Kingsburg

This is my first strategy for all of you to see and as such it is my greatest, unbeatable, unparalleled, masterful...you get the idea.  I have played this game many many times and won it I dare say every time.  Is this strategy flawless you ask...sure why not.  It always works for me against many people many other strategies some times it is closer than others.  But you did not come to hear about my greatness you came to gaze upon the strategies at hand.

Now, I will point out that this strategy includes the expansion To Forge a Realm (so if you don't have it these strategies won't make much sense and I will also tell you GET IT, it makes the game 10 times better).  First, you need to decide on the governor you wish to use and if you want to replace any rows.  Since it is random it is hard to point out a proper strategy for this.  Basically, the strategy will work regardless of your choice.  Though, when choosing a governor go for the ability that lasts that entire game.  A quick boost might sound nice but after it is used up the others will still be taking advantage of theirs.  If you have a governor that boosts combat, TAKE IT.  I cannot stress this enough, winning combats is the number one way to win this game.  Any boost that helps with this is worth taking.  You lose even one battle you might as well throw in the towel, your game is over.  As for optional rows, if you have the replacement for row B (the holy buildings) I would take it as well as the replacement for row E (the second battle oriented one).  The basilica is a good replacement for the Cathedral because it is far less costly and the Cathedral only gives you one additional point.  The replacement for row E gives you a great combo with the small palisade and griffon ranch.  Out of the three seasons in a round you are bound to get less than a 9 once or twice, with this combo you get the two for one deal.  Now, the replacement for row D (the first battle row) is also nice because you get a free peak in rounds 4 and 5 which are the toughest battles but most rewarding.  And the Alchemist Guild is cheaper than the Wizard's guild, but the difference is substantial compared with row B.  If you take a governor that doesn't worry about resources that much stick with the original.  If you need something more cost effective take the replacement.  Now, the other row replacement don't matter at all except DO NOT replace row F.  The crane is the most useful building you will ever buy.  Wood is far easier to come by than gold and the buildings to column 3 and 4 all have large gold costs.

Alright, now that the initial set up is out of the way on to building up your city.  First phase take stone as your free resource.  Why?  It takes the highest number to get and you want to give yourself options.  First season you want to build either a Guard Tower (stone and gold), barricade (wood), or palisade (2 wood).  This of course means you need to get wood, guard tower or not.  Luckily wood is easy to come by and if you have a 9 you got money, wood and gold right away.  To sum up, first round you need a gold or wood, two wood and a gold if at all possible.  Important thing to remember in this game, THINK AHEAD, every good strategy focuses on the overall outcome not the present outcome.  If you leave yourself with only one option in the game then you are doing it WRONG.

Now, to go through the game phase by phase would be a very long drawn out discussion.  If you need more direction please comment and I will give you specifics of a round but I am going to give you the basics here of the goal you want to reach by the end of the game.

Round 1: By the end of autumn phase you want to have three buildings.  If you can afford to buy a column 2 building go for it as long as it does not leave you closed off for options.  Right now you want to focus in rows D, E, and F (the row with the crane).  You want to have the barricade done this round, and with it's cheap cost you should have no problem.  The barricade seems useless, but the column two building is what you are after, the blessed crane of glory.  You don't really want to buy the crane first round, you are building up for it in the second.  It is great to have, but you want the battle for round 1's winter season.  Guard Tower is a must because it is an auto 1 battle.  If you have the Look Out Tower instead, the same applies.  Palisade is also good to have, if you have the small palisade it is even more important to get out of the way first season.  The regular Palisade you can pass on if you can afford the Blacksmith which will make up for it fully.  Now, in the winter, if you can play the 0 token or the 1 token.  If you play anything higher than you messed up the strategy slightly, but you can still come back it will just take more work.  There are only one 4 in round 1 so if you built the barricade, guard tower, palisade/blacksmith all you need is the 1 token.

Now, as I said, you want to have the crane done in round 2.  If you are thinking about buying a building in column 3 DO NOT until you get the crane.  Then after that buy them if you can afford them.  A good strategy to follow is to build up one row quickly leaving the others relatively low.  Then if you do not meet your desired quota of goods for the following seasons to buy a big building you can go back and fill in.  Leaving a column one open like the palisades is good in this way, or you can always buy the statue or bridge (if you have the replacement row).  The goal is to try and build every round.  It is alright to miss one round of buying if you need a column 4 building, but other than that you should be able to keep it going.  The row you want done first will probably be D (the first battle row) which will give you the great +2, no strings attached.  It is the best battle building in the game.  If you are think row C looks nice to finish, don't, it leads to battle disaster with the farms.  The first building is alright to get because it gives you those +2 tokens and can give you something to buy in a lull.  Though, after completing row D you will want to work on E (the second battle row).  And finally you will want row B (the holy row).  If you have the normal row you will probably not be able to get all 15 buildings by the games end, you will only have 14 or maybe even 13.  This is alright, it happens often because the Cathedral is expensive!  It is why that crane is so glorious though.  If you get 15 buildings with the Cathedral than you had a great game and luck is a gift that comes every so often don't let it inflate your ego, this does not happen often but you can win without it still.  If you have the basilica you can crank out 14 buildings easy and 15 with only a little trouble.  What you do with your 15th building is your call.  I prefer to buy a large building if I can, buy at that point you should have the game wrapped up.  The last thing to note, if you built up your army as I suggested by round 5 you should still have your 3 and 4 token.  The 3 token will defeat anything if you have row D and E filled so with the 4 token that is 4 points in the bag.  DO NOT tie the final battle.  Those points are crucial in grasping victory, but with the rows filled out, again, it is in the bag at that point.

So, to all my fans, Stephan hopes you are successful in your endeavor to conquer Kingsburg.  If you have further questions you can comment down below and I will answer you promptly within 24 hours.  If you have anything that you believe people will find helpful feel free to add it as well in the comments.

Thank you and remember that board games are for fun so...HAVE FUN!