Game: Im Auftrag des Königs

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Ceryon — 2008-02-03T00:08:39+00:00

Box cover with no whitespace

Thread: Im Auftrag des Königs - A Review

Igloo cool — 2006-03-31T17:26:39+00:00

Im Auftrag des Konigs

In the Name of Kings

The Big Idea:

Knights adventure in the lands of Camelot. By completing quests, bringing justice to the realm and jousting with one another, the knights compete to gain the admiration of the king’s court.

Components:

The entire game is one compact deck of cards.

The deck of cards is split up into a whole bunch of different sets: 4 knight cards, 4 player order cards, 8 realm cards including Camelot, 14 quest cards, 4 horse cards, 18 virtue cards and 14 action cards. The players will need to come up with a pad of paper and a pencil for scoring.

The art of Im Auftrag des Konigs is some of the best in the Adlung-Spiele card game line up. Similar to sketches and watercolors found in children’s picture books, the graphics lends itself well to the high fantasy atmosphere of the game.

As far as functionality goes, the components get high marks as well. Since the game was designed with an eye towards being language independent, symbols and relationships are very clearly indicated on each of the cards. For instance, when a player wants to complete an action, the boarder of the card indicates the place where that action can be completed. If the player needs to complete a quest, the card shows the same artwork as the location it needs to be completed.

Set up:

For a card game, you will be surprised at how much room Im Auftrag des Konigs takes up. Although the description of how to set it up is written out in German translated English, the makers of the game were good enough to put in a model setup example on the face of two cards. Instead of going into the details of the setup here are some examples
Here is a photo of an actual setup:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/68758

Here is a photo of the model cards:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/122786

For review purposes it is important to know that, the land of Camelot is represented by 8 cards that are set up in a circle in the middle of the board. One card represents the castle of Camelot while the other 7 represent the untamed wilds.
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/68761

The other cards are set up in different areas grouped by type. For instance, the available quests are set up in the middle of the circle, practice and virtue cards are put off to one side, etc.

Basic play:

A player wins the game by reaching a certain amount of victory points. Victory points are earned by completing quests, bringing peace to the land and by winning jousts. In order to complete these actions, the knight must have certain virtues (skill with sword, skill with lance, courage and wisdom) specific to the action. When a knight completes a scoring action, they will turn in the indicated virtues on the action card.

For instance: A knight has the “Slay the Wild Boar” quest.
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/122787

In order to complete the quest, the knight must travel to the pictured area and then discard the virtues shown (1 skill with lance and 1 skill with sword). The knight will then score the listed number of points (3, the number of shields pictured)

In the beginning of the game, a knight is given two random virtues. In order to build up or replenish virtues, the knight will need to practice in Camelot.

Turn Breakdown:

In essence there are two main phases of a turn.

During the first phase, the knights will choose the actions that they want to take. In a 4 player game, each knight will only be able to complete three actions in a given turn. Since there are only a limited number of actions available, the players will need to choose based on their need. Actions are picked one at a time, one player at a time. As is often the case, the player just before you will take the action you want to complete. This is the principle way that the players will interact with each other so it will be important to pay attention to what others are picking.

The actions are as follows:
- Practice a virtue: When a play performs this action, they will be able to pick up the appropriate virtue card that they practice and place it in their hand.
- Travel: There are horses with different movement values. To move about the board the knight must play this action.
- Choose a quest: The player goes to the Round Table and chooses an available quest to be completed and places it in their hand.
- Complete a quest: The knight is able to go out and perform a quest
- Bring peace to the land: The knight will go about the realm and bring peace
- JOUSTING!!: Two knights at the end of the turn may combat for glory and victory points.

During the second phase, the players will perform the action they chose. It is important to note, that certain actions can only be completed in certain areas so the order in which cards are played is important. For instance, in order to practice a virtue such as skill with sword, the knight needs to be in Camelot. If the knight currently is out in the wilds, the player would first play the travel action to move back to Camelot, and then play the practice skill with sword action. Completing a quest is similar. The quest that the knight wants to complete needs to be performed in the location pictured on the quest card. If the knight starts in Camelot the player will need to first play a travel card to get to the location, and play the complete a quest action. The player will then discard the chosen quest and the appropriate virtue cards from their hand.

