Continue if you are looking for games like Kingdom Builder and are curious about what similar games to play next. Players create their own kingdoms by skillfully building their settlements, aiming to earn the most gold at the end of the game in this Spiel des Jahres winner. Each game has different placement rules and variable scoring goals to set the stage for who will be able to do it best.
To determine this list we broke down Kingdom Builder to what it is. This is an incredibly simple game modeled after the classic goal. This is an area control game, but more importantly, that area is just a method of pattern building and set collection. Everyone is going to fill up the same number of spaces, it is about who did it in the smartest groupings across all terrains. If you are looking for something similar, you have come to the right place. We took all this into consideration and came up with this list of the 5 board games like Kingdom Builder.
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#05 | Go
Go makes the list of board games like Kingdom Builder because it is the base game that the latter is built on top of. We normally do not include the classics on this list like chess or mahjong because they are the basis for all games and so much has happened since, but Go is such an important ancestor of this game that it is important to note. Kingdom Builder is a theme that has goals set on top of a game of Go. If you want the more simple core of Kingdom Builder, this centuries-old game is it.
Go is an abstract strategy board game for two players in which the aim is to surround more territory than the opponent. The game was invented in China more than 2,500 years ago and is believed to be one of the oldest board game continuously played to the present day. A board is covered with white and black pieces, one color per player. On your turn, you can move any piece in any direction, jumping over a full line of any amount as long as it is in one direction and full, to convert them to your color. For 2 players, games run 30 – 180 minutes.
FOR MORE: Buy Go on Amazon
#04 | Quartermaster General: 1914
Quartermaster General: 1914 makes the list of board games like Kingdom Builder because it is also a wonderful piece movement and growth game within an area control world. It is in a realistic war setting, versus a land expanding fantasy one, but like Kingdom Builder, choices to expand are simple to make but far-reaching.
In the game, each card has two different uses: one when played, and another when prepared. On your turn, you can do both. You can also spend cards to draft more troops, or use cards to attrition your opponents. However, your deck represents your overall resources, so moving too quickly through your deck early might result in your unsupported armies being swept away in the final rounds of the game. For 2 – 5 players, games run about 90 minutes.
FOR MORE: Buy Quartermaster General: 1914 on Amazon
#03 | Stephenson’s Rocket
Stephenson’s Rocket makes the list of board games like Kingdom Builder because this is another great title that brings together that token chaining (moving pieces around via pushing them outward in long lines. Go and Mancala both have examples of this) and area control. It’s the dawn of steam and pioneering rail companies compete and ultimately merge.
A game about colliding railroads in early 1800’s England with seven different rail companies that players can expand. Each time you extend a rail, the other stockholders can veto but might cost them their shares. When two companies’ rail touch, the railways merge to become one. The game is over when only one company remains or there are no rail tiles remaining, with highest money total taking the win. For 2 – 4 players, games run about 60 minutes.
FOR MORE: Buy Stephenson’s Rocket on Amazon
#02 | Medina
Medina makes the list of board games like Kingdom Builder because like the cast of different geographies there were players, here you are trying to collectively build a desert city of palaces, but claim the best ones for yourself. Both games use simple placement rules that grow your presence over time.
The year is 1822 and after years of decay, it is time to rebuild. Players must place two pieces on the board, either augmenting an existing building or starting a new building if the current building of that color is finished. Each player will claim one building of each of the four colors by the end of the game, giving one point per wooden piece attached to the building. Bonuses go to those with the largest within a color. For 3 – 4 players, games run around 60 minutes.
FOR MORE: Buy Medina on Amazon
#01 | Blue Lagoon
Blue Lagoon takes the top spot on the list of board games like Kingdom Builder because it is another title with a great theme that dictates the area control gameplay. Explore an unsettled archipelago and connect your villages by land and sea, and not just once. In both titles, there are ever-changing goals that will change your whole strategy and keep things fresh.
The game is played over two phases, the exploration phase followed by the settlement phase. Over the course of both phases, you will expand your presence on the board by adding one new token each turn (settler or village). The goal is to collect the resources on the map by placing your tokens on top of them. In the first phase, you place anywhere touching either the lagoon or one of your previously played tokens. In the second phase, the board is cleared, and you can only build off your settlements from the first phase. For 2 – 4 players, games run 30 – 45 minutes.
