The King is Dead from Osprey Games

Not strictly wargaming but yesterday my copy of The King is Dead, the new boardgame from Osprey, arrived. And very pretty it is, too.

The blurb:

"The King is Dead is a board game of politics and power struggles in dark Arthurian Britain for 2 to 4 players.

King Arthur is dead. The nation is divided. The Saxons are coming.

Now, more than ever, Britain needs a ruler who can unite the kingdom, but who will take the crown? Players work behind the scenes, marshalling their limited resources to give power to competing factions and gain influence within their ranks. Players owe loyalty only to themselves, however, and are free to shift their allegiances as they see fit. Whoever has the most influence over the most powerful faction will rule Britain from the shadows. But be careful - too much infighting will give the Saxons an opening and put the entire nation at risk."

Game time is from 30 to 45 mins and it is for 2 to 4 players. You can download the rule book here.

This is the first boardgame from Osprey but more are planned with They Come Unseen, a game of submarines and subterfuge during the Cold War, due out in October, Odin's Ravens due out in February 2016 and Escape from the Aliens in Outer Space due out in May 2016.

Osprey have really branched out over the last year or two with both Osprey Adventures and Osprey Games. And both seem to be doing well if the upcoming production schedule is anything to go by. I'm a big fan of what they're doing...reasonably priced games and books with high production values and, in the case of wargames, a low cost buy-in in terms of figures. In fact, it was their release of In Her Majesty's Name a few years ago and the realisation that I only needed a couple of dozen figures to actually play that got me into wargames in the first place.

So long may their success continue!