A Game of Thrones: The Board Game

Product Description

King Robert Baratheon is dead, and the lands of Westeros brace for battle. Can you claim the Iron Throne? Designed for ages 14 and up, A Game of Thrones: The Board Game Second Edition is a classic game of warfare, diplomacy, and intrigue for three to six players. Taking control of the well-known characters from George R.R. Martin's beloved fantasy series, players must fight for dominance of the realm. Will you take power through force, coerce your way onto the throne with persuasive speeches, or rally the townsfolk to your side? With opportunities for strategic planning, masterful diplomacy, and clever card play, this game gives you a host of ways to spread your influence over Westeros.

Features

• A board game based on A Game of Thrones, a novel now adapted to an HBO series
• 3–6 players take command of the Great Houses of Westeros
• Updated second edition, incorporates elements of past expansions
• Features a streamlined rulebook and updated art
• Includes welcome new enhancements like Tides of Battle cards and player screens

Top Reviews

I love this game
by David Harms (5 out of 5 stars)
January 26, 2018

I love this game. Bought it a few years ago and it ended up with a friend, so I bought a new copy a few weeks ago and all of the pieces are of the same high quality as my last set. Two words of caution:
#1. This game will seem extremely complicated to people that aren't used to strategy board games (i.e. they haven't played anything with more complicated rules than Catan). I tried playing with a group of friends that were new to the game, and after explaining the rules and a few beers later, everyone pretty much gave up on learning and we didn't end up playing. You'll need determined / patient new-comers or more experienced board game players to actually sit down and play it through, as it is a 2hr+ minimum game.
#2. Once you get really into the game, some sneaky moves might end up damaging your friendships. I had a couple friends pissed at me for days for sneaky Greyjoy play they didn't expect, and we haven't played since.

If you're looking for a top 5 strategy board game, enjoy longer (2-4hr) game sessions, and can find good groups of friends to play with, you'll absolutely love this game.
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This was a fantastic board game but be warned
by Eddy Wu (5 out of 5 stars)
August 1, 2018

This was a fantastic board game but be warned... it is a very in-depth board game as well. I love complex and strategic games where players have to think through all their options and adjust their strategies as the game changes.This game definitely delivers on that!

As warned above, this game is very in-depth and complex. The rule book can appear very scary and large compared to most other games. Do not expect this game to be a quick or simple game. My recommendation would be to read the rule book thoroughly and watch the video on Youtube by Fantasy Flight Games on how to play. Teaching the game to new people is always the hardest part.

But, once you start to play the game flows very smoothly. The first few turns may be a bit rough but once everyone understands the mechanics, the game really picks up and becomes a ton of fun. Alliances are made, bets are cast, and battles are fought.

However, I will have to say that the game plays best with 5 to 6 players. With 5 to 6 people, there are less advantages for the south players and the game really becomes a game of diplomacy, strategy, and deal-making/breaking. I have played two games (one with 4 players and one with 5 players) and the 5 player game was the most enjoyable. The most fun is going into a backroom with a potential ally and planning out your intricate strategy and hoping your opponents can't counter. Additionally, no prior knowledge of Game of Thrones is needed. Reading the books or watching the show certainly adds flavor to the game but is not needed.

Although there are some minor flaws, the game is by far one of the best I've ever played. It is deep, complex, strategical, and very fun. I would definitely recommend!
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Amazing game that takes a long time to play with many small rules you might miss
by Dan (4 out of 5 stars)
November 15, 2018

A Game of Thrones board game is one of my favorite games to play but has many things that can cause you to be frustrated. Firstly, the theme itself is great and connects very well to the GoT universe. The gameplay is very well designed and gives many choices for strategy. While the goal is to reach 7 strongholds/castles, you can get there slowly over time or by building up your army and going in for the victory in a single turn. I think it's important to make allys and also betray people (except when you are the one being betrayed) as the game can be a bit slow without it. Component quality is great and the art on the cards are also good.

