Rurik - Dawn of Kiev

Board Games – Part of what makes a great game are great components. I know many people who will buy a game for no other reason than the stuff that comes with it looks cool. For some games this pays off huge for others, well at least you got all that cool stuff right?

Rurik: Dawn of Kiev is a board game with an enormous amount of stuff included in the box. With many games you’ll either get a ton of cardboard, a ton of meeples, a ton of miniatures or some fancy gimmick/tray/system that sets the game apart. Rurik hits EVERY SINGLE ONE of those. You get well detailed large character miniatures, several poses of smaller scale troop units, trays of custom meeples, piles of cardboard and a really fancy well organized box that stores everything AND makes gameplay easier. Knowing nothing other than these details makes you really want to own it, right?

Here’s the description from the box:

“Rurik: Dawn of Kiev is a euro-style realm building game set in an 11th century Eastern European Kingdom. It features area control, resource management, and a new game mechanic - "auction programming."

You play as a potential successor to the throne following the death of your father, Vladimir the Great, in 1015. The people value a well-rounded leader, so you must establish your legacy by building, taxing, fighting, and accomplishing great deeds. Will you win over the hearts of the people to become the next ruler of Kievan Rus?

Rurik brings to life the ancient culture of Kievan Rus with game design by Russian designer Stanislav Kordonskiy and illustrations by Ukrainian artist Yaroslav Radeckyi.

In Rurik, players openly bid for actions with their advisors. Stronger advisors earn greater benefits at the cost of performing their action later than other players. Conversely, weaker advisors earn lesser benefits but perform their action quickly. This planning mechanism ("auction programming") adds a fun tension to the game.”