Then there are two smaller phases

After all of the players have finished their actions, the knights that chose to joust will do so. If there is only one knight jousting, they will get 2 victory points for turning in one sword or lance virtue. If two knights are jousting, both knights will chose any number of sword and lance cards, place them face down and turn them over simultaneously. The one with the most swords and/or lances wins the bout.

Lastly, player order is determined. Tent cards numbered 1 through 4 are handed out. Tent 1 will go to the person in last place, tent 2 will go to the player in 2nd to last place and so on. During the next turn, order will proceed in the order of the numbered tents

Thoughts about Im Auftrag des Konigs:

First things first, this is produced as a card game and therefore costs as much as a card game. Currently, this is running for about $8.00 at online gaming sites so you will get a lot of bang per buck. This game very easily could have been a more produced affair with fancy bits such as painted knight miniatures, a board that represented Camelot, thick cardboard tokens to represent virtues and so on. In fact, some complaints of the game is that this lack of a board makes the game unnecessarily complex and busy. I don’t see that as an issue, but should give you an idea that this is a “big” game for a card game.

Game play is simple and intuitive with some depth. After running through a turn or two, most players, even children, should be able to pick up the mechanics. Although simple to understand, there are some tough decisions to make during the game. For instance, it is generally wise to take an action practicing a virtue every turn. However, if there is a quest that you are set up for, or you need the horse that moves 4 spaces, you may need to sacrifice practicing in order to make sure you get the right card. Since most games tend to be close and quests, when completed, can earn up to a quarter of the victory points needed to win, there is definitely some tension when someone is trying to pull out that come from behind victory. Another factor to consider is determining when to take the lead since the lead person will be the last person to choose actions in the next turn. Being the last person to pick an action can definitely be a hindrance and will stop any sort of run away leader issue.

Although there is some decision making, this solidly falls under the category of a light filler game, a quick affair that fits well between longer, meatier games. This will be a good game to play with older children/young teens again since it is easy to grasp and quick to play without being a bore to more experienced gamers. As can be expected with these types of games, there will be limited replay value. Although fun to play once or maybe twice in a night, the games will not vary much. I suppose if you create a game based around limited actions and limited resources, there will only be so many combinations.

Overall, I believe Im Auftrag des Konigs is light, balanced and well thought out game that will scratch the itch for a short questing type game.

What I would like to see in the future:

When studying Im Auftrag des Konigs for this review, I kept thinking to myself that this is a great base for a game. In the future, I hope Adlung-Spiele comes out with an expansion that builds upon this successful system while keeping its charm as a light adventure game based in the story book realm of Camelot.

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Igloo cool — 2006-03-31T02:09:27+00:00

"Slay the Wild Boar Quest" Quest card example

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Igloo cool — 2006-03-31T02:05:33+00:00

Set up/Summary cards that show game layout

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rynelf — 2005-11-23T22:06:26+00:00

Box bottom scan.

Thread: Player w/ MOST VPs wins during round when player reaches 20

pschwar — 2005-11-01T21:52:26+00:00

One endgame change suggestion: If someone gets 20 VPs, let all players finish the round. If players tie for 20+ VPs, the first player who accomplished that wins. However, if a player goes above 20 during that round, he will win instead. This is so players aren't juggling to be last place before the final round begins.

Thread: Re: Minor error in English rules

Kalidor — 2005-08-17T22:29:19+00:00

Thanks, I cannot wait for this; its on order and I am getting it tomorrow!
Yeah!
Hopefully it is as good as it sounds by reviews/discussions/ratings...

Thread: Re: Minor error in English rules

daw65 — 2005-08-11T06:36:50+00:00

And I think I'd even call it English, not Adlungese.

Thread: Re: Minor error in English rules

cktjharris — 2005-08-11T00:05:16+00:00

The rule booklet that comes with the game has the rules in several languages, including English.

Thread: Re: Minor error in English rules

Kalidor — 2005-08-10T22:32:01+00:00

Do English rules come with this game? Or are they available anywhere for download?
Thanks in advance!
Justin

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alkis21 — 2005-02-19T13:33:14+00:00

Center "board"

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alkis21 — 2005-02-19T13:33:14+00:00

Set up - you need space!