Despite the praise it gets, I have issues with the length of the game. While it isn't designed to take 4+ hours for a play through, this often happens because many players get analysis paralysis (not the game's fault). Additionally, the game has so many little rules that you tend to forget, such as how ports work or how support works. Often times we would discover some rules in the middle of a play through, screwing over people that were affected before we found out about the rule. The rulebook itself isn't bad, and it comes with a summary guide to help, but there's just so many little things that can cause confusion. This is sort of expected for a medium/heavy game like A Game of Thrones, but it's still frustrating to go through at times.
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Betrayal and Mayhem
by David J (5 out of 5 stars)
June 10, 2017

If you're not careful, this game will turn you and your friends into the cast of Game of Thrones. It's incredibly fun playing the Risk-style war games, but it's even better vying for the Throne, the Raven and the Sword. These tools can tip the game for or against you at pivotal moments, and if the wildlings attack that just makes the game more interesting as it briefly turns from competitive to cooperative. Just don't trust your friend who says she'll help you defeat the army invading you. She really just wants your land for herself! Great fun!
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Up there with Catan for me, excellent game - high replayability factor
by Amazon Customer (5 out of 5 stars)
October 28, 2016

Easily top three favorite games to play with friends, family, or both! Your first playthrough will be interesting and may take a while. Ours took about four hours, but game two only took 90 minutes. We can now manage to complete a game in about an hour with four people.

Well balanced, for the most part, all the houses feel unique. Alliances form quickly and dissolve even faster. This game is great for strategy enthusiasts and the casual player alike. Highly recommended, even if you don't watch GoT!
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Strategy first GOT Second
by Family Man (4 out of 5 stars)
February 1, 2019

This is a grand strategy game that can be confusing at first because it has lots going on. You always worry that themed games are going to rely on the name to sell copies, but that is not the case here. Turns can take along time which will extend the game session the first couple play thorughs as everyone figures out what they are doing and lots of rule book references are looked at. Overall the game is well done and uses the GOT theme almsot perfectly.
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One of the best board games ever made...
by The Shrunken Headsman (5 out of 5 stars)
January 18, 2013

Simply put, this is one of the best board games ever made. I've been a boardgame geek now for about ten years, and I've played well over a hundred different board and/or card games (mainly European) from every existing genre. I also own several games, and A Game of Thrones: The Board Game Second Edition (GoT) is one of the only games I would never even consider trading or selling.

The Facts:

The game plays three to six players. The rule set is actually considered simple for a war-strategy game (less complex than Axis and Allies yet slightly more complex than Risk), and anyone can learn the basics in under half an hour of instruction. Otherwise, the rules manual is very well organized and easy to follow if a newbie would rather just read it. A typical six-player game (recommended) can last anywhere between four and six hours, depending on the players' experience. The game does have a finite clock set to ten rounds, so even heavy "analysis paralysis" amongst players won't make the game last forever. Fans of the HBO series and/or books who have not completed the story need not fear of spoilers as the game does not deal with any actual events from the books (it does reveal the names and associated Houses of characters and places through book three, but nothing that's going to spoil anything for you). An optional card deck called "Tides of Battle" is also included, allowing for a more Risk-like element of luck to be utilized when playing (actually quite fun). The 2nd edition of the game includes the Southern Expansion as part of the main board, as well as those updated rules and corresponding House cards. This edition does NOT include the most recent expansion.

The Pros:

For the most part, GoT has a very taught rule set, minimizing loopholes and/or contradictory rules that plague many lesser war strategy games. After a couple play-throughs, I also found most of the rules to be quite intuitive and easy to remember. This is a HUGE plus for a game with so much going on, and because there is so much going on at any given time, GoT is incredibly engaging. Hours really do seem like minutes when playing. I've had six-hour sessions only to be frothing at the mouth to play again. one of the more fun scenarios of the game is when every player must bid against one another on the influence tracks. Sometimes the bidding wars are more fun than the actual combat! Another plus to this game is its beautiful design and artwork. No expense was spared on what you receive out of the box, making it intrinsically worth every penny.

The Cons:

After about ten play-throughs so far, I've really only found one potential gripe, and many may not even consider it to be a negative. Basically, the game can be so much fun at times that an easy trap for a player (especially a newcomer) to fall into is to lose sight of the object of the game, which is to acquire the most castles and/or strongholds by the end of round ten (acquiring seven makes for an immediate win). If that is not your ultimate goal, then you're not really playing the game. Often times players will spend most of the game either backing an alliance that they've struck or carrying out personal vendettas, forgetting that they themselves must have the most castles to win! Though that can be frustrating for competitive players, it also just points to the game's extreme fun factor. You really can lose yourself in it.

So if you're a fan of the books/series and you appreciate an accessible war strategy game, then GoT is a must-have for your game closet. My friends and I now dedicate entire days (or nights) to convening for a session or two, and never have we walked away without grins on our faces. The board game that put Fantasy Flight on the map is still one of the best games of the last decade.
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Complicated - But Great High Strategy and Good Theme
by Jack (4 out of 5 stars)
May 8, 2019

I've played dozens of games of this board game, and most of those were with the same group of 6 people over the span of a few weeks. I really enjoy this game, but it should be noted that it is NOT an easy game to explain, and the rules feel a little clunky at times - I still need to review ports before I start a game. That said, within those rules is a really terrific game for the theme - A Game of Thrones.

