by Kristian Karlberg og Kenny Zetterberg
Kalix is a brain teasing euro game that depicts the last time Sweden was occupied by foreign forces (Russia 1809). The game uses clever hand management to determine the strength of players actions. Players will ambush and manipulate invaders, as well as aid the King with the resources he demands, to keep the Russian forces at bay.
Presentation
- Time: 60-90 min
- Players: 2 – 4
- Language: Danish/English
Kalix is a brain teasing eurogame that depicts the last time, 1809, Sweden was occupied by foreign forces. Russian invaders roam the lands and are burning villages as they get closer to the city of Kalix. The King is fighting on multiple fronts (Napoleonic wars), and has requested help from the people of Kalix to fend off the ruthless invaders.
Each round, the King demands a specific resource, and players aim to contribute the most to exceed the threshold, with the top contributor earning the king's favor.
The game uses a clever hand management mechanism to take actions. Players always have 12 cards, which may be replaced by better cards. Players take turns in playing 3 cards from their hands, the 3 cards must be adjacent to eachother. The strength of the chosen action is determined by how many icons of that action are represented on the selected cards.
The actions will either generate resources for the player, or manipulate the game board which in turn will determine what the King will request in the future. In order to win, players will need to plan their actions and decide how to best use their resources.
Players earn victory points for giving resources to the King and impressing the king with various achievements. The player with the most victory points after 5 rounds is crowned the winner.
About the designers
We are Kristian and Kenny, we both live in Gothenburg and design games together. This is our 4th time competing at Fastaval! Previous fastaval-games are Feasting Fiends (which later got published as Dungeons & Dragons: The Yawning Portal), Motu-Nui and Consumed by Darkness.
We strive to create emergent experiences with innovative mechanisms, with an intuitive ruleset. We hope that our entry for this year: Kalix, will impress you and entertain you. We are looking forward to playing some games and hanging out with all of you!
Kasper has played board games for more than 40 years. As a science librarian he loves to deconstruct games and scrutinize what makes a game bigger than the sum of its parts. He favors strategy games with historical settings. Kasper first Fastaval board game design “Witch Hunt” won an Otto for best board game and was published as “Pagan: Fate of Roanoke” in 2021.
