Game of Thrones: The Board Game Analysis

Game of Thrones: The Boardgame is a strategic, resource-centric experience similar to Risk, but with several elements added to it. You take control over one of the major factions in the setting as you attempt to claim as much power as you dare – through settling or force. While doing this you must also compete with other players in terms of politics, military and subterfuge. This analysis will focus on the game’s strengths and shortcomings, the general overlay and the functioning of a specific system as well as how well it might attract an audience.

That should be enough for an introduction, so lets start!

Core Game System

The core system of the game is, effectively, what occurs on the map itself. This includes a number of objects being Units, Order Tokens and Power Tokens. These all function as the physical manifestation of the players’ actions in the game. There are also “world” objects, mainly castles.

To start, Units are the most direct way for the player to affect the game as they can be moved upon the map and giving you de facto control over any province they reside in. To do this you need to assign them orders, or Order Tokens. These objects cover an array of different orders that can affect your units and the province itself. Examples would include March Orders, that enables your units in a particular province to relocate and occupy (or attack) another nearby. Then there are Defense Orders, which gives your units a considerable boost in strength if attacked. Another is the Support Order, which enables neighbouring units to support each other should they be attacked.

Then there are the Power Tokens, acting as the player’s currency. They are acquired through consolidating your power in provinces (using the Consolidate Power Order, alternatively you can also muster new units with them). With these you can either increase your purchasing power when handling high-risk events or competing on the Influence table, but they can also be used to lay claim on any province you control by de facto. This enables you to take advantage of it without having to occupy it with your military. In turn this frees your forces to relocate as you please without losing access to provinces and their affiliated resources.

While not as much a physical object as a part of the map, castles work much like the former. For without them you can neither muster troops nor even win the game, as they are the main objective of the game. The first player who acquires seven castles wins the game by default.

In summary, the core system of the game – the world map – provides a visualisation for the player’s actions mainly in terms of movement and resources. Units move about, affected by the various Order Tokens that are placed by the player. By taking control of provinces they also become capable of mustering larger armies and acquiring greater economies, and are able to solidify their hold on them with Power Tokens.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths:

Combat

While at first giving a sense of unfairness based more on luck than much else, the combat system proved increasingly engaging the more we played it. The random factors provided a shift in scale that could change the outcomes of battles significantly. Troop numbers, while important, didn’t necessarily win the day. A good use of your House Cards, timely support and a little luck with your Battle Tags could grant you victory just the same. And while you at times had to withdraw, it was still possible for your enemy to take losses. Making it possible for you to counter attack effectively later on. While having little to do with player skill, the number of factors that could vary made sure that no battle was the same as you anxiously dreaded what sort of cards your opponent’s acquired.

Influence

Control over any of the three areas of influence (Iron Throne, Fiefdom and King’s Court) can give you powerful means to get the upper hand in the game. It makes it possible for all players to interact with one another rather than having them completely separated by geography. In fact it creates a new layer of gameplay. Rather than just having to distribute your currency to specific events, it becomes a constant balance in using currency to get an advantage on a political stage. Especially over your neighbours. This added dimension not only gives the players more options to interact with one another, but also helps capturing the feel of a more large scale theatre where everyone has an agenda which in all likelihood goes against your own.

Weaknesses:

Supply

As you acquire more provinces that enable greater supply levels, you might be able to do so. I say “might” because you might never get a chance to actually use it. Supply levels can only increase if a certain event card is activated, and that particular card is in short supply. If it is activated early on in the game (if ever) there’s a considerable chance that you never get another chance even after you’ve taken control over a large number of supply provinces. It creates gameplay more oriented on sheer luck rather than tactical thinking involving compromising your main objective (castles) to ensure you’ll be able to expand without exposing your borders.

Wilding cards

At fairly regular intervals these events appear to wreak havoc upon the realm. While its concept is solid and provides another factor that the players must take into account when distributing their resources, the Wilding Cards lacked weight in the game. Even if its strength was increased to higher levels all it took to overcome it was a couple of players providing a meagre portion of their budget. Thus rendering the cards’ consequences non-existent.