Thread: Session Report

daw65 — 2005-02-03T16:52:46+00:00

Ah, a lunchtime game, two player. Neither of us had ever played it before, either, though I had run through a "game" solo to get the rules clear in my mind. It was an enjoyable game of exercising skills, completing quests, entering tournaments and dispensing justice.

As a first-time game, we definitely didn't have all the nuances down, though we did learn as we went along. Twice I could have been seriously slowed down if my opponent had taken the "4" horse while I was out in the hinterlands, but she missed the opportunity. However, a couple times later in the game she did make good use of her #1 tent to deny me the opportunity to go to Arthur's RoundTable to get a new quest. I tried to make do when I could by entering tournaments or dispensing justice, to get my 2 points per round. I don't think she took advantage of those two options as much as she could have. She tended to collect quests, but was having a hard time getting the wisdom (book) skill to complete some of them. When I finally did get to complete another quest (Yeah, I had done two or three of them before being shut out from Arthur), I reached 24 points. On the next turn I was unopposed in the tournament, to get to the 25 point threshhold (26, actually), just as she completed a quest to get to 22.

When other coworkers (usually they join us for gaming) did finally come by, they sat and watched some, and commented how complicated the game was. Of course, they hadn't been around for the rules explanations -- I don't think this is all that complicated. I know elsewhere it's been said that this is just a tad fiddly, and might have been better served with a true board, rather than a faux board via a tableau of cards. I think I'd agree with that, but it doesn't harm my impression of this game. It's quite enjoyable, and right up my alley.

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Tycho — 2005-01-30T15:30:58+00:00

Example cards

Thread: Re:Rules queries: Virtue cards

Micha — 2005-01-26T10:00:44+00:00

Exilas (#77701),

Hiho,

all the answers Peter has given are correct.

Regards,
Michael Andersch
Adlung Spiele

Thread: Re:Rules queries: Virtue cards

GeoMan — 2005-01-15T23:38:57+00:00

We also play that a card with a '2' symbol can be used to fulfill a quest that needs only '1' symbol.

Thread: Re:Rules queries: Virtue cards

Exilas — 2005-01-15T22:23:28+00:00

Peter The Rat wrote:
1. You can play any number of virtue cards to fulfill a quest. You can even play a card with the '2 lance' symbol to fulfill a quest that needs only '1 lance'!

Are you sure about that? The rules read, "the player may execute the action Queste if (...) possesses the necessary virtue cards." We play that the necessary virtue cards are exactly those pictured on the quest card, so if a 2 valued card is pictured, you must use a 2 valued card.

Any official clarification is welcome.

Ciao
Marco

Thread: Re:Rules queries: Virtue cards

Peter The Rat — 2005-01-14T14:27:23+00:00
Tycho (#77383),
Hi there!
You are playing it right:

1. You can play any number of virtue cards to fulfill a quest. You can even play a card with the '2 lance' symbol to fulfill a quest that needs only '1 lance'!
2. The bidding is done blindly. Once the tournament is over (both players have bid) the winner is decided!
3. Only 'lance' and 'sword' virtue cards are allowed to use in the tournament!

Thread: Rules queries: Virtue cards

Tycho — 2005-01-14T11:01:41+00:00
I have some questions regarding the rules. Comments please.

Can two '1 lance' virtue cards be used to fulfill a quest for which the task card has a '2 lance' symbol shown, or will only '2 lance' card do? I've played the game assuming they can, but was that right?

The Tournament rules for two participants say the players offer any number of sword or lance virtue cards face down, then simultaneously reveal their cards. The wording doesn't rule out players being able adjust their bid on the basis of the number of cards played by their opponent - i.e., if you see your opponent offering no cards, adjust your bid accordingly. I assume you can't do that, as the fully blind bid is more interesting and more workable, but what was the intended meaning?

The Tournament rules then say that if only one player chooses the tournament action they can play a single virtue card to gain the 2 points. Unlike the rule for two participants, it is not specified that it must be a sword or lance card. My interpretation is that it should be, but is this correct?

