In Kingdom Builder – Family & Friends Compact Edition, a streamlined strategic board game from Queen Games, you create your own kingdom on a modular map using simple rules and clever settlement placement.
How do you play the game?
In Kingdom Builder – Family & Friends, players build settlements on a landscape that changes every game. You set up 4 double-sided boards, reveal 3 scoring cards that show how to earn gold, then shuffle the terrain deck. On your turn you draw one terrain card and must place exactly three wooden settlements on hexes of that terrain type, building adjacent to your existing settlements whenever possible. By building next to special locations, you gain location tiles that grant extra actions such as placing an extra settlement or moving one already on the board. At the end of the game, you score gold for castles and, most importantly, for the conditions shown on the three Kingdom Builder cards; the player with the most gold wins.
Why is this game a must-play?
This compact edition of the 2012 Spiel des Jahres keeps the elegant core system but updates the format and variability, making Kingdom Builder easier to store and teach while staying highly replayable.
- Compact box with 4 double-sided boards and variable setup for every game.
- Very simple turn structure—draw a terrain card and place three settlements—but deep positional strategy.
- Location tiles offer powerful extra actions and fun tactical combinations.
- Plays in about 45 minutes for 2–4 players, ages 8 and up.
- Multilingual edition (EN/DE/FR/NL) ideal for mixed-language gaming groups.
Box contents
- 4 double-sided game boards used to assemble a new map each game.
- Wooden settlements in several player colours.
- Location tiles that unlock extra actions.
- Kingdom Builder scoring cards and terrain cards.
- Gold markers and a start player tile.
- Rulebook in English, German, French and Dutch.
Specifications
- Publisher: Queen Games (Family & Friends Compact Edition, item no. 10822).
- Type: family / strategy board game (area control and territory building).
- Players: 2–4.
- Age: 8+.
- Playing time: about 45 minutes.
- Languages in the box: English, German, French, Dutch.
- Designer: Donald X. Vaccarino.
- Artists: Markus Erdt & Oliver Schlemmer.
- EAN: 4010350108222.
- Series: Kingdom Builder – Family & Friends Compact Edition.