Looking for a fast, aggressive game where your allegiances twist and turn faster than a courtier avoiding the King’s bad side? Look no further than Usurp The King, the card game where every subject is a pawn and ultimate control is the prize. With a playtime of only 15–20 minutes, this game is packed with moves and counter moves, offering a tight, highly tactical experience perfect for 2 to 5 players.
The Path to Power: Intrigue and Rebellion
In Usurp The King, you take on the role of one of the kingdom’s dominant families—like the Lemaire family, who built their wealth through fishing and sailing and seek to establish their region as a cultural center. Your goal is straightforward: use your influence to back the person you believe will ultimately seize power when the dust settles.
Gameplay unfolds over two high-tension phases:
- Intrigue Phase: Players secretly choose 6 out of their 10 available Leverage cards, strategically placing them around the courtroom. You might place a Dagger to threaten an opponent’s favored court member, giving the illusion you wish to eliminate them, even if your true plan is to move that Dagger later.
- Rebellion Phase: This is where the action resolves. Players use their Leverage cards to execute crucial actions like Bribery (to prevent a subject from becoming disgruntled), Conspiracy, Poison, Daggers, and shifting alliances. You might use an Agent card to move a card from the same space, or perhaps use a Guard to protect a key court member from those lethal Daggers. The tension builds rapidly until the King is overthrown or retains his power.
Seven Ways to Rule
What makes Usurp The King so compelling is the hierarchy of its seven victory conditions. The game isn’t just about killing the King; it’s about ensuring that the person who does rise to power is the one you control.
The conditions are checked in descending order:
- Usurper: Victory is achieved if the Usurper is alive, at least three court members are disgruntled, and the Usurper is under your control.
- King: If the Usurper condition isn’t met, you win by controlling the King, provided the King is alive.
- Heir: If the King is dead and the other conditions aren’t met, you might win by controlling the Heir, provided the Heir is alive and loyal.
- Bastard: Failing the above, if the King is dead, you can win by controlling the Bastard, provided the Bastard is alive and loyal.
The hierarchy continues through controlling the most loyal court members (Court), controlling the Anarchist, or finally, Anarchy (where no one wins). Manipulating the court members—like the Heir (loyal to the King), the Bastard (loyal to the King but few aspirations), or the Usurper (seeking to overthrow the King)—is essential to achieving victory.
Securing Victory in the Final Moments
The core of the game is maneuvering your control onto one of these powerful figures and ensuring they meet their specific victory requirement within the hierarchy. Victory is achieved by the player who controls the newly crowned court member.
Players are focused intensely on executing their leveraged moves, ensuring their controlled figurehead—be it the Usurper, the King, or the Heir—emerges triumphant through the power structure.Usurp The King is an exhilarating game of political intrigue where quick thinking and decisive betrayals are the keys to victory. Are you ready to back the right court member?