Gameplay

Players command troops over a 3-D recreation of Hastings. Harold commands a mix of fyrd troops and powerful housecarls. However, he has few archers and no cavalry. William’s infantry is outnumbered, but he has far more archers. The pride of his Norman army is a large company of knights. Alan the Red commands his left flank while fitzOsbern and Eustace command the right flank. Harold’s brothers Gyrth and Leofwine serve as his senior officers.

Game pieces with have corresponding cards that detail their stats and abilities. The cards will use images from the real Bayeux Tapestry. Combat involves a D-20 system, and will mix turn based decisions with real time gameplay. Harold and William give out orders using a turn based system, but the orders are followed in real time. As the battle progresses, players will have to rely on their senior officers to coordinate changes in plan. Troops that are positioned closer to officers will follow orders faster and more accurately. Some troops are prone to charging without orders, especially if no officers are nearby.

Features:

Elevation: Saxon army begins on top of the hill. Troops on higher ground receive an elevation bonus in combat.

Fatigue: soldiers lose movement points as the fight drags on. The Saxon army begins with fatigue from its long march, offsetting the elevation advantage.

Morale: The events of the battle impact morale bonuses. If too many nearby allies die, some soldiers may rout. Drive off an enemy attack, and morale can soar! The presence of a general or senior officer grants morale bonuses to nearby troops. Be careful: if a senior officer dies all the troops in his flank receive a permanent morale penalty. If your general dies, your whole army gets a massive morale penalty.

Real Characters: Each general and senior officer begins the game in a historically accurate position. They will all receive special abilities that reflect the real events of the battle. William can remove his helmet to prevent routs. Harold can inspire his royal housecarls to fight to the death if Gyrth and Leofwine have fallen.

Historical Troops: Equipment, abilities, and stats are based on the real battle. Housecarls can be positioned adjacently to form a shield-wall. While the shield-wall is very hard to break, William’s marksmen can spend movement points preparing a more accurate shot - they just might hit an important soldier in the eye! Norman knights can attempt a false retreat to bait a charge.

Battle of Kings is themed around Legend vs History. We know that the events at Hastings weaved the webs of fate for 1,000 years. Yet there are still things about the battle that we don’t know: for instance whether Harold really died from an arrow to the eye. By writing their own version of history, players will see how myth and fact interweave.

Please note that we may put our Pre-Production titles on hiatus to focus on extensions for our core title.

Images sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bayeux_Tapestry_scene57_Harold_death.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Odo_bayeux_tapestry.png