Greedy Kingdoms Review

A few weeks ago, Alderac Entertainment sent us a bundle of games to play and review, one of which was a fun and quick 2 player title, Greedy Kingdoms. We posted a “How to Play” article which is up on the site now, but basically, players are racing to collect resources using heroes, in order to build 2 Royal Palaces. The first to build 2 wins!

Two player games are sometimes hard to come by, and finding a good 2 player experience can be even more difficult. Often, two players games are limited in mechanics to make them quick, and few have found a way to add resources, and multiple layers of strategy, because they cannot seem to find a way to put that all into a 20 to 30 minute game.

Enter Greedy Kingdoms, which manages to do this very well, while keeping the concept simple and the box and components small enough to easily stash in a side drawer. Based on a game originally launched in Asia, Greedy Kingdoms has been adapted to a western audience, but maintains it’s Asian roots.

The anime look on the cards quickly dictates where this game originated, the buildings are also influenced by Asian culture. But no matter how you look at it, Greedy Kingdoms is as fun as it is pretty to look at. The development team did a fantastic job.

And the strategy is great as well. Making sure you have a steady stream or resources is fairly difficult to do, and if the cards you pick are too predictable, you won’t get far as your opponent continually blocks your attempts at advancement. But that is where special cards and building cards come into play, allowing you to collect specific resources even if your card is blocked. Stack these nicely, and you can quickly pave a path to victory!

It’s how well this game works for two players, and how easy it is to teach, that really drew me in. During our first experience, my wife and I had opened the game, learned how to play, and completed a game within 30 to 40 minutes. Our next game took about 22 minutes to complete. With deep strategy and many ways to go about winning, there is still lots of life left in this game. Thankfully, the compact size will allow us to take this anywhere we want to go.

If you are looking for a great two player experience, look no further than Greedy Kingdoms from AEG. It’s a fantastic little game with deep strategy, but with concepts that are easy to understand and manage!