first released by Games Workshop in 1985 and later by Fantasy Flight Games in 2006. Players take on the roles of Barons competing for the throne of an unnamed kingdom after its king is murdered. The core loop involves building an army, securing funds to support it, and accumulating influence through various actions. An expansion called Crown and Glory, published by Fantasy Flight Games in 2007, introduced scientific advancement and other optional rules.
The 2006 edition uses a square board roughly 24 inches per side, mostly depicting the kingdom overlaid with a hexagonal grid. Insets show overseas cities, including real places like Jerusalem and Constantinople, while other board areas track card and counter stacks. Components include 380 die-cut cardboard counters for crowns, faith, votes, influence, casualties, breaches, expeditions, sieges, and control; individual Action card sets for each player plus Neutral Action cards; 36 Event cards; 45 Agenda cards; 66 mercenary cards; 24 Fate cards for resolving randomness; a cardboard gavel for the Chairman of the Assembly; a cardboard sceptre for the Head of the Church; 24 plastic city markers; 24 plastic Noble figurines (four per player) leading armies; and a rulebook.
Each round has at least three phases: Planning, Action, and Upkeep. Special phases—Taxation, Wages, Assembly, and Mercenary Draft—may be triggered during the Action phase. In Planning, players pick up to six action cards from their deck, dividing them into two first, two second, and two last choices. All players’ first choices are shuffled together, as are the second and last stacks, with two Neutral Action cards added to each. During the Action phase, cards from the first stack are revealed and resolved one by one. A player’s card might let them collect crowns, votes, or faith, move or attack with an army, or claim a turn in the Mercenary Draft. Neutral actions affect everyone, potentially drawing an Event card or allowing repairs, city improvements, or overseas expeditions. After resolution, each card goes to a stack on the board; when a stack reaches a certain size, a special phase triggers.
In Upkeep, any player controlling more than half the kingdom’s cities wins. Otherwise, each player gets one Influence counter per city they control, drawn from a starting pool. When that pool runs ou
- Original publisher
- Games Workshop
- Year of original publication
- 1985
- Later publisher
- Fantasy Flight Games
- Year of later edition
- 2006
- Number of players
- 2–6
- Expansion
- Crown and Glory (2007)
Lore & Background
The King of an unnamed kingdom has been murdered. Now the Barons of the realm (2–6 players) must vie for control of the empty throne. Each round of gameplay consists of at least three phases: Planning, Action, and Upkeep. In addition, special phases such as Taxation, Wages, Assembly, and the Mercenary Draft may be triggered during the Action phase. During the Upkeep phase, any player who has control of more than half the cities in the Kingdom wins. If no player controls that many cities, each player receives one Influence counter for each city they control. When the pile of Influence counters is exhausted, the game ends and the player with the most influence is the winner.
Reader's Guide
Warrior Knights is notable for its blend of strategic planning, resource management, and political maneuvering. The game uses a system of action cards that players select and order, with neutral actions and event cards adding unpredictability. The 2006 edition introduced an additional victory condition based on influence, allowing for a non-military path to victory. Reviews from the period note the game's high complexity and long playtime—often several hours—but praise its depth and epic scope. Critics found the combat system unnecessarily complicated and the rulebook daunting, yet recommended the game for dedicated players seeking a rich, political conquest experience. The game's components, especially in the Fantasy Flight edition, were widely admired.
Did You Know?
- The game board includes insets for overseas cities that are real places, notably Jerusalem and Constantinople.
- The game includes a cardboard gavel wielded by the player controlling the office of Chairman of the Assembly.
- In the 1987 edition by Games Workshop, the first player to conquer more than half of the undamaged cities wins.
- The expansion Crown and Glory added scientific advancement and other optional rules.
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