Kingmaker – Wars of the Roses - Round One, October 20, 2005

Our first attempt at Kingmaker, Todd vs Ben. A partial account from my point of view.

After drawing the Chancellor card, Ben starts by setting sail for Wales. Todd makes a move on London and after a brief siege makes the early running by capturing the reigning monarch, King Henry VI. Plague wipes out the Yorkist heir George, Duke of Clarence in his Welsh fortified town of Cardigan. Undeterred by this outbreak, Ben’s faction takes the other Welsh-residing Yorkist Edward, Earl of March, by laying siege to the fortified town of Harlech.

Meanwhile Todd makes a move on Margaret of Anjou by successfully entering Coventry. The king and his feisty Queen touchingly will now reside together for the rest of the game. Unfortunately one of Todd’s nobles is killed in a siege leaving him with a conspicuously depleted faction.

However Ben’s faction grows in popularity as an array of nobles from all corners of the island rally support around the Yorkist line, resentful of the mediocre rule of the Lancastrian King Henry VI.

Using his enlarged army, Ben’s faction lays siege on York and captures Richard, Duke of York. Rushing extra bishops and reuniting Richard with his younger brother Edward, celebrations are held for the coronation of the Yorkist Richard III – England has two kings! God save the kings!

Now the race is on to capture and execute the opposing monarchs.

Todd’s faction capture and execute Edward, Prince of Wales in a bold manoeuvre (I forget how this happened in fact …) Sensing danger, The Lancastrian King and his Queen are shipped to Calais. Todd’s dwindling faction currently has not the manpower to enter Calais and simultaneously hunt for the newly crowned Yorkist King. He will need to regroup.

Ben’s faction however remains strong, and using his three ships plus some new recruits sends half his faction to sea, heading south. Meanwhile King Richard III is taken for a northern sojourn in Alnwick Castle, guest of Percy, Earl of Northumberland. Meanwhile the Yorkist heir, Edward, is spirited across Northern England to the safety of Harlech Castle.

Ben’s faction’s fleet closes in on Calais. Bad weather delays the siege, then a large storm sends the fleet to the safety of Rye harbour, while Todd’s nobles are diverted to deal with local matters. A visiting dignitary from Europe is left fuming in Malden as no-one can agree which King is to meet and greet him.

Finally the weather clears, and Calais is taken by Ben’s fleet. King Henry VI and Queen Margaret are both executed swiftly, together to the end.

Hail King Richard III, sole and rightful King of England! Ben’s faction’s nobles receive great rewards from the grateful hunchbacked monarch. Bonfires burn bright in Northumberland. Tomorrow, the King heads for London – but tonight we celebrate with boar and mead!