King's Gold
Overall Rating: 9/10
Age: 8+
GLAM Age Range: 6-16
Number of Players: 2-6
Playing Time: 15 min
Publisher: Blue Orange Games
Complexity: Low
Available At: Amazon.com
Quick Take: Great dice game that is easy to learn and entertaining to play. You want to end up with the most coins at the end of the game and there are often large swings in who is in the lead as you play. The game works fine with two people but it gets a bit more entertaining with additional players. A key component of the game is stealing coins from other players which is more fun when you have more options to choose from. I love the payoff of how fun this game is to play and how simple it is. Not a lot of rules to get bogged down in. Also, big points for the box being part of the actual game play so there is literally zero set-up required to play. Just open the box and go!
How to Play: Your goal is to end up with the most coins at the end of the game. On your turn you get to roll five dice with pictures of coins, cannons, skulls, and crossbones. You may roll the dice up to three times per turn, re-rolling any dice depending on which dice combinations you're aiming for. At the end of your turn you perform the results of whatever you rolled, whether it's stealing coins from another player, taking coins from the box and adding a corresponding number of coins to a central pile called the "King's Gold," or having to pay your own coins into the King's Gold as a penalty for rolling too many crossbones. There are a few other options, all spelled out on a simple and clear cheat sheet included with the game. The game is over when there are no more coins left in the box. Count up the number of coins each player has and see who is the winner!
Variations: It's easy to include younger players, just put them on a team with a player old enough to handle the strategy and basic knowledge of probability needed to play the game. The younger player rolls the dice, the older player tells them which dice to keep and which to re-roll. The younger player can perform the actions with moving coins around as well, we've had our 3 year old play under these conditions and he's done fine.
Similar Games To Check Out: Sleeping Queens, Kingdomino, Tsuro, Roll for it!