Kingmaker (1974)

Kingmaker is based on the War of the Roses in English history, a time of civil war when two royal houses competed for the rightful throne. Players control factions using their military and political power to control and influence the royal heirs, supporting the heir in their control as king while trying to take down all of the other heirs.

Avalon Hill Complexity rating - 7

Expanded by:

• Kingmaker Variant Event Cards

From "The Avalon Hill General Index and Company History, 1952-1980"

Kingmaker (1976) Revised 1980
Prior existing published design redesigned by Avalon Hill
Designed by Andrew McNeil
Development by Mick Uhl

This English import was the first imported game to take the American hobby by storm. Granted, it was a small storm due to the subject matter (English War of the Roses), but there was no denying the novelty of the game system. Mick Uhl once again clarified the rules of the Philmar edition and added an Advanced Game while upgrading the components. AH did make one major mistake however in that it reduced the size of the playing board. This will be remedied in the second edition which will go to a three panel board as well as making small corrections in the rules, including a timing mechanism to solve the game’s biggest flaw—excessive playing time.

Magazine References:

The GENERAL Index Article List:

• The GENERAL Vol.12,No.4
  • The Avalon Hill Philosophy - Part 52: New games for 1976 - Caesar at Alesia, Kingmaker
• The GENERAL Vol.13,No.1
  • Kingmaker – “Kingmaker Analyzed” (Strategy) Robert D. Harmon
• The GENERAL Vol.13,No.2
  • Kingmaker – “Reader Buyer's Guide Submission Form” (Insert)
• The GENERAL Vol.13,No.3
  • Design Analysis - Kingmaker Mick (Mike) Uhl
  • Reader Buyer's Guide - Kingmaker
• The GENERAL Vol.14,No.2
  • Kingmaker – “Playing Your Hand in Kingmaker - The Play's The Thing Wherein To Catch The King” (Strategy) Thomas Pauli
  • Kingmaker – “In Praise of Kingmaker” (Historical Discussion) Charles Vasey
  • Kingmaker – “Kingmaker By Mail” (Variant) Don Turnbull
  • Kingmaker – “Postal Kingmaker Mechanics” (Variant) Will Mc Cullam
  • Design Analysis - “Kingmaker Rules Explanations”
  • Kingmaker – “More Kingmaker Surprises - New Event Cards For Kingmaker” (Variant) Mick (Mike) Uhl
  • Kingmaker – “And Still More Kingmaker Surprises” (Variant) Mick (Mike) Uhl
• The GENERAL Vol.17,No.5
  • Kingmaker – “The Crowning Accomplishment - Advanced Strategy in Kingmaker” (Strategy) Mike La Beau
• The GENERAL Vol.24,No.5
  • Kingmaker – “The Bloody King - It's all in the Cards” by George Sauer
  • Kingmaker – “The King's Castle - House Rules for KINGMAKER" by George Sauer
• The GENERAL Vol.26,No.4
  • Kingmaker – “Being your own King-A player variant forKingmaker” (Variant Discussion) by Gabriel Gonzalez

Moves Article Index:

• Number 22, August/September 1975
  • Kingmaker - "Forward Observer: And Now For Something Completely Different" (Review), Richard H. Berg

Boardgamer Article Index:

• Volume 9, no. 1, January 2004
  • Kingmaker - "Obstacles on the Rocky Road to Kingmaking: New cards for Kingmaker" by Tom Cundiff

Games International Article List:

• Games International (Issue 4 – April 1989)
  • "Palace of Varieties" - Breaking the Deadlock rules for Kingmaker by Mike Ohren.

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