Return To Westeros: A Game Of Thrones (The Board Game)

[Fadril Adren]

A deep red blush had appeared in the east by the time they all assembled at the gate. The stars are going out, Jon thought. When next they reappeared, they would be shining down upon a world forever changed.
–George R.R. Martin, A Dance with Dragons

This April, many of you will reenter the world of Westeros, experiencing the intrigues, betrayals, and epic battles of the game of thrones. As you sail across the Narrow Sea to set foot in King’s Landing once more, we want to take a moment to draw your attention to A Game of Thrones: The Board Game.

From the first edition of the game in 2003 to the fully updated and remastered second edition, countless players have used this game to journey to Westeros and play a part in the power struggles and intrigues that define the realm. During a game of A Game of Thrones: The Board Game, you and your friends each take control of one of the Great Houses of Westeros: Baratheon, Stark, Lannister, Greyjoy, Martell, or Tyrell. You must lead your House to greatness by conquering castles and strongholds, but to accomplish your goals, you must make deals with your friends… and inevitably betray them for your own gain.

Last year, we shone a spotlight on A Game of Thrones: The Board Game and highlighted how you dispatch orders to your armies and jockey for position on the game’s influence tracks. Today, we want to follow a different road and explore the variants that you can use while playing the game of thrones! But before that, let's review the initial game itself.... Welcome to Westeros. Welcome to 'A Game of Thrones: The Board Game'!




A Game of Thrones: The Board Game Second Edition

“There is ice and there is fire. Hate and love. Bitter and sweet… Winter and summer. Evil and good." She took a step toward him. "Death and life. Everywhere, opposites. Everywhere, the war."
–George R.R. Martin

King Robert Baratheon is dead, and the lands of Westeros brace for battle. In the second edition of A Game of Thrones: The Board Game, three to six players take on the roles of the great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, as they vie for control of the Iron Throne. Based on the best-selling A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones is an epic board game in which it will take more than military might to win. Through strategic planning, masterful diplomacy, and clever card play, spread your influence over Westeros!





The Updated Second Edition

Nearly ten years ago, FFG published A Game of Thrones: The Board Game, Christian Petersen’s gripping interpretation of the intrigue, diplomacy, and warfare of George R.R. Martin’s epic fantasy realm. Since then, the Iron Throne has changed hands countless times and in thousands of homes, with alliances broken on the battlefield and friendships strained by sudden treachery. At the same time, the A Game of Thrones: The Board Game experience gradually evolved with the release of two expansions, resulting in an epic experience that’s been printed in ten languages throughout the world.



Now, with the popularity of A Song of Ice and Fire at an all-time high, Fantasy Flight Games is thrilled to offer a comprehensive and improved version of this beloved board game.

The updated second edition brings a host of enhancements to your A Game of Thrones experience. It incorporates elements from previous expansions, including ports, garrisons, Wildling cards, and Siege engines, while introducing welcome new innovations. Convenient player screens will hide your underhanded dealings from prying eyes, while new Tides of Battle cards convey the uncertainty of war. This, along with updated graphics and a clarified ruleset, means the time has never been better to claim the Iron Throne.





Bring Westeros to Life

A Game of Thrones: The Board Game’s totally updated components will draw you into its world of sun-scorched sands, lush forests, and chilling northlands while bringing your favorite characters vibrantly to life. The board is masterfully rendered to resemble paint on distressed parchment, and the improved token and card art represents the finest A Song of Ice and Fire imagery in the industry. Finally, attractive marbled plastic figures, shaped as footmen, knights, ships, and siege engines, display your military might to the realm while contributing to the game’s high-quality aesthetic.



A Comprehensive Edition

The comprehensive second edition includes select elements of A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords expansions from the first edition. Garrisons will defend your homeland while your main force is away, and ports provide a convenient area from which to launch your naval assaults. Meanwhile, massive siege engines can accompany your footman against enemy castles, and Wildling cards ensure an added level of risk and reward when dealing with the barbarian tribes beyond the Wall.

In addition to these familiar mechanics, A Game of Thrones: The Board Game Second Edition introduces a number of all-new innovations and enhancements, including Tides of Battle cards, convenient player screens, and more!

Tides of Battle cards are an optional mechanic that brings an element of unpredictability to combat, representing erratic shifts in the momentum of war due to factors such as weather, morale, and tactical opportunity. During each combat, both players draw one Tides of Battle card from a communal deck, and its value modifies the strength of his chosen House card. What’s more, such a card may also contain icons that can affect the outcome of the battle...all of which delivers a new level of intensity to your military engagements.

Whether at court in King’s Landing or in a pavilion on the battlefield, the wise leader is ever aware of the need for secrecy and discretion. A Game of Thrones: The Board Game Second Edition includes player screens for each noble House of Westeros, useful for hiding your upcoming orders from those nearby! The front of each screen displays a beautiful art piece depicting its House, and the back provides helpful game information and setup instructions.



With a range of enhancements, updates, and clarifications incorporated into a single, visually stunning publication, A Game of Thrones: The Board Game Second Edition is perfect for fans of George R.R. Martin’s Westeros or of epic strategy!

