\nKings<\/a><\/h2>\n
reviewed by Moritz Eggert<\/p>\n
Eggo stared at the huge Valley before him, puzzled. “So what is this all about?” he
\nsaid, looking quizzically at the famous Alan E. Paull with two “l”, who stood next to
\nhim.<\/p>\n
Alan stroked his beard.<\/p>\n
“Well, it’s all a game”<\/p>\n
“I could have guessed THAT, my friend…”<\/p>\n
“‘A game of thrones’, to cite the great George R.R. Martin. You see, they all want
\nto climb that hill over there!”<\/p>\n
He pointed his finger to the top of the hill, where a throne sat on a stone pedestal. Down the
\nslope before it were several rows of circles, 14 of them, in increasing width: 2, 3, 4, 5. For now
\nthey were empty, but Eggo had a feeling that they would fill up soon.<\/p>\n
“Alan, this whole place reminds me of…”<\/p>\n
“Eire! Ancient Ireland! A place fit for the ARD RI! The High King of Tara! Do you recognize
\nthe classic shamrock shape of Ireland? 4 regions, each ruled by a king. But one king to rule them
\nall! The High King!”<\/p>\n
Eggo was impressed by the grand theatrical gestures that Alan E. Paull employed in his
\nspeech.<\/p>\n
“But I remember Tara – I was once there, it’s just a grassy little knoll with a few
\nholes in it.”<\/p>\n
“But here you can revel in its former glory! A hill to rule the known world.”<\/p>\n
A loud “baaa” interrupted Alan’s speech. A huge herd of…sheep?…entered the
\nvalley. Eggo wasn’t sure – were these sheep? Or pigs? Or cattle?<\/p>\n
“Ahhh, the Cumals, the fuel of the game. Without cumals the king can not pay his
\nunderlings! They’re cows, actually, but the ancient Celts weren’t that great in drawing
\nanimals.”<\/p>\n
“You mean they represent some kind of money?”<\/p>\n
“Yes, dear mysterious game reviewer. Cumals pay for the insertion of the pieces, or rather
\nsupporters of the king. Up to 4 different factions vie for control of the 4 areas of Eire. The
\nperson who controls 2 kings will win this game!”<\/p>\n
A large hand appeared from out of the sky and took a couple of cumals who responded with a loud
\n“Moooo”.<\/p>\n
“Ha, somebody has taken my challenge. The game is afoot!”<\/p>\n
From out of nowhere two farmers appeared and took positions in the lowest row of the circles,
\nlooking slightly dumbfounded. Between them was an empty circle.<\/p>\n
“Any reason why they stand just there?”<\/p>\n
“Yes! There are cards which show various circle positions, and the exact pieces that can be
\nbought for cumals. The higher up the rank the more cumals will have to be paid. And the positions
\nhave to be free; only if they’re not one can put a piece on top of another piece, thereby
\ncapturing it. Or even put a piece on top of one of your own pieces, thereby creating a temporary
\nprotection, a fortress.”<\/p>\n
![\"board\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.westpark-gamers.de\/Ressourcen2\/tara_sok_b1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
While they were talking several more pieces appeared in various positions on the circles. The
\nrows seemed to be associated with several professions. The lowest and most busy row was the row of
\nthe farmers. Then came the Herdsman, slightly arrogant with their little shepherd’s sticks,
\nthen the warriors, in elegant orange, and then the chieftains, with their shiny snake shaped
\nbracelets. Suddenly there was a commotion – the pieces became very excited.<\/p>\n
“What’s happening?”<\/p>\n
“Oh, it’s the ingenious mechanic of the game in action, if I may say so myself. You
\nsee: once there are two of your pieces of a type next to each other after an insertion, you can
\nmake a promotion!”<\/p>\n
“How does that work?”<\/p>\n
“Another piece is created in front of the two pieces, in the next row, capturing other
\npieces that might be there, or liberating one of your own captured pieces in addition. All you have
\nto do is pay the cost of the card you used again.”<\/p>\n
“And what if this creates another pair in front of you?”<\/p>\n
“A good question: there might be an endless avalanche of promotions – and the beautiful
\nthing is, now they’re free! The sky is the limit!”<\/p>\n
While he spoke the landscape changed dramatically in front of them, as one colour suddenly
\ndominated the valley. Several captives where taken at once! After a short silence a little black
\nman appeared, negotiating with one of the chieftains. Suddenly four cumals dropped from the sky.
\nThe chieftain nodded and waved with his arm. With this several captives were freed and they could
\nbe seen dancing little joyful jigs before wandering off.<\/p>\n
“Their player has just paid for Amnesty, freeing all his pieces. These guys don’t come
\nunlimited – they might have better luck in the valley over the hill, but their journey will cost
\nthem 2 cumals!”<\/p>\n
Eggo watched, fascinated, as piece after a piece began to appear, an endless parade of
\ninsertions and promotions. Suddenly a silence fell over the valley.<\/p>\n
“What’s happening?”<\/p>\n
“The round is at an end. And there might be traitor among them.”<\/p>\n
The pieces looked at each other nervously, scraping their feet.<\/p>\n
“If the second most powerful player has one cumal left he can bribe some of the pieces,
\nthereby changing the board considerably, but it seems none had the guts.”<\/p>\n
The two chieftains in front of the throne looked considerably relieved. They turned to the
\nthrone and lifted two trumpets.<\/p>\n
“Now it is time for the king – the two positions in front of the throne are controlled by
\nthe same player, so a king can be elected”.<\/p>\n