Brian Boru: High King of Ireland

2021 · Card Game

Brian Boru: High King of Ireland

Players compete to unite Ireland by expanding influence through warfare, the Church, and political marriages. The game uses trick-taking as its core mechanic: winning tricks grants influence in towns and helps secure regional majorities, while losing tricks lets players perform suit-specific actions such as mustering forces, building monasteries, or arranging alliances. Players form and break alliances, repel Viking incursions, and manage shifting political opportunities to accumulate control across the map. Rounds resolve as a blend of card play and area control, with regional majorities and strategic timing determining who ascends to the position of High King.

Players
3–5 best 4
Playing time
60–90 min
Age
14+
Complexity
2.6 / 5
7.4 on Ludoyafrom $44.59MedievalTerritory BuildingClosed DraftingVictory Points as a ResourcePoint to Point Movement

About the game

Publisher

On Ludoya's tables

Full stats in Ludoya
88
Plays logged
198
Players
1h 20m
Average play
40
In collections
16
On wishlists

7.4/10

from 23 Ludoya reviews

  • Garfield7.0

    I like area control and I like trick taking. It's an interesting idea to mix this 2 mechanisms. But the game itself is not that good. I don't like how fast everything can change in the 3 areas marriage, combat and religion. 1 card can change everything. [c] Theme: ★★☆☆☆ <!-- size 7]Very little --> Gameplay: ★★★☆☆ <!-- size 7]Play cards --> Interaction: ★★★★☆ <!-- size 7]Fighting for cities --> Artwork: ★★★★☆ <!-- size 7]Nice --> Luck: ★★★★☆ <!-- size 7]Random cards --> Strategy: ★★★☆☆ <!-- size 7]You can try --> Components: ★★★☆☆ <!-- size 7]Ok --> Play duration: ★★★☆☆ <!-- size 7]Ok --> Easy to teach: ★★☆☆☆ <!-- size 7]Too long for what it is (45min) --> Rules quality: <!-- size 7]not read --> Setup time: ★★★★☆ <!-- size 7]Fast --> No downtime: ★★★☆☆ <!-- size 7]Ok --> Replay value: ★★★☆☆ <!-- size 7]Random cards, different strategies --> [/c]

Read the reviews and rate it

Rules questions

Answered from the rulebook by Ludoya's rules assistant.

Who wins a trick — how is the winning card determined?

The trick is won by the player who played the highest-value card in the colour matching the active town; royal (white) cards are wild and count as the town colour (pp. 5, 7).

Who takes actions after a trick, and in what order — does the trick winner act first?

Actions are taken in ascending card value order (lowest to highest); if a player won the trick they perform the card's primary action, otherwise they choose one of the card's secondary actions (p. 5).

When does the action phase end and what happens to leftover cards?

Play tricks until each player has only one card left in hand; then discard those remaining cards and proceed to the upkeep phase (p. 5).

How does the Marriage step work and what are the Princess of Denmark options?

The player whose disc is highest on the marriage track takes the marriage card and immediately gains its listed benefits, then their disc returns to the bottom of the track; the Princess of Denmark gives a choice of military support, establish trade, or be spurned (gain 4 points), each with specific effects on how Viking-controlled towns count (p. 8).

How do Viking incursions and spoils work — who loses towns and who scores renown/points?

If Viking raiders are present, the player(s) with the fewest Viking tokens lose town(s) to the Vikings and the player with the most Viking tokens places the Viking control token; afterward the player with the most Viking tokens gains a renown and scores points equal to their renowns (returning their tokens), and then the current leader(s) each gain one point and return a token, with ties modifying or cancelling these rewards (p. 9).

How are claim tokens flipped and scored — do monasteries or Viking towns count?

Flip face-down claim tokens if the number of towns in that region meets the token threshold (towns with monasteries count as two); face-up tokens go to the player with the most towns in the region (ties leave the token), and Viking-controlled towns count for claiming/flipping depending on the Princess of Denmark choice (pp. 9, 10, 12).

Opens Ludoya's rules assistant, which reads this game's rulebook.

Game facts (players, playing time, age, credits) from BoardGameGeek.