Conquer the Seven Kingdoms

For those unfamiliar with the mechanics of A Game of Thrones: The Board Game, here is a brief overview of play:





To begin the game, each player receives an army of footman, knight, siege engine, and ship units, as well as a set of order tokens and other necessary components. Each player also receives a deck of unique House cards, which represent important characters from A Song of Ice and Fire and are used as leaders in battles against rival Houses. A Game of Thrones: The Board Game Second Edition is played over ten rounds, and at the end of round ten, the player who controls the most castles and strongholds wins. While taking control of the requisite areas may seem a simple matter of military superiority, it will in fact require a blend of might, diplomacy, and guile. Each round in the game is made up of three phases: the Westeros Phase, the Planning Phase, and the Action Phase.

The Westeros Phase represents special events and day-to-day activities in Westeros. There are three different Westeros decks, and each denotes a different global action, potentially affecting all players.



For example, when the Mustering card arises, each House may add a number of new units to the castles and strongholds that it controls. During this phase, the wildlings can grow stronger, preparing to assault the Wall and pour southward into Westeros. They may even initiate an attack which will require the joint efforts of the various Houses to repel! This persistent common threat presents interesting strategic choices: will you join your foes in a united effort against the wildlings, or will you suffer a penalty, hoping that the other Houses suffer even more?



The Planning Phase is perhaps the most important. Here you secretly assign orders to all of your units by placing one order token face down on each area you control that contains at least one unit (knight, footman, ship, or siege engine). This portion of the game emphasizes diplomacy and deduction. Can you trust the alliance that you made? Will you betray your ally and march upon him? Players may make promises to each other, but these promises are never binding. The result is tense and compelling negotiations, often ending in backstabbing worthy of Westeros!




During the Action Phase, the orders are resolved and battle is entered! When armies meet in combat, they secretly choose one of their House cards to add strength to the battle. Finally, the Houses can consolidate their power in the areas they control and use that power in future turns to influence their position in the court of the Iron Throne and to stand against the wildling hordes.

At the end of the tenth round, the player who controls the most areas containing castles or strongholds, having brought enough of Westeros under his control, is crowned winner and ascends to the Iron Throne as undisputed ruler of Westeros. Can you gain dominance over your enemies, or will you bend the knee to a false king? The time has come to defend your claim!

Tides of Battle

Tyrion wondered whether this was the last sunrise he would ever see… and whether wondering was a mark of cowardice. Did his brother Jaime ever contemplate death before a battle?
–George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

The first way to dramatically alter your experience in A Game of Thrones: The Board Game is actually included in the Core Set—the Tides of Battle cards. By using this optional rule, you make your battles for Westeros both more unpredictable and significantly more deadly.

Under normal circumstances at the beginning of a battle, both players choose a House card from their hand. These House cards represent the great lords and ladies of the House, and their leadership on the field of battle. Not only do these cards boost your combat strength, they also provide unique special abilities or the power to kill your opponent’s units.




When you choose to use the Tides of Battle module, both players draw a card from the Tides of Battle deck after choosing and revealing their House cards. These cards not only affect your combat strength, they can also introduce extra danger, including the skull icon, which inflicts casualties on your opponent whether you win or lose! With the Tides of Battle deck, you can never predict the outcome of a battle, making your negotiations and the support of the other Great Houses even more important than before.


Expand Your Intrigues

“When Aegon the Dragon stepped ashore in Westeros, the kings of Vale and Rock and Reach did not rush to hand him their crowns. If you mean to sit his Iron Throne, you must win it as he did, with steel and dragonfire.”
–George R.R. Martin, A Storm of Swords


You can also change the experience of A Game of Thrones: The Board Game with two expansions for the game: A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons. Both of these expansions are available through our in-house manufacturing and each advances the game to a later point in the storyline of A Song of Ice and Fire.




A Feast for Crows allows you to enter the story at the fourth book in the saga to engage in a special, four-player scenario. Here, you can play as House Stark, House Lannister, House Baratheon, or an entirely new entry to the game, House Arryn. Each of these Houses includes new House cards with new abilities to reflect the characters left alive at that point in the story. What’s more, the addition of neutral and House-specific Objective cards invite you to score points in additional ways. Though the Houses’ objectives can vary widely, you’ll need to understand your own goals and your opponents’ if you want to achieve victory.

Finally, you can advance the game to the fifth book in A Song of Ice and Fire with A Dance with Dragons. This expert-level, six-player scenario creates a tactical situation reminiscent of the most recent book in George R.R. Martin’s epic series. Every House is still involved in the game of thrones, but their major players have drastically changed, as reflected by new decks of House cards. In addition, new setup instructions ensure that combat is possible from the very first turn of the game and every alliance you can broker is more important than ever.

Claim the Iron Throne

Immerse yourself in the intrigues, power struggles, and massive battles of Westeros with A Game of Thrones: The Board Game! If you want even more of A Song of Ice and Fire at your game night, you can also take a look at A Game of Thrones: The Card Game. Will you be the one to unite a war-torn realm? Make your choice when you play the game of thrones for yourself.