Kingdom Builder

Sometime between 1046 and 256 BCE, an abstract strategy game was invented in China called way chief. It had extremely simple rules to be played by someone as young as three or four years old and could be completed in about an hour with two players. The rules were incredibly simple place stones of alternating colors on the intersections of a grid until one player had surrounded more space than the other. This game can be taught in seconds, but it can illiterate, take a lifetime to master, because it is a non chance game of perfect information. An experienced player will always destroy a novice because this game has been around for over 3,000 years players.

Picking it up in 2014 typically have a steep learning curve to climb if they hope to be competitive, it should come as no surprise, then that modern game designers have looked to wait, Chi, popularly known as go as inspiration for their own abstract strategy games. Where skill experience and guile will typically win the day today on tabletop, Paul Scheer, Tara, Platt and Yuri Lowenthal are here to play a game that can claim Wei Qi as its spiritual ancestor, we will be placing our pieces on a fairly simple board, hoping to fulfill Deceitfully simple victory conditions: we won’t have perfect information and we can count on a little bit of luck, but each of our moves will need to be carefully considered if we hope to be the most successful kingdom builder Pingdom builder is the spiel dr’s area control game Designed by Donald X, baccarat, who also gifted the world with Dominion now I know that some of you will look at the board and instead see anything from hobbits digging holes to cyberpunks, resisting their robotic overlords. But that’s kind of the point here. Kingdom builder has a very mild non intrusive theme. Sometimes I don’t want a rich flavorful stout at the pub.

Sometimes I just want to enjoy a nice Jasmine pearl tea and let my mind, expand in a peaceful game. Okay, to play Kingdom builder, we’re going to take any four of these large terrain tiles and randomly assemble them into a square like this you’ll notice that the boards have different areas: flower filled, grasslands, deserts and so on. These represent the areas we’re trying to control for our Empire. On your turn, you will play a terrain card and add three of your little houses to the board in that terrain type, but we must always play according to the adjacency rule, which states that, if you can, you must play your new settlements adjacent to one of Your existing ones, I’ve gone flower field and I’d really like to play into this flower field to gain control of this castle for bonus points. But I must play adjacent to my existing settlement over here.

So I place my houses here here and here not as great, but also not that bad. We have to be flexible in our strategy and learn to adapt to the ever-changing positions of our rivals. Each tile has special abilities, which we’ll cover in the game. There are stables that let you jump harbors that let you move across water and farms that let you expand into the grasslands easily. These powers are randomised across all the different game boards and they really change gameplay every time which adds to Kingdom builders already massive replay value when a player has placed their final house, the game is over and we will score according to the randomised scoring condition.

Cards set up here at the beginning of the game. Sometimes you want to have large settlements, other times lots of little settlements near water and so on. Like I said, there is tons of replay with all of these variables harmoniously interchanging each time you play who will enjoy tea and cake and who will be served debt, let’s find out in Kingdom builder hi. My name is Paul Scheer. You might know me from an FX show called the league, my podcast.

How did this get made or my Adult Swim show NTSF SD SUV? My name is Yuri Lowenthal, I’m an actor and a writer and a producer, and I have been on tabletop before playing Castle. Panic with team monster killers, my name is Tara Platt and I am an actor, a writer, a producer, I’m just a creator of content and storytelling. Since the last time I was on tabletop, I have been working on a web series with my husband, Yuri Lowenthal. It’S called shelf life and we have four seasons of about 48 episodes about four action figures any on brush shelves.

I’M gon na go ahead and deal out some starting cards in Kingdom builder, the oldest player at the table goes first and finally, it’s not me Yuri. I about me today, 16 months, so so you can go ahead and play first. Okay, my show the world what you start with my car see you my my card is a forest yeah. Where will you be starting, sir? So I’m going to start near that train station.

