Bretwalda is an area control game set in Anglo-Saxon England, where the player seeks to become the most powerful Kingdom and thus the Bretwalda, literally "wide ruler", or ruler of all England.
The game is gorgeous and the art style is very evocative of the period.
I've seen this style of game referred to as "Dudes on a Map"; in that case, there sure are a lot of "Dudes"!
Still more "Dudes, and some custom dice. Once again, the style is very evocative.
Markers and tokens; once again, very nicely done and evocative of the era.
Season (essentially event) cards
Player boards
Player's aid sheets
Ruler cards; different rulers have different special abilities.
Custom dice trays for the game; I went pretty all in on this one! Overall, the mechanics of the game are relatively simple, but with a LT of decisions to make!
If the manufacturer, Phalanx Games, seems familiar, they are also the manufacturer for Coalitions and its supplements.
Custom card holders, metal coins, Bishop "Dudes", and 1st player marker.
The Kickstarter for this game launched while my wife and I were watching "The Last Kingdom", based on Bernard Cornwell's "Saxon Stories", a series of 13 books. Like Coalitions, Bretwalda took a long time to materialize. My pledge was finalized in July of 2022, with an anticipated delivery date of May 2023; it was finally received in June 2026. A long wait for sure, but it looks to be well worth it. I am eager to get this game on the table as well.
Also like Coalitions, there were a lot of available add-ons. I got almost all of them! :-)
Ancient artefacts to spice up game play.
Some small terrain expansions.
Some not so small terrain expansions...
Abbeys, granaries, ports, and Mead halls, plus other upgraded markers and the like.
The Danes a re a constant force in all versions of this game, but with this expansion they are more menacing than ever!
Black Dudes, black Ravens... the Danes!
Vanished Kingdoms expansion
Lesser kingdoms to ally with or conquer... with still more Dudes! :-)
Hnefatafl, or Viking Chess, is an asymmetric game where one side tries to kill the king, and the other to help him escape.
Still more Dudes (!), this time for regular (Saxon themed) chess; I think they made the most of the most of the cost creating those injection molds!
Reviews and files for Bretwalda can also be found on Boardgame Geek. Another one for a solo play and then a FTF game to follow!
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