If players know the rules pretty well, games last about 2-2.5 hours minus setup time (though if players are reasonably confident with rules the setup is actually pretty quick). The game is broken into phases - secretly placing orders on each of your units, revealing all of the orders on the map, and resolving them. There is a huge amount of strategy involved in order placement, and the orders themselves (particularly supporting) can help instigate alliances or promote betrayals.

On the first few plays, the game feels a bit unbalanced toward Greyjoy, and to a lesser extent, Baratheon. After our first 5 games, we started to keep track of who was winning and with what house. Our results generally showed that Tyrell and Stark were the two strongest factions, followed by Baratheon and Greyjoy, then Martell and Lannister. Greyjoy's new player advantage mostly stems from that new players are generally too nice to fight each other until late game, generally forgetting what game they're playing (you win or you die). Tyrell is simply better at breaking stalemates and winning on time, and Baratheon is strong simply because other players tend to ignore them. Lannister is not super strong, but if played like a Lannister can do really well. That said, once everyone has a few games under their belt, the balance issues are not as prevalent, and expansions really help that fact.

The base game is really only balanced around a 6 player game. A Feast For Crows expansion helps that a bit for cheap, and the new Mother of Dragons adds a lot of new elements, namely making lower player counts much more tolerable and thematic. Your enjoyment of the game is also really dependent on the group you're playing with. You really need to be comfortable with backstabbing, lying, and getting mad with each other. I've played with a group that was really good about this and it's some of the most enjoyable board game experiences I've had, but I've also played with close friends who were incredibly passive and it was much less enjoyable.

In summary, if you're a casual board gamer who is intrigued by the theme - go watch some YouTube videos of gameplay and see if this level of complexity is for you. If you want a board game that takes a bit of time to get the hang of, but is as close to feeling like Game of Thrones as any game could be, then this is a terrific game. This is not a party game for casual fans of the show (it actually came out before the show even started), but is a great game if you can get 6 good people together for a night of it.
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An Amazing Game that Captures the Essence of the Books
by Cody Carlson (5 out of 5 stars)
January 16, 2014

George R. R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" book series is absolutely wonderful. It succeeds largely by presenting a grand, epic scope of wars and conflict, dragons, and wraiths, but also manages to create interesting characters and tell intimate stories. Other key factors in the books are treachery, intrigue, and betrayal. Fantasy Flight Games' "A Game of Thrones: The Board Game" manages to recreate all of the thrilling adventure of the books, but most importantly offers that same great sense of back-stabbing and double-crossing.

Up to six players take on the roles of the book's great houses, each with their own geographic starting lands on the board. Each player commands units which can then attack other players in an attempt to be the first to capture the most castles. The problem is that with supply caps no one house can become powerful enough to conquer the needed objectives on his own, and so must rely on the help of others to succeed. This is dangerous, however, as someone who appears to be winning can easily face the treason of his friends.

Game play resembles that of another great game, Avalon Hill's classic "Diplomacy." Players place action tokens near their units face down, then reveal them more or less simultaneously. This allows one player to promise another player the support of his military units, only to reveal that he has betrayed him at the critical moment. It is an absolutely wonderful game mechanic that will will either cause the object of your treachery to hate you until the day you die or howl with laughter. (Seriously, you don't want to play this game with people who take things like this far too seriously- you will lose friends). Other mechanics involve auctions to gain coveted positions in the kingdom, each with their own abilities, and the threat of Wildling attacks from north of the wall. Various other cards allow you to take certain actions each turn in a really interesting manner.

All told, "A Game of Thrones: The Board Game" is just a thrilling adventure that will provide hours of entertainment with each game. Check it out- after all, "Winter is Coming!"
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Excellent simulation if you have 3-5 players
by Superwildcatfan (5 out of 5 stars)
January 8, 2017

Excellent simulation if you have 3-5 players. For those expressing disgust/anguish over this game: there are MANY videos on youtube describing the game, strategy and progression. Be sure to spend 30 minutes reviewing those and you will come to the game ready to contribute and hopefully help someone else who has some questions about setup, turn progression, etc.

If you're a fan of this series, you should LOVE it. There are many opportunities for alliances, deception ploys, spite, etc - note these terms have specific meanings for gamers. The theme is strong is this game.

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