One of the things I love about this game is that we draw different victory conditions every time we play that is in addition to building a different board with different powers. Every time we play it’s extremely unlikely, you’re ever gon na play two games of kingdom builder, that are identical and I think that’s really cool. So our victory conditions today are miners, which gives you points for being adjacent to mountains. Merchants, which gives you points for connecting up locations and cities and citizens which gives you points for having a large, continuous settlement heat up here, yeah all right. Can you reach it?

You mean I start reaching towards the mountain yep. Okay, all right! So now you get this train and I can use my trailer. The Train power essentially lets you sprawl your settlements into anywhere that you can make a straight line from three existing settlements. Now you can use your train ability right and can you take me to the mountain?

Okay. Take me to the mountain like an I will, but I will not bring the mountain to you. I’M super excited to be a back on tabletop. It’S always a good time. You know and – and they don’t feed me except when I’m on tabletop anyway, so I’ve been working up a good hunger, I’m pretty comfortable thanking to builder today.

I can’t wait to see what cards were gon na get but uh I well. It’S gon na be up to the fates as to what we are gon na play. I’M really nervous to be playing Kingdom builder on the show, because I’m on there with tabletop veterans, I’m the newbie and then I get totally pwned so Tara. What do you have? Oh you’re, a here’s, a new card for you I see here.

I think I am going to because I would like a train station as well, even though I don’t really want to get stuck over on the side of the board. I think I’m going to play over here, so an interesting choice. Yeah, can I make if you don’t mind I just want to. I want to throw a thing your way. Yes, you don’t have three people in a straight line at the moment, so you can’t actually make use of your train.

You may want to reposition two of those dudes, maybe they’re, just like yeah, so yeah. Of course you can. I started with train. I really hope that I get an oasis or the meadow, because I think that can be really really helpful. Alright, I too have a forest burner: uh, here’s a new card for you, Tara and there’s your discard, and I think that I will actually begin by playing down here next to this oasis in the forest, because I, like you place in a few ways, is: I Can build in for a phone now I’m going to draw this Oasis tile up, which gives me the ability to play in any desert, I’m not adjacent to any deserts.

So I will play in this desert, which gives me the ability to take another Oasis as come on how long your own arse twice knows where you press, I reach, you know I I guess I guess I’m just kind of amazing just built for gaming yeah gaming. I find it weird that I’ve never noticed how you know long and impressive and and extendable wills arms are before I figured. They probably used some of the you know the crowdfunding money to get him Bionic arms. Listen, I’m not saying that. I have Stretch Armstrong DNA spliced into my arms, but I’m also not not saying that I have some flowers.

Yes, all right are they for me. They are new you’ll. Get these seen that we read some points from mining yeah, but I’m gon na do is start off clear, uh-huh uh-huh. My strategy was simple. I want to get those mining points I figured I could own the mines and then build out from there all right.

Well, cool this card: is there there’s a new card for you, I’m up? Okay. So what do you have? I’Ve got grass layer Ashland. I could either reach south towards that nominated by you, because the suit I feel you really stepped up the level of gameplay.

Here. I you know I did it, I did it to intimidate yeah like yeah like a glow, I’m a bit of a dandy. I did not encourage you right to wear the suit. I was terribly surprised in fact, as we were leaving the house this morning, I said you’re you’re gon na wear a suit. What am I supposed to wear so it was one of those kind of he showed me up in his shiny fancy suit.

If I would have known this is the level of gameplay we were bringing, I would have wore tux. It definitely gives him an advantage. I just don’t know what that advantage is great. Actually, I heard it was a strip poker today, and so I wanted to have as many things on and that would explain why I’m not wearing underpants. Is that really what it would explain that it also had to do with you being here?

I think I am going to connect up those two that train station to that city. I was hoping you would see that and then such a good move, yep yeah, yeah, yeah yep! That’S what I’ve got this train power. You know what it makes that makes me not want to do it. It’S not bad if your front or does it right or does it make me want to do it more, so I can really only train in one direction or under dictates that you can go.

