Invasion: The Conquest of Kings Review

Invasion: The Conquest of Kings from Dimension Board Games is a game where players are attempting to kill the other players kings. I know what you're probably thinking; this looks just like Catan. True, there are similarities but there is also a lot of elements that separate it from Catan. When the game starts, each player will take a tile and add it to the map. When the map is set up, then they'll place castles on edges and collect those resources. Then they'll add their king. Players will roll the resource dice and collect depending on what is rolled. They can then spend their turns building roads, castles, moving units, combat, or even reviving their dead kings. Combat is done simply by rolling dice depending on how many units you have. A 5 or a 6 counts as a kill. Once the armies are gone, the king is open to be taken out. Players can also attempt to siege castles by rolling dice for those as well. The first player to collect 2 kings crown tokens will win the game.

The Good: I was genuinely surprised at how much thought and strategy went into this game. Each turn was a balancing act of expansion or combat and it was really nice. When I opened the box and saw some of the components I thought for sure I was looking at a Catan clone but once I started playing I saw that it was so much deeper. I love that it has combat and ways to expand your territories by force. The randomized map every single game is also a really nice touch. It allows for some really unique choices right off the bat.

The Okay: The game can be a very long game if you play with people who know what they're doing. As with any game like this, it can take some time but with the win conditions being pretty minimal of only needing 2 tokens, spending 2-3 hours at the table can be a bit daunting.

The Not So Good: Honestly, my biggest gripe with the game is the size of the box. It's a huge box that takes a ton of shelf space. I think that it could have easily been cut in half. It's not the end of the world but it definitely makes finding a spot much harder.

Final Thoughts: As I mentioned, Invasion was a genuine surprise. I loved that it had some of those elements of Catan but expanded on them by making it much less peaceful. I'd much rather play this over Catan any day and I think that's a huge compliment to the publisher. You can tell how much love went into this project and I cannot wait to see what else they have in store for us.