Be a king for a day

The four things you protect as a King

• 🪙
  Treasury

  If Treasury reaches zero, your day ends early with “An empty treasury”. The vaults were empty by dusk. The treasurer is now selling the furniture, and the throne is next.

  46% of the choices in this role lower it, and 21% raise it.

• 🛡️
  Loyalty

  If Loyalty reaches zero, your day ends early with “A court in revolt”. The nobles walked out in a very well-dressed line. They left you with the cat.

  29% of the choices in this role lower it, and 56% raise it.

• 🏘️
  People

  If People reaches zero, your day ends early with “The village gates closed”. The people lost patience and stopped coming. The castle has never been so quiet.

  23% of the choices in this role lower it, and 65% raise it.

• 📜
  Legacy

  If Legacy reaches zero, your day ends early with “Forgotten by history”. Your reign slipped into a footnote. The royal historian wrote “also, there was a king.”

  23% of the choices in this role lower it, and 67% raise it.

Tips for a better day as a King

1. Do not chase one number. In every role, a day with all four meters between 50 and 70 beats a day with one meter at 95 and another at 10. As a King, the danger is rarely the big mistake. It is the quiet neglect of one meter.
2. Watch Treasury most closely. In this role, 46% of choices lower it, which makes it the meter that slips away fastest. People is the most forgiving, with 23% of choices lowering it.
3. Read your advisors as opinions, not answers. Each one backs the option that helps the meters they care about, so when they disagree, ask which meter you can least afford to lose today.
4. Look for the choice that gives you something back. Many of the best options cost one meter a little and help two others. The tempting “easy” option often costs more than it seems.
5. Remember that choices can come back. A decision in the morning may return as a follow-up situation later in the day, so a quick fix early on can be expensive at six in the evening.

A sample day, step by step

Here is one example of how a careful player might get through a day as a King. It uses six of the sixteen situations, picks the option with the best overall balance each time, and shows what each choice did. Your own day will be different, because situations are drawn at random and some choices bring follow-ups later.

1. 7:00 AM

   The bread thief

   A boy has been caught stealing a loaf of bread. The baker wants punishment. The boy’s mother is crying at the back of the hall.

   Chosen: “Make him work in the bakery for a month”. A fair, practical sentence. He learns to bake.

   🪙 Treasury +3🛡️ Loyalty +2🏘️ People +4📜 Legacy +5

   The road not taken: “Punish him as an example”. Harsh, quick and remembered for the wrong reasons.

   Standing after this call: 🪙 53 · 🛡️ 52 · 🏘️ 54 · 📜 55

2. 9:30 AM

   The dragon in the hills

   Villagers report a dragon on Mount Wren. A scout says it might just be a very large goat with ambition.

   Chosen: “Send a scholar to look first”. A careful look and an honest answer. It is a goat named Ember.

   🪙 Treasury −3🏘️ People +5📜 Legacy +8

   The road not taken: “Send the knights to hunt it”. They return, tired and slightly butted.

   Standing after this call: 🪙 50 · 🛡️ 52 · 🏘️ 59 · 📜 63

3. 12:00 PM

   A new wing for the castle

   The head architect proposes a new wing with forty rooms. You have only ever used about eleven of the rooms you already have.

   Chosen: “Reject it and mend the roof instead”. Dry feet for everyone. No ribbon to cut.

   🪙 Treasury −8🛡️ Loyalty −3🏘️ People +8📜 Legacy +3

   The road not taken: “Approve it”. It is glorious and echoes beautifully.

   Standing after this call: 🪙 42 · 🛡️ 49 · 🏘️ 67 · 📜 66

4. 3:00 PM

   Rain on tournament day

   The great tournament is today and it is raining hard. The crowd is huddled under cloaks and the knights are sliding in the mud.

   Chosen: “Hold it anyway”. A muddy, glorious, legendary day.

   🪙 Treasury +4🛡️ Loyalty +3🏘️ People +6📜 Legacy +7

   The road not taken: “Postpone it to tomorrow”. Sensible and a little flat. Nobody is quite happy.

   Standing after this call: 🪙 46 · 🛡️ 52 · 🏘️ 73 · 📜 73

5. 6:00 PM

   Sir Bertram retires

   Your oldest knight has served for forty years. He asks for a small pension and a statue of himself holding a very large sandwich.

   Chosen: “Offer a feast in his honour instead”. He weeps, laughs and eats three helpings.

   🪙 Treasury −10🛡️ Loyalty +8🏘️ People +4📜 Legacy +4

   The road not taken: “Pension, but no statue”. Sir Bertram accepts with dignity and a sigh.

   Standing after this call: 🪙 36 · 🛡️ 60 · 🏘️ 77 · 📜 77

6. 9:00 PM

   A secret passage

   While looking for your slippers, you find a secret passage behind the tapestry. It leads straight to the royal kitchen.

   Chosen: “Make it a public path for the staff”. A fun shortcut and a minor mutiny over who uses it.

   🛡️ Loyalty +4🏘️ People +6📜 Legacy +2

   The road not taken: “Keep it secret for midnight snacks”. The cook is scandalised. The pudding is excellent.

   Standing after this call: 🪙 36 · 🛡️ 64 · 🏘️ 83 · 📜 79

Situations you may face

Every game uses six of these sixteen situations, so you will not meet them all in one day. There are also 4 follow-up situations that return after specific choices and 3 surprises that can appear without warning.

• The very heavy crown. Your ceremonial crown weighs four kilos and your neck has strong opinions. A hundred nobles are waiting for the morning audience.
• The grain tax. The nobles want a higher grain tax to fill the treasury. The villagers had a poor harvest and are already counting every sack.
• The dragon in the hills. Villagers report a dragon on Mount Wren. A scout says it might just be a very large goat with ambition.
• The jester’s joke. The royal jester has made a joke about the king’s hat. Several lords are offended. The rest are pretending not to laugh.
• A bridge or a banquet. There is only enough gold for one big project this season: a new bridge over the Wren, or a grand banquet for visiting dukes.
• The foreign prince asks to see the treasury. A prince from the Kingdom of Orlen wants a tour of your treasury “out of simple friendship”. His accountant is already taking notes.
• Sir Bertram retires. Your oldest knight has served for forty years. He asks for a small pension and a statue of himself holding a very large sandwich.
• Rain on tournament day. The great tournament is today and it is raining hard. The crowd is huddled under cloaks and the knights are sliding in the mud.
• The bread thief. A boy has been caught stealing a loaf of bread. The baker wants punishment. The boy’s mother is crying at the back of the hall.
• The duke’s wedding. The Duke of Marsh is getting married today. It is also the day of the flood relief meeting. The two events are on opposite sides of the kingdom.
• The royal portrait. The court painter offers two versions of your official portrait: one flattering, one honest. The honest one has a very large nose.
• The well that sings. Villagers say the well in Little Hallow sings at night and that the water tastes strange. The town physician says to stop drinking it.
• The tax collector’s report. Your tax collector delivers his yearly report. The numbers add up suspiciously well and he is wearing a very new hat.
• The cow on the border. A cow from the Kingdom of Orlen has wandered across the border and is happily eating your best clover. Both kingdoms claim it.
• A new wing for the castle. The head architect proposes a new wing with forty rooms. You have only ever used about eleven of the rooms you already have.
• A secret passage. While looking for your slippers, you find a secret passage behind the tapestry. It leads straight to the royal kitchen.

Every ending (spoilers)