For A Crown Review
A game about dentistry was never going to appeal to me. Fillings, bridges, dentures, are not my kind of board game components. Add in some warm slightly odorous breath for extra thematics, and it would be a hard no from me. Fortunately, For A Crown is actually about rival anthropomorphic noble families trying to be the wealthiest to claim the throne. Now that sounds more appealing, read on to find out more!
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Setup
If you have done your teardown correctly on your previous game set up is a breeze. Firstly give each player a chest in their chosen colour. Inside this should be a family heirloom and ten rubies. It should also contain a family portrait and clear card sleeves that need to be removed from the chest.
In the middle of the table you will place the shared board and on it, the three relevant recruitment cost tiles. Above this a market of fifteen mercenary cards will be arranged as per the rulebook. Randomly place the portraits in the slots to ascertain the starting player order. Allocate three coins to the first player, five to the last and any other player gets four coins to place in their chest.
Finally, place the included box with leftover raccoon masked bandits, rubies and coins nearby, and use the lid as a dice tray for the single die.
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Gameplay
For A Crown is a deckbuilding game where you buy cards and then play through a shared deck. Over the course of the game you will purchase five cards and play through the shared deck four times.
Cards will basically allow you to gain coins, gain rubies or destroy opponents rubies, hand out raccoon masked bandits or affect the priority (turn) order. When you purchase a card it is sleeved to identify the owner.
The events vary, but the starting event cards will either cause the player with the most bandits to lose two rubies (and all bandits), or cause players in certain areas on the priority track to lose rubies.
When you lose your first ten gems, you can then (and only then) cash in your family heirloom which is worth ten rubies. Announcing this gives players an indication of how low you are on gems and may stop players targeting you, unless you are the last person to reveal your heirloom!
At the end of the game the person highest up the priority track will gain a ruby, the player(s) with the most coins will gain a ruby, and the player(s) with the most bandits will lose one. The person with the most rubies wins.
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What it’s like
For A Crown is mean. Like Mean with a capital ‘M’. Probably meaner than that! It’s an affray of ruby thievery and bandit distribution. Generally mucking up your opponents is the name of the game! I acknowledge that won’t be for everyone. However, For A Crown is clever in that regard, it not only forces you to be nasty to your opponents, and as everyone is doing it some guilt is absolved, it also hinders any singling out. It achieves this by encouraging you to target the person who you believe has the most rubies. So the meanness doesn’t seem like bullying. Unless you want to play it that way!
It is tricky to work out who has the most rubies and with some players, the subterfuge of stating another player has loads of rubies feels part of the game. With the right crowd, For A Crown provides a great backdrop for bluffing and hilarity.
The game canters along at a nice pace and works smoothly. There are some cards that are undoubtedly better than others, especially in the final column of most expensive cards. Some may see this as unbalanced, but I quite like the mix of it as it gives further benefits of being highest in priority order. It also adds a risk factor from buying a card blind.
Going through the shared deck is exciting, and you can be left wondering where all your cards have got to, but I like that randomness as it adds drama to proceedings. I prefer this at the highest player count and wish there was a sixth player option.
There can be player elimination, but this will always be near the end of the game. The game ends at the current round if a player runs out of gems so no one is ever not playing for long. In that regard my usual pet-hate of player elimination is totally unfounded.
The tear down takes a fraction longer, as you have to remove the sleeves from all the cards, but isn’t really an issue.
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Table Presence
For a Crown could’ve been styled in a variety of ways, but what has been chosen is a gaggle of anthropomorphic animals. I understand games need to sell and the artwork will go a long way in helping a game succeed, but I am beginning to wonder if I have seen enough anthropomorphic animals now. The art is nice though and these animals in their Renaissance costumes are cute and characterful.
The rest of the production is pretty darn good. The boxes for components are nice quality, as are all the punchboard components. Would I have liked upgraded chunky plastic gems, raccoon meeples and metal coins? Absolutely! Would they be necessary, absolutely not! I’ve seen some upgraded heirloom tokens about, but can’t seem to track them down myself and although jealous, I understand they are superfluous.
I like the card sleeve designs and think this is a rather clever element of the game. I also appreciate a few spares of each colour sleeve were included, as they will get a bit of wear and tear over its lifetime.
The card iconography is easy to learn and explain and so you will be up and playing in no time!
Overall, I am impressed with what’s included in the box for the price.
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What the kids thought
Max (10): The art is pretty and I like it. I like working out what cards will be beneficial for what you’re trying to do. I also enjoy being mean to other players.
George (14): I think that For A Crown is exciting and fun. I enjoy trying to figure out how many gems the other players have and who to target. I also think the artwork shows a lot of personality and overall I really like the game.
Harrison (16): For A Crown is an excellent but spiteful game and can create some amusing moments. I especially like the communal deck-building mechanic where you go through the deck round after round. Adding in stronger cards to try and deal more damage to your opponents or help yourself. The dynamic pricing of the market and how it only restocks at the end of a round help to increase the value of having influence. Overall, For A Crown is one of my absolute favourite board games, despite never winning, and I will always be more than happy to play it!
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Final thoughts on For A Crown
I think it is fair to say For A Crown has not created the buzz that some board games get on launch. This happens inexplicably sometimes and is exemplified by everyone I have introduced it to so far, having never heard of it. I was the same when it was suggested to play at a meet up. I am delighted that I got introduced to this board game though, as I have thoroughly enjoyed my plays of it.
The light gameplay combined with high interaction and meanness is its appeal. However, I really admire how the game uses the heirloom tokens as a catch up mechanic to readdress targeting players with less rubies. It really is a clever game.
Family and friends alike have been enjoying For A Crown so I urge you to give this one a spin if you get the opportunity.
Key Facts
Number of players: 3 to 5
Board Game Review Recommended Age: 8+
Publisher’s Recommended Age: 8+
Playing Time: 35 minutes
Setting Up and Take Down Time: 2 minutes
Designers: Maxime Rambourg
Publisher: Repos Production
RRP: £12.99
Summary
For A Crown is a slobberknocker of ruby destruction with elements of bluffing and memory thrown into the mix. It’s so easy to play with oodles of interaction, so it’s an easy board game to recommend!
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Artwork and Components
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Complexity
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Instructions
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Interaction
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Value for Money
Overall
Pros
- Easy to get to the table and play
- Up to five players
- Attractive on the tabletop
- Mix of bluffing and memory
Cons
- Targeting other players
- Minimum of three players
- Cards slightly unbalanced with regard to rewards
- No sixth player
Need more games?
If you already own For A Crown and enjoy it, or are looking for other inspiration, you might also like these similar games:
- Night of the Ninja
- Courtisans
- Sheriff of Nottingham
- Hit the Silk!
Buy For A Crown
If you want to buy For A Crown after reading our review click on one of our affiliate links below (note there has been no affiliate links until this point)
Reviewer’s Note
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