Thread: Re:Im Auftrag des Konigs better than Saga?

db3000 — 2004-12-22T20:30:08+00:00
dwgteach (#72453), Thanks for the response. It's interesting that you also mentioned Die Fugger. I was thinking about placing an order for both Die Fugger and Auftrag des Konigs. I want two smaller, inexpensive card type games that are accessible. They seem to fit the bill. Saga was a disapointment and had little spark/novelty. Finally, I agree with you in regards to Hansa; it's a quality product that's pretty accessible.

Thread: Re:Im Auftrag des Konigs better than Saga?

dwgteach — 2004-12-22T19:20:41+00:00
db3000 (#72305),
I would agree that ALL of the small-box games that came out from Uberplay in the US leave something to be desired. Saga's the 'best' of the lot, but that's not necessarily saying much. It seems to just plod along with little tension. Thankfully, Uberplay has redeemed itself with some of its other releases - Hansa for one.

Im Auftrag, on the other hand, scales well and has been an enjoyable addition to the shelf. Coupled with its SMALL size, I see it getting packed along with Die Fugger and Vom Kap bis Kairo for trips.

Thread: Im Auftrag des Konigs better than Saga?

db3000 — 2004-12-22T01:45:20+00:00
Let's hope, for all concerned, that Im Auftrag des Konigs is better than Kramers' Saga. I found Saga to be a pretty dull gaming experience that I hope I never have to revisit.

Thread: Re:Rule question - two players joust, both get a VP, who wins the game?

Micha — 2004-12-16T12:48:05+00:00
Palpatine (#70882),

Hello Peter,

first: I'm not the author (I just write the german rules for Adlung Spiele and have a look at the english ones).

Second: A joust happens simultaneously, so no one "jousts first". But feel free to use the tents as a tie-breaker in such a situation.

Regards,
Micha

Thread: Re:Minor error in English rules

jcarvin — 2004-12-14T16:47:16+00:00
tool (#70463),

I noticed that too and we removed the "3" since it seemed obvious to us. I'm glad you mentioned this though, I didn't know the official ruling.

Thread: Re:Rule question - two players joust, both get a VP, who wins the game?

Palpatine — 2004-12-14T16:08:53+00:00
Micha (#63187),

Micha (#63187),

I know you are the author, but I disagree with this draw conclusion. It says in the rules whoever achieves the points first earns the win. I think that this implies that the person with the lower tent number breaks ties, as the person with the lower tent number would achieve any set point limit first. Therefore, in this situation described above by the other Peter ( great name btw ), the person winning the game is the tournament player breaking the tie by having the lower tent number.
Wonderful game, however you play it!
Alles Gute
Peter Marchlewitz

Thread: Re:Minor error in English rules

Palpatine — 2004-12-14T02:22:31+00:00
tool (#70463),

I noticed that too! Good eye !

Thread: Minor error in English rules

tool — 2004-12-12T16:55:20+00:00
In the section where the rules say which cards to remove when playing with 3 players, the English rules say to remove a Pferde card, without specifying which one. The German rules say to remove a "3" Pferde card, which is obvious if you think about it, but we didn't.

Thread: Session Report

dwgteach — 2004-12-09T14:47:07+00:00
Im Auftrag des Königs with Greg

Next up was the new Adlung tiny-box card game about the Arthurian Legends. Like other games from them, this one sets out an elaborate spread, creating, for all intents and purposes, a boardgame. With a circle of possible places to visit, coupled with a number of action choices each round, this one has some excellent tactical mechanics that we just grazed the surface on in this first game.

Each round players take turns choosing from actions that include collecting objects (swords, lances, skills against dragons, books), obtaining quests, entering tournaments, or riding out from Camelot to fulfill quests or get educated in a monastery. The limiting factor is that each of these can only be taken by one player each round (3 in 3-4 player games, 4 in our 2-player game). The first player to earn 25 points in a 2-player game wins. the points are earned through quests, tournaments, and learning.

Greg took the tourney/learning route while I attempted to fulfill quests. Unfortunately, the number of items needed to fulfill a quest means that I needed to collect items over a few rounds, allowing Greg to zoom ahead for a bit. That, coupled with his snaking of dragons when I needed them hurt my chances. I kept it close, but he won with 25 points to my 22.

Thread: Re:Hoarding Quests?

jmcmilla — 2004-12-06T16:34:23+00:00
Dr.Feelgood (#67657),

I second your notion that having only one "Tableround" card in a three player game creates a serious chokepoint. Let us know if you can make this strategy work. Overall, this strikes me as a challenging, tightly balanced game.