System of Most Interest

Almost more critical than the physical world map is the Influence table. While of no direct consequence to the game map, it creates an incentive for the players to carefully distribute their Power Tokens as these are vital to ensure control over any of the three areas of influence. Namely the Iron Throne, Fiefdom and the King’s Court.

The Iron Throne simply dictates in what order players have their turn. The highest bidder gets to start each round. This advantage in initiative can be very useful as it enables you to act on your own terms, rather than being limited to reacting to your opponents. For example, if you suspect someone will attack you, you can simply strike first. With the opposing player not having considered bolstering his defences due to taking an aggressive stance, he might not be able to repel you effectively.

Next is the Fiefdoms, which might as well be regarded as military might. If you are the highest bidder on this, you gain additional strength in every military engagement by default. You are also the automatic winner of any engagement that results in a draw. This enables you to be effective at military engagements even if conventionally outnumbered, allowing for much more aggressive tactics which can be especially beneficial early on as the opposing players have yet to build a proper military force.

Third is the King’s Court, arguably the most empowering boon to the player. What higher bids in this allows you is not only special Order Tokens that provide extra strength to their specific actions, but also allows you to muster troops as you wish rather than having to rely on certain event cards. It also gives you the final say on any draw that occurs during the bidding on the Influence table. This enables you to have considerable control over the Influence system as a whole, and allows you to shift the balance on fronts far away from your own borders.

To conclude, the Influence table makes it possible for the player to affect the game on a much larger scale than just merely getting a local advantage. It forces you to consider every player rather than just the neighbouring ones, encouraging backroom deals, intrigue and fragile agreements which forces you not only to take your resources into account, but also human elements such as trust and deception. This is what truly makes the game come alive, giving it a spirit fitting to Game of Thrones’ setting.

Target Group Interpretation

Game of Thrones: the Boardgame adds components and depth to what is essentially Risk in Westeros. Despite the increased depth, it can be mastered fairly easily by anyone in their early teens.

Its emphasis on competitive and social interactions combined with the epic scope of the setting and solid gameplay no doubt attracts it to a considerable number of people. Not to mention the brand recognition in itself. As it has arguably become a full-fledged cultural phenomenon across the world, it has the ability to gain attention outside the board game market as well. The way it visualises the setting is spot on, and should make anyone even remotely familiar with the setting feel right at home. While the mechanics have several layers of interactivity and relationships these are clearly defined and made visible to the player after just a couple of minutes of play. The learning curve would be daunting were it not for the easily read instructions that makes sure the player understands the basics before moving on. A lot of work has clearly been put on accessibility, and they succeeded as even new players were able to compete with the others after just a couple of rounds.

Conclusion

With a beautiful portrayal of one of the most renowned fantasy settings in modern times, Game of Thrones: the Boardgame captures the look and feel of Westeros not just by its visuals but also by its utilisation of player interaction, elements of chance and the unknown creating a combination of tension and anticipation that carries you throughout the game. If these were the developers’ aesthetic goals, they nailed them. It’s not just about being able to dominate your opponents on the field of battle, but also reading them as you consider your next course of action.

The few things that I saw as shortcomings were how the game compromised on its strategic aspects in favour of a more quickly paced game session. More emphasis was put on making the players rush into combat rather than giving them a reason to take on a more balanced approach and rewarding those that chose to secure resources. It made the majority of the map irrelevant except for those that held castles. In short, it’s a game that just falls short of being a truly tactical experience. More reliant on simple aggressiveness than long-term planning.

While not fully realising all of its features it manages to keep focus on what the setting is about: human interaction. Mainly involving backstabbing disorders, but the way it contributes to it enriches the experience in ways no amount of complexity or depth could ever achieve. It stands available to anyone with a reasonable time schedule and keeps it balanced enough so that fresh players will be able to compete with the veterans.

With that I end this analysis. It’s been an exciting week and I’ve been able to hone my skills on trickery.

Until next time!

Björn Erik Berndtsson. Graphics and Game Design.