A kingdo(o)m of 3: Paper Prototype - Game Mechanics

Madhura Pathare

12/22/20224 min read

Setting the context

King-Doom takes place during the Middle Ages. The king has just been murdered. He was a beloved ruler who ruled the Kingdom of Harisi peacefully for many decades. The elder crowned prince was expected to become King of Harisi kingdom, but the King’s own younger brother rebelled after living in the king’s shadow. The ministers and generals sided with the vicious younger brother, and a war is fought to divide the doomed kingdom between the elder crowned Prince and the king’s younger brother. The winner takes everything, and the loser is doomed. May the victory be on the side of the rightful ruler.

Components

– Deck of 32 cards

– 3 special cards

Increase Attack – Horsemen, Increase Attack – Elephant Raiders, Suicide Bomber. These serve as power cards.

– One swap card

Objective of the Game

  • Age Group – 13+

  • Two Players – One is the King and other is the Evil Wizard

  • Conquer the kingdom rightfully or viciously by using war strategy while comandeering soldiers, horsemen, elephant raiders and archers.

  • The player that takes over enemy’s territory, gets to rule the kingdom.

Setup

  • Out of 32 cards deck, each player will get 16 cards. These 16 cards will be the player’s army.

  • From the 16 cards. players will choose 9 cards from it based on their war strategy

(Read card instruction sheet)

  • The 5 cards taken out of it will be kept aside and will be used as the game progresses.

  • Both the players will be given one swap card each.

There will be 3 special cards (Will be randomly picked by each player at start of the game)

  1. A card increases attack of Horsemen and decreases defence of Elephant raider for two turns

  2. A card decreases attack of Horsemen and increases defence of Elephant raider for two turns.

  3. A card which turns a soldier into special card where the soldier can attack the opponent’s first block and decrease 1 health from every card of that same block

Gameplay

  • Toss a coin between the players. Whichever player wins the toss, gets to make the first move.

  • Getting Started: Have a look at your armed forces i.e., your cards and decide your first move. Remember, it’s all about strategy.

  • Each block can have only 4 cards maximum and a minimum of one.

  • Rules are explained ahead (Card Sheet)

RULES

The armed forces consist of: (Card instruction sheet)

1. Soldiers – 1 HEALTH – 1 ATTACK POINTS

Soldier can attack only the cards which are placed in the immediate enemy block.Write your text here...

2. Archers – 1 HEALTH – 2 ATTACK POINTS

Archers can attack the cards which are placed in the 3rd block to the archer’s block

3. Horsemen – 2 HEALTH – 3 Attack Points to the immediate block and 1 AP to 2nd block

Horsemen can attack the cards which are placed in the 2nd block to the Horsemen

4. Elephant Raiders – 4 HEALTH – 2 Attack Points

Elephant raiders can attack to the immediate block and 1 AP to the 2nd block

5. Archers, Elephants, Horse-raider cannot be placed on 1st block to the player

6. Soldiers can be placed on any blocks

Additional Rules:

  1. The army cannot retreat, only charge forward

  2. Winner defeats the army and takes over the enemy’s territory.

The conclusion

As we worked on tweaking and playing the game prototype frequently, the concept became clearer. For the time being, the strategic gameplay and its development keep the player interested. More cards, especially special cards, can be added to make the game more fascinating and add to its intrigue.