Thread: Re:Hoarding Quests?

Dr.Feelgood — 2004-11-26T14:35:27+00:00
Peter The Rat wrote:
Dr.Feelgood (#67531),
I don't think it would be right to limit the number of quests a player can hoard. Because otherwise he might end up with only useless quests.

True, true, I haven't thought about that.

Still when he just goes for Quests, the other player theoretically could go for Tournaments and Justice earning him in the meantime 4 VP each round. After only 7 rounds the game would be over, when the other still hasn't taken all of the available Quests at Camelot! The point is: One who is Taken all the Quests doesn't get to take any Exercises, the other can easily win the game.
So I personally see no need to limit the number of Quests someone can hold!

But since players choose their action cards alternately the hoarding player also is able to take at least 1 Tournament card or maybe even the Justice card. And he still could do some exercise in order to win the tournament or get a book for the Justice card.

Maybe I should try this in some test rounds.

Thread: Re:Hoarding Quests?

Peter The Rat — 2004-11-25T22:43:55+00:00
Dr.Feelgood (#67531),
I don't think it would be right to limit the number of quests a player can hoard. Because otherwise he might end up with only useless quests.
Still when he just goes for Quests, the other player theoretically could go for Tournaments and Justice earning him in the meantime 4 VP each round. After only 7 rounds the game would be over, when the other still hasn't taken all of the available Quests at Camelot! The point is: One who is Taken all the Quests doesn't get to take any Exercises, the other can easily win the game.
So I personally see no need to limit the number of Quests someone can hold!

Thread: Hoarding Quests?

Dr.Feelgood — 2004-11-25T12:50:09+00:00
After our first play yesterday (2 players) something came to my mind: since the player with the lowest tent number starts the "choose an action"-phase isn't he (theoretically) able to collect all the quests? In the 2player game there's only one "Tableround"-card so in this situation the other player would have no chance to get some quests for himself.

If I got the rules right there's no quest limit (please correct me if I'm wrong), so to prevent the mentioned above situation a quest limit rule could be added. What would be a reasonable number? Max. 3 quests at a time?

Doc

Thread: Re:Recycle Quests?

Micha — 2004-11-18T09:05:26+00:00
Mitch37 (#65757),

Sven Baumer is correct. As the rules say:

"The completed task card is withdrawn from the game."

Regards,
Michael Andersch
Adlung-Spiele

Thread: Re:Recycle Quests?

Mitch37 — 2004-11-16T12:49:59+00:00
Sack (#65742),
Thanks for the quick repsonse.

Thread: Re:Recycle Quests?

Sack — 2004-11-16T11:04:44+00:00

laid aside. I've never seen more than 14 tasks beeing needed anyhow... (unless you'd play to more points)

Thread: Recycle Quests?

Mitch37 — 2004-11-16T10:36:16+00:00
When a quest is completed, is it returned to the deck or laid aside?

Thread: User Review

Mitch37 — 2004-11-05T19:49:36+00:00
When I was at Spiel ’04, I saw a nicely-illustrated card game about Arthurian knights being demonstrated. I couldn’t follow along (I don’t speak German), but it looked intriguing. Eventually, my friend Todd and I asked for a demo in English. I’m glad we did.

Im Auftrag des Königs (In the Name of the King) is a quest-based game. Each player takes the role of a knight of the Round Table. The knights travel the lands, pursuing missions for King Arthur. They also return to Camelot, where they train in their knightly virtues (Strength, Skill, Courage and Wisdom), and compete in tournaments.

At the start of the game, each player chooses a knight, and is dealt two virtue cards to start. They are also dealt a tent card with a number on it (1-4). This sets the order of play. Cards representing Camelot and the surrounding lands are laid out in a ring; this is the “board” the game takes place on. All the knights start the game in Camelot.

Players have several actions they can do. If they are currently in Camelot, they can train up one or more virtues. They can also enter the tournament, or embark on a quest from Arthur (there is a deck of them, from which three are available each round). The knights can use horses to travel to other lands. Once there, they can attempt to fulfill their royal quests, or dispense justice for the local populace.

