Carolingi (2024)

Overview

Winter 830: Disaster looms. The vast realm of Charlemagne threatens to fall apart under his son and successor Louis the Pious. Charlemagne's grandchildren are already competing for the throne, pushing their father aside. Strife and rebellion abound—the once stable kingdom is on the verge of war. Is there still hope for peace?

In Carolingi, the players assume the roles of the grandchildren of Charlemagne; they are the "Carolingi", who must live through the difficulties and central aspects of early medieval rule. The "Carolingi" have to wield their power by fealty of the nobility. The nobility, in turn, expect to be rewarded with vast estates, so the Carolingi have to seek more and more land and resources, but as the power base of one Carolingian gets stronger, so does the envy and greed of his royal siblings. There's need for action for the Carolingi, but not everything can be done at a time. Only prudent action will bring peace and stability to the realm.

The board shows the countries and regions of Carolingian times, and the game features an innovative system of action that guarantees an exciting, effortless gaming experience. Each game year consists of four quarters; in each quarter the players add two of their (wooden) action tiles to a bag, from which they are later drawn one at a time. This results in unpredictability (true to its time).

The game includes a competitive version and a semi-cooperative version.

The game ends when a player manages to declare peace successfully. The semi-coop version can alternately end in chaos.

—description from publisher