Welcome to the Wild Kingdom
6 months ago
– Sun, Nov 12, 2023 at 12:54:49 PM
Hello everyone! We hope you've all had a lovely weekend so far.
We're excited to announce that we'll be kicking off a week of updates regarding the Wild Kingdom Expansion - starting right now!
Over the course of this week, expect to learn more about the new mechanisms, components and artwork through several update posts and live streams.
What is the Wild Kingdom?
The Wild Kingdom expansion is available to anyone who backs the Wild Kingdom Pledge Tier and includes a whole range of exclusive upgrades and expansion material for the base game.
We here at Eerie Idol Games wholly believe that there is enough game in the core The Old King's Crown box to last players for a long, long time. It was has been designed, developed and drawn over five years and designed to be balanced and inviting to new and veteran players alike.
The content in the Wild Kingdom then is designed for players who are looking to get many games of The Old King's Crown under their belts and who are interested & invested in pushing the systems, interactions and mechanisms further into that big, blue beyond. It is a celebration of the wilder and weirder parts of the world and design, and we're delighted to be getting to share it with you all.
How Does It Work?
Each separate part of the Wild Kingdom is designed to integrate in a freeform, mix-and-match way. Before beginning a game, this toy box of different modules and cards can be added in two ways:
A) Players may freely add them to the base game, choosing their favourite elements. Perhaps you'll just want to explore the gameplay opportunities created by the randomised map, or maybe you'll want to flood the Kingdom Deck with powerful new cards, offering everything from new ways of altering your Supporters to alternative victory conditions.
B) The Wild Kingdom rulebook will come with pre-constructed "builds" to add to the game, combining certain elements in thematically and mechanically coherent ways. One may focus on trade and diplomacy, whilst another dials up the martial and clash-based parts of the game.
Either way, as more elements are added, the complexity and wildness (though not randomness) will increase - though so to will the scope for high-level strategic play!
Module Spotlight - Putting the Town on the Map.
Wherever the Travelling Town goes folks clamour, eager to spend some time amongst its markets and lanes.
The Travelling Town module will consist of a large Location-Sized tile, a chunky wooden piece that will traverse the land, the Negotiating Table card, four Trade Agreement cards and an illustrated rules sheet, that can be referenced during play.
Let's take a look at this mysterious loping landmark and its key features:
- If included in a match it begins in a random location, drawn from the emblazoned drawstring bag (which has other uses, in other modules, which we'll discuss later in the week) - and is essentially a whole new Location to explore.
Additionally, during setup if playing with 3 or more players you can choose to add to the town, the Negotiating Table (see below), creating an alternate build of the module.
- If you secure a region throughout play, instead of choosing an area in it to receive rewards from, you can instead visit the Travelling Town. This allows you the following: gain any influence that is on the town (nice!), which it goes accruing as its trades across the map and, more powerfully, gain a new Kingdom Card from the Great Road. This will be yours to use, vastly expanding your synergy and combo potential, so long as you keep defending the town.
If the Travelling Town does not have the Negotiating Table, it may house two Kingdom Cards this way. The opportunities for creating wild and outlandishly powerful builds are huge, with a committed player doubling the size of their tableau.
However, if the Negotiating Table is in play, the Travelling Town only has one free slot. So, what do players gain instead? Well these halls of debate, of trade, of hue and cry, provide the players around the table rules for deals and trading:
- Influence, Tactics, Kingdom Cards, Supporters and any other assets may be traded between players. Additionally, they may be given or taken in payment for favours - however, in a game about ruses and bluffing what is to stop players backstabbing each other? Well, with these informal deals there's a danger of that! However, each player also has a Trade Agreement card, on which a binding contract can be made with another player - that must be fulfilled.
This opens the system up to an entire (optional) mini game of wheeling and dealing, perfect for players who wish to flex and stretch what can be won and lost in a match.
- Finally, the Travelling Town will...er...travel. Striding to a new Location in a new Region, ignoring any fortifying or pillaging cards, far below. This is no random path it follows though and with a set logic to its course, players can plan their strategies several rounds in advance.
In conclusion - add the Travelling Town to your games if you want a new valuable Location that can vastly increase a match's combo and synergy potential. Additionally, for the right group, add the Negotiating Table and scheme and sell your way to the top.
Lots More to Come in Wild Kingdom Week
We hope that you liked this look at just one of the modules in the Wild Kingdom and its various applications. We can't wait to show you more, so with that in mind here's what's coming up this week:
Tuesday 14th Art Stream (8pm GMT // 3pm EST // 12pm PST)
Join us here for another live stream, where we'll be completing The Stag card art (to catch up with this, you can watch the previous two streams here and here), as well as showing off sketches for some Wild Kingdom cards! As always we'll be delighted to answer any burning questions in the chat.
With all our streams, including the one below, if you miss them live they'll be available here to watch right after they conclude, to be viewed at your leisure, when and where you like!
Wednesday 15th Wild Kingdom Gameplay Stream (8pm GMT // 3pm EST // 12pm PST)
In this stream Andrew and I will be showing off a bunch of development components for the Wild Kingdom, covering their gameplay applications and giving a run-through of how they work on the table. Again, we'll be on hand to answer any questions that the community might have!
Additionally, right after the stream ends, we'll be making a Wild Kingdom Tabletop Simulator mod available for everyone to download and check out for themselves!
Friday 17th Wild Kingdom Secret To Be...
...wait, what's that. Something is moving out there in the snow...something bearly visible...I believe something wicked cool this way comes (I'm so sorry).
Thank you all and enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Pablo, Andrew and the rest of the Eerie Idols team.