A polarizing lightweight among the strategy games

Video at Amazon.com View Kingdom Builder is definitely a game that polarizes:
For some it's not even a game, because you just do what a map pretending one, for others it is an ingenious principle that produces a variety of strategic options of minimum Mittlen. To which group you put yourself one must probably everyone decide for themselves. One thing is certain in any case: Kingdom Builder is not a game for everyone. Why this is so, I will try to explain the following:

The gameplay is relatively simple. Before each match, four of eight Schedule parts selected and assembled them into a Schedule. Thus one has a different Ausgangsbedigung in each game. The Schedule parts show different landscapes: grass, Canyon, Desert, Flowers, Forest that are habitable, and not inhabitable castles, mountains and water and different places. In addition, three cards are placed face up, which will specify what counted in this game. This results in each game a new target and there are no set win strategies. This is in itself a good thing.

Game play is really very simple. You draw a card indicating a terrain. On this site you have to then build three houses. In the first train you can choose where, from then you have whenever possible build adjacent to his existing houses. Only if this does not work, we must build on the site at a different location on the map (by the random Spie plan there are always many individual areas of a landscape style on the entire map).
The wars that are, in principle, all the rules. This will be extended nor that one can get in the game by special plates, which one about additional settlements rely on certain types of terrain or can also move existing homes.
These special plates are then already the icing on the cake because it is the special plate with the card for this train with regard to the rest of the game and especially in regard to the rating conditions optimal use.

Some feel playing the game, just because you pull one card per round and this one pretends everything. Others find it actually perfect as shallow strategy game, because you always have to look exactly where you hinbaut his houses, so that the requirements of the next card you can not meet by chance and I can spread on the board almost at will. Had one here more cards to choose from would slow brooding over the optimal train or the optimal playing card the game well and clearly still take out more gameplay. In addition, it is the best use of special plates, so it is so that you will not just play the game. However, if you have the bad luck and in three rounds in succession draws the same terrain maps, one can ever lose the desire, but that's just bad luck. The just mentioned long Grübel can however also happen so, mostly in the central part of a lot, so there is quite a bit of downtime. Short, fast trains are then not the rule. That would not really be so bad if there was a noticeable player interaction, but the interaction with the other players apart from the rule that in a field only a house can not stand virtually given.

Thematically it must be said the issue affects very out of place. The thematic proximity to the (likewise very athematic) Dominion is well intention and pure marketing strategy, but acts, also due to the selected choice of words inappropriate. To call the Housing settlements and the Victory Points Gold desöfteren leads to confusion and does not feel natural. The game is ultimately a very abstract game, therefore more natural appearing names of the components would certainly have been better.
The price of the game is in my opinion much too high and the sales policy of Queen Games need I tell not much. Whether the publishing thus doing a favor is questionable.

Plus points of the game
+ Simple rules
+ Good Expandable
+ Very easy and fast to learn
+ Good beginner game
+ Relatively short time (10-15 minutes per player)
+ Very, very tactically

Neutral:
~ Theme is very fake
~ Game is very abstract and more of a logic puzzle
~ - Downtime and musings about the optimal train occur, but rarely

Minus points of the game
- Lack of player interaction
- High luck factor through tightening a single card
- Almost non-strategic

Whether the game is now what is a must each decide for themselves. For the right players it provides a lot of fun anyway. For proper strategists and so-called "Euro Gamer" but is likely to be nothing if because most as "filler" perhaps a little more depth than has eg Vegas.