King of Siam – Review

King Of Siam is an area control game designed by Peer Sylvester. It is currently published by Histogame. (This review was originally published on BoardGame-Reviews.com)

King Of Siam

• Designed by: Peer Sylvester
• Published by: Histogame
• Number of players: 2-4
• Playing time: 30 min
• Player ages: 12+

A Quick Overview

It is 1874 and the king of Siam (now Thailand) has introduced some contentious reforms resulting in a struggle between three factions, the Malays, Lao and the Royalists.

To stay strong between the colonial powers of the British Empire and French Indochina, King Chulalongkorn must ensure that unity is preserved.

Players use action cards to move factions into and out of the eight Siam provinces and ensure that Siam isn’t colonized. Each card played gives a player influence in one of the three factions.

The winner is the one with the most influence over the winning faction.

Game Play

Each player is dealt the same number of cards. From these cards, the player has, on his turn, a choice to play an action card or pass.

If an action card is played, the action is taken and the player then removes a follower from any province on the board.

The provincial struggle is ended when all players pass in succession. If there is any tie between the three factions, the British arrive and forcibly take control.

The game ends immediately when the British control four provinces or after eight provincial struggles.

Observations

I bought King of Siam because it is not a widely available title and it had strong recommendations from fellow boardgamers.

It is a mentally involved game and doesn’t provide the necessary fun for me. Thankfully, it is also a very short game and can be played in about 20-30 minutes.

The scoring in this game is key to play. And the better you understand it, the better your chances of victory. Also, of the games that I have played, there have always been ties so it is also best to understand the tie-conditions too.

All in all, it is an elegant series of rules and winning conditions that make this a clever game.

Unfortunately, it is not my kind of game.

Happy gaming.