Legends of King Arthur: A Card Game

Today's review is of the 2023 release, Legends of King Arthur: A Card Game. For 2-4 players, it takes 30 minutes.

Overview

As they did in the times of old, complete quests for renown . . . and victory! In this card game, your goal is to complete quests (represented by quest cards) by assigning one character [card] to it and adding journey cards until the quest is completed (meaning the character + journey cards collectively meet the symbols indicated on the quest card). Quests are of four different types: romance, power, mystery, and wild (which serve as any of the other three types). When one player has completed three different types (or three of the same type) of quest, the game is over and final scores are tallied. Highest score wins!

Each character card represents an Arthurian persona, and has special abilities. You may use any character to go on any quest, but you'll find that some characters have abilities that help (or hinder) a given type. So choose wisely!

To set up, the various decks (journey, legend, quest, and character, shown clockwise from top in the below picture) are shuffled in their respective piles and 1 character + 4 journey cards are given to each player. Of the decks, three quest and character cards are always displayed face up.

Setup from the how to play video linked below

Turn order is straightforward:

- play 2 cards or discard as many cards as you like

- take a special action if desired (you get 4 total for the game, and your remaining special actions count as points at games end). These actions can give you access to the legend cards and more.

- draw your hand back up to 5 cards, drawing from either the journey and/or character card decks

To go on a quest, you choose a quest (on the table, next to the quest deck) and assign a character (in your hand) to it, placing both face up in front of you. (I think this counts as playing 2 cards for that turn). You may have 3 active quests at any time. On subsequent turns, you can either play journey cards to that particular quest, discard cards, or go on another quest (assuming you have a character in your hand to do so). At your turn's end, you draw back up to 5 cards, choosing characters and/or journey cards as you desire.

When you complete a quest, you discard the character and journey cards used to do so, but keep the quest card, as it has a point value that will be tallied at game's end. Once a player has completed three quests of the appropriate type(s), everyone tallies points and highest wins.

This how to play video is helpful.

Review

My King Arthur reading focus spilled over into games. This caught my eye at a bookstore and I was excited to get it as a gift. The game is okay. It is a set collection game with some twists and an Arthurian theme. The theme is, I'll say, mildly pasted on, meaning there is some reflection of 'authenticity' to the Arthurian tales, but this game could work without it. It is ultimately about matching symbols and choosing quests that synergize with your characters. There is a heavy luck component, as you cannot see any journey cards in that draw pile.

The twists were interesting. I won't cover them all here, but you will get cards that enable you to mess with your opponents or help yourself by stealing journey cards, swapping them, and so on.

Side note: this won't teach you about the legends (as the game claims); the paragraph introduction to each character in the rules booklet is fine but hardly a substitute for reading about them. 

Overall, I thought the game was decent. Though a simple game, the rules were confusing in places and we've had to do some house interpretations. That diminished my enjoyment. And the heavy luck component minimizes meaningful decisions. It's worth a look, though, as a lightweight set collection experience.

Rating: B