Why am i helping you help me? It’S the suit it’s working. I have flowers, but I also have a little bit good choice. Now you freed yourself up from the burden of flowers exactly all right, I’m not afraid of being stuck on the island, because you know it’s toward the beginning of the game, so anything could happen and I’m really hoping that I’m gon na be able to jump off Towards those mountains, I really want those mountains. I want that or really badly there are you guys are flourishing on that.

Thank you. I drew some forest, which is not awesome, because I can’t particularly connect any of the things that I want to connect which is kind of a bummer. I’M gon na go okay. Then I’ve got these two desert bits of happiness to place so I’ll place them down. Here, just to on my side of where these guys are again that long arm good, he needs to sell the Wil Wheaton arm so that other gamers can be able to do the reach that Will has when he’s playing games.

It’S phenomenal, alright, guys. I have some desert, so I go back down yeah. You too, can you yes, okay, me down. Let’S get me as like. You want to go here, okay, there, and if you want to go this way or this way, I can I put one on either.

You sure can yeah look at that. I believe that’s called cutting it off at the house. That is literally, I had a cut URI off of the mountains, because that’s my whole point strategy. If he gets into the mountains, I don’t get no points. Oh mr

Yuri, oh, you sort of a similar gameplay into I’m gon na cut that across as well, but I’m gon na have to ask you to do it.

For me, where are you Cher’s reach straight from from that one area where there yeah so here here and you said to the mountains, so you hear a note to the oh that matter, I’m sorry, I didn’t there. Okay and sure you have. I honestly didn’t you have the after hope. I gave you the last journal. I know, of course, I’m helping you Marik and now I’m gon na train right into your face.

Wow. Okay, I see what kind of game it’s going to be right. Okay, I’ve got more desert because I decided to just hang out in the desert. Are you regretting that move to be the water killer queen of the desert, and I’m just going to play? The only thing I can do, which is a train?

I’M gon na cry a little. I really am hopeful that I can get off this island. Islands are lovely, but I don’t want to be stuck here. I have a canyon and I can play in one of those canyons down there, so I believe – okay, I’m gon na Canyon, down here by my oasis Canyon, to show off your amazing awfully. I guess I’ve never heard it on the web series before, like all the gyros, that move to make the arm elongate, it’s kind of like an Inspector Gadget.

I have a ravine – means I’m gon na connect. I have nothing right. I can get in there right. It can go key. You want to go hear that one okay and then next that yeah you want to go here.

Yeah, I presume you’re gon na want to run yeah wow you’re, getting a lot of mountain point, that time yeah focus and where are you going to go Harry’s here? Well: here’s where I have to go so I’m going to go there for the mountain yep here for the the connect, oh Tron right and the blind man lock of Paulo Tron and then let the block of poetry out right to further detail on Pauline. You know what I can you can ensure a train yeah and go that it’s like a wall. It’S like a wall took a black. Is its yeah rough, I’m sending you to the ball, which is you’ve already taken.

The black Paul has really surprised me with his his tactical acumen. He’S really got the the mountains and the the mining locked down, I’d like to send him to the wall, but there’s no way I’m going to I’m gon na beat that I think he’s already got a locked and I am now finally getting up. Where are you gon na go? I want to get away from there, but I really want some mountain, but I know I’m gon na get all stuck up in this go around like that Tara. What’S up with that stay on your island, don’t cop!

My settlements over here I’m trying to connect alright, I thought we were on the same page and then I’m going to add on just because I can yeah alright there you go. Thank you Paul, I’m really! Sorry. I wasn’t actually paying attention to what you were trying to create over there on that side of the board, so kind of blocked. You sorry uh!

I have drawn grassland. I’Ve got desert guys that I can play right, so I could in theory, play desert guys here and then go grassland like this and start going in that way, right which is kind of cool cuz. It gets me started on connecting that or I can just go grassland, which makes this a bigger settlement, which is good. So that’s the play. I’M gon na make yeah you can still play, but still play your desert yeah and now for my desert moves.

I am gon na desert out in again, I’m not deliberating enough. I’Ve been making a lot of rash choices. I I have forests. Yes, you do now, since I’m not connected to anything for us anywhere around you have. I have free range you do so.

