Kingdom Run – Ankama – Review

April 11, 2020

109

Certainly, give it a look if you want something to entertain the kids but also if you’re just looking for a fun filler for an open-minded group

Jordan Macnab

MeepleGamers

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Publisher: Ankama

Designer: Eric Claverie

Artist: Jiahui Eva Gao

Game Type: Childrens Game

Game Type: Racing

Game Type: Fantasy

Initial Year of Release: 2018

Age Range: 7+

Expected Playtime: 15-25 Minutes

Number of Players: 2-4 Players

Theme and What is it?

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Every hundred years the animals of the kingdom of Ewala compete to become rulers of the land by winning a race hosted by the current King.

The players take control of one of the animal races and use the luck of the dice, wit and strategy to be the best and the king of the land for the century to come.

Gameplay Mechanics

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To compete in the race players will choose their faction to navigate around a randomly selected map. The map itself doesn’t really change the way the game plays. It just adds a small amount of variety to the look and flow of it.

Each turn players roll 4 dice which dictate the actions you can do. You can also re-roll any number of dice once per turn if you don’t like the results. The actions consist of moving your own characters or moving the opponents. Moving an opponent’s piece can open avenues for you to jump forward in spaces. For example, each space can only hold 4 pieces at a time so if you should land on that spot with one of your pieces if automatically jumps forward to the next available space.

Play goes on like this until all four of a player’s characters has reached the finish and you are declared the winner.

Initial Impressions

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Kid’s games have never been my thing; However, I do have two young girls so I like to keep my options open and my eyes pealed for games that will appeal to the younger generation. Just from the box art and the components I knew this would be something they would love.

Game Build Quality

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The components are simple but so cute, it’s very much an abstract style of bits and pieces but they all feel substantial and satisfying to move around the board. The nice are excellent quality and the card stock is where I would expect it to be.

Artistic Direction

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I’m a big fan of bold colours and fun artistic style so Kingdom Run ticks all these boxes. The box art alone is another to catch the attention of adults and kids alike, but the cute characters are just a pleasure to push around the board.

Fun Factor

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I have thoroughly enjoyed every game of Kingdom Run I’ve played. My girls love it and the adults I’ve played it with have also enjoyed too so it has it place in all groups. Obviously, for the adults it was more a filler game, but the kids could play it over and over again.

Age Range & Weight

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I would personally say the age is absolute right based on the kid of game it is and the minimal amount of text to negotiate through. Once kids understand the different actions they seem to just go with the flow.

The time to play is about right too. The first few games certainly took longer to play but after that you could easily crank out a game in 15 minutes even with 4 players.

Conclusions

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I must say I was pleasantly surprised how much everyone who has played this game enjoyed it. I find that smaller games or fillers can often be very hit and miss but Kingdom Run seems to find its place within any group or demographic. The art style, component quality and simple but effective rules sit well with everyone.

The price point on this one is low, but the amount of enjoyment you’ll get out of it means you’ll get every penny worth. Certainly, give it a look if you want something to entertain the kids but also if you’re just looking for a fun filler for an open-minded group.