“Lord Varys knows all,” Petyr said with a sly smile. “He will be joining us shortly.”
–George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones
Hand of the King is an all-new Game of Thrones card game that was announced by Fantasy Flight Games, back in August. The card game is for two to four players, and the game is won through the use of cunning deals and clever maneuvering. Lord Varys, the Master of Whispers, is used to gain influence over the Great Houses of Westeros, and the player with the most influence at the end of the game becomes the next Hand of the King. Hand of the King is all about making alliances while learning to know when to betray your former allies, at the same time. We haven’t had a chance to play the game, yet, but CNET has, and the site posted a fun tutorial video featuring actual Hand of the King gameplay. Check it out:
CNET describes Hand of the King as a tabletop game that works more like a “competitive sliding puzzle.” Players move the Lord Varys tile around a 6×6 grid, gathering members of the Great Houses of Westeros. “Whoever has the most members of a given House controls it, and whoever controls the most Houses wins.” According to the site, Hand of the King is easy to play, but it is also fun and mentally challenging, as players will have to make short-lived alliances, in order to block their opponents, all the while, thinking as many moves ahead as possible, without losing the plot of the game.
Game of Thrones: Hand of the King is available for purchase through the Fantasy Flight Games website, and it won’t break your bank at a price of $12.95. Fantasy Flight also makes A Game of Thrones: The Card Game, which we have played and reviewed, previously. If you are a diehard Game of Thrones fan, and you like board games, then we highly recommend you give Fantasy Flight a look, as they have games for just about every type of table top gamer.