I need to get some coals optionally get a little point here, yep, alright! So now I have that’ll. Let you play into any grassland, okay, great, so that I can just kind public-domain, yeah yeah. I think it is. I decided that since Paul is doing so well with all his mountains and or that he is Paul of the Mountain King, so we shall sing Paul of the Mountain King.

As his you know, special crowning glory song, alright, so Yuri got a little. Grassland also got some rest. I am, I am already connected to some grasslands. Sure are so I can either fill the grassland or or reach down towards. Where will is man?

Don’T don’t make me get a fight with you, ah Yuri. I think I’m house dark. Look much like, I think Stark will you know, take everybody by surprise like oh, I don’t know how to play the game. Well, it’s my first time and then I crush him. I think everybody wants to say that they’re the Starks, because they’re so honorable and and awesome and wonderful, but I sort of think that the truth is.

If I had to pick a house to to be in it would probably be Greyjoy. Because I do not so. Okay, okay, what you got because I’m already touching this yeah well, because you’re gon na they’re little mountains in little city. Well, you know when I play the game, that’s because Terra is a giant relative to the rest of us, so they actually look small game. You can really create any I’m gon na.

Take my train yeah go over here and get out there yeah sure, okay, yeah nice, I guess their medieval vampires. That’S not a thing right. I guess, like you’ve, seen like the beginning of Bakula that new that new movie the untold story by Laurie we get that we flee. They finally tell it is Dracula like patient zero of all vampires. Yes, so where did he come from?

Maybe we should see the movie, we can go and see Dracula because we already saw the left behind movie with Nic Cage, and I think that was our cancel each other out. What was the last terrible Nic Cage movie? We saw drive angry owned. The theater 20 of us in a block yeah as a matter to muggles right to to muggles one one loud. They walked out and then one of the security guys.

He came up and sat it because we were being so raucous. But we felt like it was. Okay, because we were everybody, yeah, yeah, yeah and – and he went and sat in back and to try to identify who the troublemakers were, and he realized it was all of them like he couldn’t do anything. I would rather see a bad movie sometimes than a really good. You know Oscar performance movie or just a mediocre movie yeah, I’m always in favor of bad, so lots of bad movies in our household.

Remember specifically, the scene where he like he makes out with a random waitress for no apparent. Are you talking about the slow motion grinding sexy cigar wearing his sunglasses, shooting people and does not miss a thrust should engage, there’s a lot of cages out there, but if you’re gon na start off your cage ography, I think it’s got to start with face-off. It gives you a little bit of crazy, but the movies pretty good and then we’ll get into like the movies, with like him and Nicole Kidman, getting like a home invasion, which is a lot of bad but a lot of great cage. I like to think when I see a bad movie, will Nic Cage make this better like I saw Tyler Perry’s temptation well, and I was like: wouldn’t a cage make this movie better yeah yeah. Definitely that’s the power of Nic Cage.

He can make any movie better. That the crazier he goes, the better you know to to quote in a cage himself. You show me where the top is and I’ll. Let you know if I’m over it in a conversation with a Verner Herzog, I saw him say that yeah, if you have turned my world upside down, I’m playing my turn. I have desert so I’ll.

Just make this happen right away. I’Ve got desert powers right and then I’ve got my so I’m gon na set this aside cuz. This is an example for the kids at home. Oh, I can clean my powers before or after okay. Now I have to play here so I’m gon na use a desert power to play there.

Now I can choose to play another desert power or I can use my three desert. Oh no, wait! You know what I can do. Look at this, I’m not adjacent to any other deserts yeah, so I blocked Paul. I’Ve gotten two points there and now I can do this well, please show.

On the other hand, it was a lot of game talk without much telling Nick Cage, so yeah yeah. You know what I just did right here: I’m Nick Cage this I use that space to make absolutely no use of any other actors in this mister, Oh continuing on with my style of play here just connecting this yeah and then getting that Castle. Point: okay, I’m gon na use my point here: yeah you’re gon na do a grassland guy. It has to be there, but you get the same points yeah, okay, nice! There you go go.

