Since I practically grew up on Yahtzee, and have always had a thing for games with lots of dice, I liked To Court the King from the moment I saw it. In essence, it feels like "Yahtzee: Advanced...and with More Dice." And in my book, plenty of dice plus a little extra strategy adds up to a great game. Read on to learn more.

The theoretical "story behind the game" of To Court the King centers around a medieval theme: each player is attempting to gain the favor of the king by winning the support of various court officials and using their support to ultimately get the king on their side.

But when you get right down to it, it's all about rolling dice. On your turn, you can roll the available dice three times in an attempt to get certain combinations (thus, the similarity to Yahtzee). Your ultimate goal -- and the way to win the game -- is to eventually roll seven (or more) of a kind, in order to "win the king's favor" and then defend your position during one final round.

When you begin the game, you'll set out 12 dice and an array of character cards. Each card has a picture of a courtier-type person (for example, the Hunter, the Nobleman, the General, etc.). Each card also has two very important sections:

* One section shows the combination of dice you need to roll in order to obtain that character card;
* The other section shows what special privilege that card grants you once you've earned it.

Let me show you an example. Here's The Noblewoman:



As you can see, if you can roll a full house (3 of one number, and 2 of another number), you can take this card and set it in front of you on the table. You can now use this card's special privilege -- adding 'one' to as many rolled dice as you'd like -- once per turn on every one of your future turns. In other words, after your first, second, or third roll for all future turns, you'll be able to use the Noblewoman's privilege to pick up dice and change them to a number one-higher than you rolled. You can change a 2 to a 3, a 5 to a 6, etc. Why would you want to do that? To manipulate dice into combinations that will help you win more character cards.

When the game begins, you'll only be allowed to roll three dice. So at first, you can only go after the character cards that can be won with three or fewer dice. For example, if you roll a pair, you can get The Farmer. On future turns, owning The Farmer will allow you to roll an additional die; therefore, you'll be able to start your turns with four dice and shoot for combinations that can win you more advanced cards.

As the game progresses, you'll work your way through the various cards, accumulating higher-level cards and additional privileges, always keeping in mind that your ultimate goal will be to roll seven (or more) of a kind.

There are two basic kinds of privileges: those that let you add and/or roll more dice, and those that allow you to physically change dice that have already been rolled. You'll want to collect a mixture of these two types in order to give yourself the best advantage.

As soon as one player rolls seven (or more) of a kind, he or she may claim the King Card. One final round will be played, where the other players have a last chance to beat the person holding the King Card. If someone does, they steal the victory; if not, the original claimer of the King Card wins the game.

Lots of dice-rolling, a smattering of press-your-luck tension, enough think-ahead strategy to keep your mind engaged -- that's To Court the King.

My husband and I have really enjoyed To Court the King as a 2-player game. We played it so often that we finally had to take a break, but I'll be glad when it hits the game table again. Up to five people can play To Court the King, and it's recommended for ages 10 and up. One game lasts 30-60 minutes, depending on how many people are playing.

[Note: This review, in slightly different form, originally appeared on my personal blog. My blog would most likely be labeled a "mommy blog," and is read primarily by other women, many of whom are wives and mothers. My goal in providing game reviews on my blog is to introduce others (particularly families) to games that they might not find during a quick trip to Wal-Mart or Toys 'R Us. For that reason, I do not get into some intricacies of the game in my review -- the requirement to "freeze" dice each roll, the different levels (I, II, III, IV) of character cards, etc. I've found that keeping reviews informative, yet simple, works best for my readers.]