Each of these actions is represented by a card. The player with tent #1 chooses a card, and places it in front of him. The other players do the same, in numerical order. There are two more rounds of choosing, until each player has three cards in front of them. Then player #1 plays all of his action cards, in any order. The other players follow suit. Tournaments, quests and justice require virtue cards to be played, which are then discarded. The knights earn victory points for their successes, the action cards are returned, and a new round begins. The first one to reach the victory point goal is the winner.

The catch is that there are only so many action cards to go around. You might decide to train up your courage, in order to embark on a particular quest (each quest requires a certain combination of virtues). So your planned actions for the turn could be Train Courage, Get A Quest, and Ride A Horse. However, one of the other players took the Train Courage card in the first round of choosing. Now you’ll have to change your plans, and try not to get stymied again. Choosing your action cards is the heart of the game.

To help keep things competitive, the numbered tent cards are redistributed at the start of each round. The player with the least victory points gets tent #1, up to the current leader, who chooses last. Ties are handed out randomly.

Im Auftrag des Königs is a fun little game. Hardcore game players may find it more suitable for older children than for adults, but both groups can enjoy it. The rules that come with the game are in German and English. The cards use icons to show their functions. What little text is on them is mostly for flavor. The artwork is evocative, capturing a storybook feel.

I dig it.

Thread: Session Report

Peter The Rat — 2004-11-03T17:27:24+00:00
King Arthur's Knights
This Weekend I met my Nephew and we played the game "Im Auftrag des Königs"! He likes the theme so there was no need for me to lure him into gaming.
He chose Lancelot and I chose the noble Galahad. This was our second game, so there was no need to explain the rules.
He could begin, because he is the younger one. The first thing he did was to start exercising to get Sword, Lance, Dragon and Book-Cards. All of them are needed to fulfill the Quests that need to be completed for King Arthur. One of the first Quests to show up on the "Round Table" was the Quest to defeat the fiercy Giant", so he stormed into the room with the "Round Table" and grapped this Quest (worth 4 VP). I decided to remain at Camelot, to exercise myself and to fight in the Kingly Tournament! I easily won the first Tournament and continued to exercise the next two rounds, participating in the Tournaments.
When Lancelot left Camelot I went to the "Round Table" by myself, talked to the King and got some Quest for myself. After I had some Quests to fulfill I finally set out myself. Soon we alternated ourself in coming to Camelot and in completing the Quests.
Until...
...until Galahad had 20 VP and Lancelot had 19 VP. In this round Lancelot completed his last Quest (earning 4 VP) and returned to Camelot to enter the Tournament. Galahad fulfilled his Quest too (earning 3 VP) and returned to Camelot to partecipate in the Tournament too. Now both Contrahents needed 2 VP to win the game. Both we bid as much as in our Hand was left: Swords crashed on each other but there was no Winner this day. The Joust ended a draw and both Knights earned 1 VP for fighting valiantly. But still we needed both one last Point. We both set out for another Tournament, swords were crossed the following day again and the second day still there was no winner. As we both had earned the 25th VP at the same time we declared the whole game a draw.
Gaming duration: 25 min

Thread: Re:Rule question - two players joust, both get a VP, who wins the game?

Micha — 2004-11-02T13:09:06+00:00
Hello Peter,

you're right - this situation is not described in the rules.
But you did right to agree on a draw.

Michael Andersch
Adlung Spiele

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Wardo — 2004-11-02T02:48:00+00:00

Thread: Rule question - two players joust, both get a VP, who wins the game?

Peter The Rat — 2004-11-01T19:20:04+00:00
On my second game "Im Auftrag des Königs" I encountered a problem, which I could not resolve:
We played a game of 2 and on our second last turn we both had 24 points. Both of us needed another point to win the game. As both of us couldn't get out of Camelot, we both trained for the "Joust" and entered the fight. The fight between the two of us ended a draw. The rules say that in this case both players are rewarded a victorypoint. So both of us gained the final point. In case of a draw the player who got his points first wins the game. But as we fought in the "Joust" and this happens at the same time for both players, we earned our points at the same time. Who shall be declared the winner?
We agreed on a draw, even if this case was not mentioned in the rules.

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warlock — 2004-10-29T13:45:45+00:00