I have a forest. Okay I’ll continue reaching downward on the other side. To keep you hemmed in okay, so here here, yeah Yuri clearly doesn’t see all those places. I carved a picture of into these trees there by marking the forest as my own, I’m gon na chew you up like I’m, like I’m chewing the sandwich up like this. Only the sandwiches, your face, yeah miss Tara.

Yes, what are you doing flower? You sure do I have to do one here, because I’ve done yes right, okay, yeah, but I’m going to use two of my other ones, yep a little bit over here now. I already am in desert, so I have to stay in desert, but I can also play my train and I’ll go over there and then I’ll play my one desert, because why not yeah add some people? What is the dynamic that you guys have when you are gaming? Alright?

Now I see it seems it doesn’t really aggressive, but you know: we’ve gone through stages: Tara, when we first met, Tara was really competitive in games and and she’s kind of mellowed out, and – and I liked that, because she used to scare me Yuriy – you know I Love you, but if it’s my game, it is totally gon na, be a game and you’re going down. The fear still resides deep within me, and so I’m always I’m always rooting for her. Even if I’m playing against her. I hope I don’t win, but where do you fall with yeah? You know what I have never been competitive?

Okay, because I was never very good and it wasn’t worth it to me. I just wanted to spend the time with my friends and I want to like be it that you know I wanted to be at the table because it was fun. But but this is the thing that – and this is the thing that I taught my children – you can compete without being competitive right. I had a friend who later found out his dad was in the Mafia, as, of course, I got older Mike, of course, his dad was in mafia. He never worked and they lived in the richest house in our neighborhood and monopoly with him.

He would like do all these side things with you, bi. Alright, I’m gon na charge you interest on this like he was basically running. It was crazy. He actually works in a flower flower shop, so yeah Wow, I’m going into the grassland. Yes, good and I’ve got some deserts to play I’m going to play down here, because I just want to cut you jerks off from this hole.

So that’s what you just do and then I’m gon na play my desert guys there and there got it. Okay, have a go get down there by the right there. Yes, okay, all right there you go, and I’m also gon na use my power to grasslands. Alright. So here we go so so we’re in ravine.

Yes, yeah your canyon, whatever you can provide in Canyon. Well, let’s go ahead and if you would mine, let’s let’s go: let’s go all the way to that city, I’m having trouble doing connections. That’S right! I think I’m not right now. Uri has three connections.

Yeah he’s got annoying freaking points based entirely on his country. He’S gon na charge us interest yeah sure I’ll be tied by this is the best story so far. Listen if you can’t make it to connection that’s fine, just gon na have to make two connections next. I just want you to this. Is Hollywood baby and it’s all connections, connections and linking things up and it’s who you know no matter if I win or lose today, it’s a big deal because my mob friend he actually has a side bet on this entire game, I’m very likely going to pay The iron price to beat URI today and if I don’t pay the iron price to beat URI, I will pay the iron price.

When my breakfast burrito goes through me, these connections fill up the back of the truck taro. Where are you going thing like the idea of like buying something off the back of a truck yeah? And you just you just pay in cash, but it’s always a scam. I’Ve got flowers, so I’m going to flower here I was there and there Wow and now, though we can’t do flower, you right, that’s you can certainly try and I’m going to desert and desert. We are paying battleship.

I bet you just sunk, my battleship, because you just moved in a spot that I wanted so bad. That’S why I went there desert card. I have pretty much really no great option. I feel you can play there and grab that mountain yeah right away from me, because that’s basically a free move right, yeah now you’re not adjacent to desert, so you can go there. Yes and like sort of yeah thing like that, I the game, will end on my next turn: okay, cuz!

I have because I have five eyes yeah all right. Well, I’m just gon na just think you have two more turns this turn and another right in case and I’ll use my magic point and get another one here your. Where are you going sure? I have to do those two because, because I’m there anywhere, I’m gon na take and I’m in a ravine – and I guess I’ll just continue to make so I’m gon na do those two there and then I guess I will put my next one. I guess I could do this and maybe hope to get around to that.

