King's Bounty Board Game

King's Bounty Board Game
Game information
Developer	John Olsen, Jamie Sassone, Robert L. Sassone, Lee McLeod, Erick Watson, Todd Winter
Publisher	Task Force Games
Series	King's Bounty
Release	1991
Genre	Fantasy
Universe	King's Bounty
Technical data
Format	Tabletop

King’s Bounty is a fantasy board game published by Task Force Games in 1991, designed by Robert L. Sassone. Based on the computer game of the same name, it features players taking on the roles of bounty hunters tracking down fugitives across a fantasy world. The game incorporates strong role-playing elements and can be played by 1 to 8 players, with both competitive multiplayer and solitaire gameplay options.

History

King’s Bounty was developed as part of an attempted simultaneous release alongside the computer game version by New World Computing, which owned Task Force Games at the time. However, the two versions were ultimately released about nine months apart, after New World Computing had sold Task Force Games to John Olsen. To avoid confusion between the two different games designed by different designers, future iterations of the computer game were renamed to the Heroes of Might and Magic series.

The board game shared its name and basic premise with the 1990 computer game designed by Jon Van Caneghem, though the board game featured different villains and mechanics. While the computer game went on to spawn numerous sequels, Task Force Games never released a second version of the King’s Bounty board game.

Gameplay

In King’s Bounty, players assume the role of bounty hunters traveling across a fantasy world map in search of fugitives.

Multiplayer

In the multiplayer game, players compete to capture fugitives and earn the most gold through bounties. The player who accumulates the most money by the end of the game (when all fugitives have been captured) is declared the winner.

Solo Play

In the solitaire version, the player continues capturing fugitives until drawing a specific character (Hagen at the dragon). At this point, the player must race against a time track to rescue a child of the ruling family before they are eaten by the dragon.

Players begin by selecting or creating a character with specific attributes and abilities, similar to a role-playing game. Each character has a reputation score and different stats that affect their performance during the game. Players also start with a certain amount of gold to purchase equipment.

On each turn, players have a limited number of action points (typically around 7) that can be spent on:

• Moving along the roads on the game board
• Searching for fugitives
• Buying items and equipment
• Preventing captured fugitives from escaping
• Collecting bounties

At the beginning of each turn, players must roll on random event tables based on their current location (city, forest, plains, etc.), which can lead to encounters with thieves, monsters, or other situations that may help or hinder their quest.

When searching for a fugitive, players roll percentile dice against the fugitive’s likelihood of being found. If successful, the player can attempt to capture the fugitive either through direct combat (dueling) or through trickery. In dueling, the player and the fugitive compare their respective attributes through dice rolls, with the player needing to win the majority of challenges to succeed in the capture.

Once captured, a fugitive must be transported to a specific location to collect the bounty. During transport, the player must spend extra action points to prevent the fugitive from escaping. A player’s reputation can affect the amount of the bounty received.

Components

The game includes:

• A large world map board depicting the land of Ry with cities, roads, forests, mountains, and other terrain
• Character sheets for tracking stats and equipment
• Tokens representing fugitives
• Cards for items, events, and contracts
• Various dice including percentile dice
• A time track for the solo game
• Gold certificates representing money
• Fugitive contract cards with information about each target

Role-Playing Elements

King’s Bounty features strong role-playing game elements that can be enhanced during play. The game includes encounter tables with various events that can occur in different locations. As described in promotional materials, players take on the persona of bounty hunters searching for fugitives such as “the dragon agronaut, half-Elven jars Vin, and Warrior Mage ben”.

The game can be used as a framework for a mini-campaign based on bounty hunter characters, with players adding additional roleplaying moments to the encounters. The design allows creative groups to expand the basic mechanics into a more narrative experience.