Genre
Middle Ages, Fantasy
strategic, competitive with area control elements

Number of Players
3 - 5

Total playing time
variable according to players and fixed number of rounds

Round duration
approx. 35 - 45 minutes, depending on the number of players

Maximum number of rounds
14 rounds

Age recommendation
from the age of 12

Level of difficulty
Experienced gamers

The Kingdom of Arandamar lies in the centre of the Ocean of Tears and consists of 107 provinces, made up of the central provinces of the empire and some surrounding island provinces.

But it was not always like this. Over the centuries, Arandamar has undergone many changes. From the origins of the Krysomarian Shadow Dominion, through the Convergence of the Grey Ancients, to the Age of Dragalos and the Black Era. Only the completed cycle of heroes followed the founding of the Great Empire of Arandamar by the Hero-King Angor and his immortal wife Ranàri.

162 years passed and the empire blossomed from the ruins of the previous destruction that had rendered many areas of Arandamar uninhabitable. Time could not harm Ranàri. But although Angor had drunk from the waters of the Jamkat and received a crystal heart through the blessing of the sea goddess Mal-Atur, he slowly but steadily began to age.

Full of love for her king and her people, the queen yearned for a child who would inherit Angor and ascend the throne to preserve his memory forever. But the blessing of immortality granted by the old gods is nevertheless a heavy burden. For no immortal in the history of mankind has been granted the honour of bearing a child.

Full of despair, Ranari researched the hidden knowledge of the grey ancients and discovered a ritual whose translation promised that it was possible to exchange immortality for the fertility of a mortal human. But the ritual failed and Ranari passed away before her ageing husband's eyes. Overcome with grief and pain, the crystal heart of the Great King shattered and he died by the side of his wife's corpse.

While the people mourned in shock, unknown men desecrated the body of the dead king and stole the fragments of his heart.

Outraged with pain and anger at the sacrilege committed, Mal-Atur rose from the Ocean of Tears and caused a great quake to hit Arandamar's shores, destroying all the harbours and flooding the cities. After the waves had calmed and the water had flowed back into the ocean, there was an oppressive silence throughout the land in tense anticipation of things to come.

Here ends the preliminary history of the first Great King of Arandamar and continues into the events that would later become known as the Great Distress, or the 14 Cycles of Sorrow. The Knights of Arandamar played a key role in this period.

As the head of your ruling house, seize the opportunity and win the loyalty of as many knights as possible to support your claim to rule. Because only with their troops can you be victorious on the battlefield and expand your domain. But don't forget how important it is to use their power in the high council in your favour. Only then can you prove that you have rightfully risen to claim the throne and become the next ruler of Arandamar.

"The Knights of Arandamar" is a strategic, combat-oriented board game with area control elements for 3 to 5 players.

After the death of the last Great King of the realm of Arandamar, the rulers of the most powerful ruling houses fight for supremacy in the realm. Whoever has gained enough might at the end becomes the new Great King of Arandamar.

The objective is to gain as much power as possible in the three areas of land ownership, influence and wealth within a variable playing time of a maximum of 14 rounds, or even to win early by controlling the individual key provinces.

A round is divided into 11 phases, which are played chronologically, phase by phase, one after the other for all players.

Each ruler has special character features and associated positive and negative characteristics, which have different effects on the playing strategy.

A player must keep an eye on the morale of his people, fulfil religious obligations, defy the blows of fate and survive a multitude of events. Prove your strength by expanding your dominion with your own knights and conquering free provinces or provinces of your fellow players.

Rebuild the empire's harbours and build towers and castles to expand your power and arm your provinces against the attacks of other players. Use the abilities of your courtiers and knights wisely. Never underestimate the power of gold and beware of the intrigues and campaigns of revenge of your fellow players.

Only those who lead their knights into battle with foresight and position them strategically in the high council can assert their claim to power against all odds and hope to be remembered in the history books as the new Great King of the kingdom of Arandamar.

List of game elements

• 1 x game rules
• 1 x game board
• 5 x dominion board
• 5 x treasure hoard bag
• 1 x turn marker
• 1 x starting player token
• 2 x alms recipient markers
• 6 x faith tokens
• 5 x morale tokens
• 30 x authority crystals
• 5 x province & harbour board
• 5 x towers & castles board
• 5 x tax revenue sheets
• 200 x province markers
• 40 x harbour / fleet base markers
• 25 x tower miniatures
• 15 x castle miniatures
• 150 x loyalty markers
• 15 x attack markers
• 30 x dungeon clips
• 25 x character cards
• 107 x province cards
• 30 x defence cards
• 10 x key province cards
• 30 x Cards of incidents
• 167 x Cards of destiny
• 303 x Cards of might
• 6 x Assistance cards
• 10 x Support markers
• 20 x Victory markers
• 20 x Defeat markers
• 100 x 1 bag of gold
• 50 x 2 bags of gold
• 30 x 5 bags of gold
• 5 x battle screen
• 1 x card display
• 5 x phase explanation card

Rules of the game

The complete rules of the game will be published shortly before the start of the Kickstarter campaign.
You can find an overview of the game elements in the Games Gallery

Here you will find an overview of the order of the 11 phases that make up a single round:

• Phase 0: Destiny
• Phase 1: Supply & Healing
• Phase 2: Ransom
• Phase 3: Personal Events
• Phase 4: Tax Collection
• Phase 5: Building
• Phase 6: Expansion of Might
• Phase 7: Espionage
• Phase 8: Mobilisation & Battles
• Phase 9: High Council
• Phase 10: Alms