I don’t know, and then I will also play a desert because I have to play a desert, so a might as well and then I will do a train and my train will go over here. So I am going you’re he’s getting two points. Every turn for the rest of the game and I could try to let this game go on for one more turn and hope that I’m gon na get four points, but then I’m only gon na net two against him and that’s not even guaranteed. So I think my best move here is to play all my settlements and just end the game. Now I have to play here here and here and then my last two moves are gon na be to play deserts, which, as it turns out, is right here.

I am out of guys, so that means that the end game begins so Paul you get into the turn there’s. My final turns your final turn sadly desert, but I her, but I can first play my magical power grass grass land it and go get right now. Yep and then I will just dump him here, one two and I don’t think you get a final turn because you’re the first player it. You know what doesn’t matter because I also had desert and that doesn’t get me and yeah. Okay, I’m a little worried going to scoring, because I can already tell that I don’t have connections between two cities and even though I have a pretty good community, that’s not gon na beat URIs massive slaughtering of the board.

I know I’ve got a lead in population and you know all the connectedness, so I’m hoping that’ll be enough to carry me, but I know Paul’s got the Mountains, use the or King, obviously I’m killing it in the mining world and I think of myself more as A greedy dwarf than than a goblin that would run like Gringotts or something like that. The first thing we’ll do is score cities. You get three points for each city, you’re touching so we’ll start with Uri merchants. Four points for everything you’re connected: let’s do miners! You get one point for each city, that’s touching a mountain 2021.

I am the or King. I owned all of the mountains, so I think we know who is the king minor music? Now citizens create create a large settlement area and you get one gold for every two of your things. Our winner today on table Wow, the amazing Yuri Lowenthal, with 39 points well done, Wow, and it just goes to show you kids, that not playing to win can sometimes win you the game. Normally, when we come in here, it’s sort of like feeling, sad and all that stuff, but I don’t.

I don’t feel bad. This game allows you to take your own personal victories, like I’m very excited about where I am in the mining world. It’S almost like this game should be the precursor and then we’ll follow it up with a war. Then we exactly will play this, so we become really good friends and then we’ll play to Palma, see exactly hate each other anyway, thanks for coming and thanks for playing and I’m gon na go give Yuri the trophy that he won with that giant metropolis in the Middle of a freakin woman taking it over you’re right, I think everyone sort of it just it’s a good to play the game, because you kind of feel like anything. You do is fun and I think you’d be the little crown for your mining.

Oh, when there’s a or king or king longtime fans of tabletop will remember, Yuri and Terra from season 1, where we won pasul Panik, together, hassle, panic, Castle, panic, the important thing is you’re still eating all the time. Yeah, did you have like a strategy today, or did you just like? How did you do that? Just like I told you my strategy is play to lose yeah well and see what happens yeah. Well, it worked.

I drew the right cards yeah and I trained a lot yeah and it just it was like spokesdog yeah. I know I saw that yeah well. I am really pleased to tell you about a thing that has changed is the last time you are on tabletop tabletop season. Well, we have that amazing trophy that you couldn’t keep write this see. We have amazing handcrafted trophies chosen specifically for you that don’t you get to keep and URI here is your tabletop trophy of Awesome: Wow yeah yeah, it’s amazing!

So let me put your tables in view. You just use a laser than I did. It’S it’s very expensive. It’S because we’re fancy this year, we stepped it up. You know IndieGoGo backers, taking care of things, so you go back.

Would you like to make a victory speech? I would just like to say that my opponents were we’re great, but they weren’t good enough and and this suit is really what made the difference. I think look if you guys had worn suits it could have been anybody’s game. You want me to change the name on that to your suit your suit suit. It’S only fair there you go.

Congratulations! Only fair, hey thanks for watching thanks for subscribing, and until we see you next time play more games. It probably