Designers: Stefan Feld (Amerigo, AquaSphere, Bora Bora, Bruges, Carpe Diem, The Castles of Burgundy, The Castles of Burgundy: The Card Game, In the Year of the Dragon, La Isla, Luna, Macao, Notre Dame, The Oracle of Delphi, Rialto, Roma, The Speicherstadt, Strasbourg, Trajan) Michael Rieneck (Cuba, The Pillars of the Earth, Santiago de Cuba, World Without End)

Artist: Dennis Lohausen (AquaSphere, Camel Up, Carcassonne: South Seas, Coal Baron, Dominion: Intrigue, A Feast for Odin, Fields of Arle, Gaia Project, Glass Road, Hansa Teutonica, Hawaii, No Thanks!, The Oracle of Delphi, The Quacks of Quedlinburg, Raja of the Ganges, Terra Mystica, Village, The Voyages of Marco Polo)

Publisher: Queen Games (Alhambra, Amerigo, Aton, Chicago Express, Escape: The Curse of the Temple, Fresco, Kingdom Builder, Lancaster, Roma, Shogun, Thebes Wallenstein)

Genre/Mechanisms: area control, dice rolling, roll & move, rondel, set collection, variable player powers, worker placement

Funding Status: At the time of this posting, Merlin: Knights of the Round Table is already fully-funded.  In fact, pledges currently total more than 9.5x the initial funding goal.

Player Count: 2-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: low

What It’s About: A new expansion for Feld & Rieneck’s King Arthur-themed worker placement game, adding in knights with variable player powers that can be drafted or randomized with each player receiving two different knights.

How It Works: In the base game Merlin, players take on the role of one of the Knights of the Round Table, seeking King Arthur’s & Merlin’s approval, and use dice to move their Knight or Merlin along the action rondel. Each player controls their own Knight, but all players can move Merlin. Actions take place over 6 rounds, with each player taking actions until their dice are used, and scoring occurring every 2 rounds. Players compete to repel traitors, gain victory points for constructed manors, gain henchmen, and to be the player highest on the influence track. At the end of the game, players gain additional points for apples, Merlin’s staves, and every 3 unused materials.

Comparisons: Stefan Feld games are almost their own subgenre– medium-light, point salad-y games often much more about scoring possibilities and various avenues of choice versus maximizing the efficiency of a tight, boxed-in situation often found in heavier, more complex games. Some of Feld’s other, most popular games include Macao, Luna, The Castles of Burgundy, Trajan, Bora Bora, La Isla, Aquasphere, Jorvik, The Oracle of Delphi, Forum Trajanum, and Carpe Diem.

What Should I Pledge?:
$18 Merlin: Expansion 2: just the new Knights of the Round Table expansion.
$40 Merlin: Expansions 1 & 2: the new Knights of the Round Table expansion, as well as the previous Arthur expansion.
$95 Merlin: Expansion 2 + Copenhagen: the new Knights of the Round Table, plus Queen Games recent Kickstarter, Copenhagen.
$115 Merlin Bundle: All In Bundle: the Merlin base game with both expansions, plus Merlin Queenie’s 1 & 2: Treasures of the Environs & The King’s Decree.
$160 Special: Merlin Bundle + Copenhagen Deluxe: everything from the Merlin Bundle: All In Bundle, plus Copenhagen Deluxe Edition and the Copenhagen Expansion: Abilities and Missions.

Add-Ons:
None.

KS Exclusives:
The Copenhagen Deluxe Edition will not be available at retail, but will be available through Queen Games directly.

All-In Total: In the continental U.S., you’re looking at $115 for the Merlin Bundle: All In Bundle plus $15 in shipping for a total of $130. Or, if you’d also like the full package for Copenhagen, $160 for the Special: Merlin Bundle + Copenhagen Deluxe plus $15 in shipping for a total of $175.

Merlin: Knights of the Round Table completes its Kickstarter on Monday, June 3rd and tentatively ships in August 2019.