Eternal Kings combines chess and collectible card gaming to create a new experience. The Kickstarter debuted on January 30th, so there’s plenty of time to back the game. Let me explain why you should be a part of It.
What Is Eternal Kings?
Eternal Kings is a two player game for teens and up. You begin with 16 cards that represent the traditional chess pieces, but you will also have 16 ability cards that allow pieces to do more than just advance. This adds an extra layer of depth to the classic tactics already needed for competitive chess, along with some color and creativity. Essentially the goal is still to take the opponent’s king, just with a few added wrinkles. Having played chess most of my life and card games for about half of that time, this was a fun departure for both styles of games–not to mention it makes it easier to set up and understand the rules.
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Eternal Kings Components
In the box you receive:
- 40 Unique playing cards
- 1 Game Mat
- 1 Rulebook
- 4 Decks of cards representing each realm
The game looks beautiful. The first thing I was struck with was the amazing chessboard mat. It is durable with a great feel and size. The look is a distressed black and white with a rubberized non-slip backing. I look forward to using it for this game and my 4.5-inch chess pieces. The artwork designed by Denis Nigmatullin, Jason Nguyen, Joewie Aderes, and Piotr Foksowicz on the cards is also pleasing to the eye. If you are a fan of the fantasy artwork of Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons, Eternal Kings should be right up your alley. The cards themselves are made of good material and feel solid, but I am sure that if you love this game you will want to purchase some sleeves for them. There are 4 decks of cards that represent the 4 realms of the game: Strength, Agility, Intelligence, and Wisdom. Eternal Kings gives players some flexibility within these four realms beyond the traditional black and white pieces. The gameplay is exciting and challenging but rewarding.
Above is a video that details how to play Eternal Kings in just 3 minutes!
How to Play Eternal Kings
Instead of playing pieces, you now have cards known as creatures. Each creature represents a chess piece (Pawn, Knight, Rook, Bishop, Queen, and King).
If you look at the card from top to bottom the symbols represent:
- A) Chess piece: The type of chess piece represented by the symbol on the card this determines where the creature is placed on the game board and beginning of the game as well as how the creature moves.
- B) Attack: The amount of damage the creature does to another creature when it attacks.
- C) Life: The amount of damage takes a single turn to destroy the creature.
- D) Discipline: The resource a creature must expend to use the ability.
- E) Ability: Creatures can use their abilities throughout the game. For example, the Rook (Disfigured Wretch) has a Shadow ability that allows him to move through one Allied creature. Most creature abilities require the creature to flip to their backside and become exhausted. When exhausted, a creature has no discipline and loses the creature ability. To regain the ability, flip back to the front side on another turn. Use each creature’s ability wisely, as it takes an extra turn to flip your creatures back to their prime side. There are also ability cards that you may draw from during the game that supplement the abilities your creatures can perform. For example, the ability card Escape Artists allows a creature to move backward one space after killing opponents. Ability cards are always held in your hand as hidden information until used. This introduces an element of unpredictability or uncertainty so that each player will have to more deeply assess unknown possibilities every turn and sometimes take risks to thwart their opponent’s plans.
The goal of the game is killing the opponent’s King.
Why You Should Play Eternal Kings
Eternal Kings will be a game that you will see hardcore gamers playing at your local game store and conventions for years to come. It may be a great gateway for friends and family that are a little squeamish about learning the great game of chess, allowing them to become fans of the classic game. The cost to back the project is currently at $44 US, which is a good value for a tabletop card game that offers this much. So check out the Kickstarter, which is live NOW!
Eternal Kings’ creator Rolando Issa, comments: “Eternal Kings is my passion. It’s a game that I wish I had in my childhood. It’s the game my friends and I love playing. Now, after much work, I am ready to share it with the world.”
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Disclosure: GeekDad received a copy of this game for review purposes.
