Winning (or Dying) in the Game of, uh… Crowns
In our previous devlogs we established that KING OF THE CASTLE is a game all about voting, where the Nobles are split into competing regions. But how do you actually win?
I’ll answer this question in just a moment. First, why not relax, take off your boots, put your feet by the fire, and really unwind by wishlisting the game?
In KING OF THE CASTLE, there are different paths to victory, depending on whether you’re playing as a Monarch or as a Noble. For the Monarch, winning is simple - you just need to hang onto the throne for long enough to cement your position of power. Along the way, there’s a few steps you need to take - the first is finding an Heir.
Securing an Heir
As our Tutorial will inform you - in one of my personal favourite lines in the whole game - “A Spouse is useful but not necessary.” Marrying a Spouse will raise Stability, raise Authority, lower Defiance, and unlock new storylines… But it’s not crucial for finding an Heir. More on the marriage system in a future update, I suspect!
Anyway, you can always choose to avoid the whole “holy matrimony” thing and instead take the more challenging path: a life of free-wheeling hedonism or religious chastity. It will make your victory more difficult… but perhaps more rewarding?
Ultimately, though, your aim is to acquire an Heir. After the Spouse storyline is concluded, one way or the other, you’ll need to find the (un)lucky kid who is destined to inherit your crown.
You can try to make a child the ‘natural’ way, elevate a bastard to royal status, adopt from among your younger cousins, or adopt a child from the orphanage. (The latter will enrage your Nobles - nobody ever said being a socially conscious Monarch was going to be easy.)
Once your Heir is secure, you get a boost to Stability, and you’re ready to move on to the final stage of winning the game…
Completing Your Ambition
At the start of the game, your Spymaster asks you to choose an Ambition - something you want to focus on improving within the Kingdom, as a Monarch.
Your Ambition can be…
Ushering in an era of peace. (Focus: Raising Stability)
Being the best Monarch ever. (Focus: Raising Authority)
Bringing to bear a new Golden Age. (Focus: Raising Trade)
Conquering the Ashmedean Empire. (Focus: Raising Military)
Being seen as the ‘parent of the nation’. (Focus: Raising Farming)
Achieving sainthood. (Focus: Raising Faith)
Once you’ve acquired your Heir, the Spymaster will return to assess how well you’ve progressed this Ambition. At this point, you will be able to choose which endgame route you want to try to achieve.
There are 6 paths to winning the game outright, each of which is associated with 2 stats and has its own unique ending. If you’re doing well on your Ambition, the Spymaster will offer you 2 paths to take, associated with the stat you were targeting already.
However, if your Ambition is floundering, the Spymaster offers you the opportunity to pivot and focus on something different entirely. Have your efforts to keep the peace come to nothing? You can flip and try to be an iron-fisted tyrant instead! Struggled to exert your authority as a mad tyrant? Cuddle a few puppies and try to win the hearts and minds of the commonfolk!
Now you’ve chosen your endgame, you just need to achieve it. You’ll be given 2 stat challenges to pass each turn. These start out very difficult, but their difficulty decreases with each passing turn. If you’re able to hang on long enough, even the most incompetent Monarch can achieve victory!
…Of course, the task of simply hanging onto your throne is complicated by the fact that the Nobles are trying to kick you off it.
Seizing the Throne
So that’s how the Monarch achieves victory. What about the Nobles?
Each region starts with a Claimant to the throne. The Nobles’ aim is to overthrow the current Monarch and crown their own Claimant. I guess the assumption is that the Claimant will be their loyal puppet, though if you choose to continue the Dynasty, you’ll see how well that goes...
When the game kicks off, the Nobles can vote on a Scheme. The Scheme’s steps are followed by manipulating the stats of the Kingdom in voting. Ultimately, the Scheme will allow Nobles to topple the Monarch, squash the other regions, and win the game.
But what if their Scheme proves too difficult? Well, the Nobles have the option to ‘flip the table’, so to speak. If their Defiance rises high enough, they can rebel… And a successful rebellion will also win the game, though during a rebellion, their Scheme will make no progress.
So the Nobles are always on a knife-edge. Always working behind the scenes, but preparing to take their treason public if necessary. We think this precarious balance is part of what makes KING OF THE CASTLE such an excellent ‘intrigue simulator’ - and we hope you agree!
This was just a very brief overview of Schemes and Rebellions. We’ll talk more about those next week.
Elective Monarchy
So, the Monarch can win by acquiring an Heir and completing their Ambition. The Nobles can win by completing their Scheme or winning a Rebellion.
What if the Monarch just… dies? In our game, as in history, it’s totally possible for the Monarch to just get gutted by a wild boar out of nowhere.
Well, in that case, the elective Monarchy system kicks in. The Nobles of the Council will get to vote on the Successor, choosing from between the two regions with the highest average stats. (They can also vote for the Monarch’s Heir, if there is one.)
Whoever wins this final, no-strings-attached vote will ascend to the throne, winning the game for their region and continuing the Dynasty!
Hey, we’re making a game about voting and Monarchy. We had to fit an elective Monarchy system in somewhere. This also adds another layer of strategy - if your region has high stats and you think you can win the final popularity contest, maybe it’s in your interest as a Noble to vote for the Monarch to fight a giant bare-handed.
…Have I mentioned yet that we’re making an intrigue simulator? Because the opportunities for treachery and back-stabbing in this game really never run out.