How to Play

Paladins of the West Kingdom

1-4 players 90-120 min 8.0 Board Game Geek Rating

Players assume roles of nobles in 900 AD West Francia, defending against Viking and Saracen threats. Each round, recruit a Paladin and gather workers to build outposts, fortifications, and commission monks while confronting enemies. Actions become more significant as faith, strength, and influence grow. Victory goes to whoever accumulates the most points after seven rounds.

Published 2019

Paladins of the West Kingdom

Get Ready

Setup the game with these step-by-step instructions before diving into your turn.

1
Assemble the main board
Connect the 2 pieces of the Main Board to create the central play area
2
Prepare Townsfolk cards
Shuffle the Townsfolk Cards and place them facedown as a draw deck on the left side of the Main Board, then reveal 5 cards face-up above the board
3
Prepare Wall cards
Shuffle the Wall Cards and place them facedown in the center of the Main Board as a draw deck
4
Set up Tax supply
Place 5-8 Silver on the Main Board based on player count as shown by the icons (this is the Tax Supply)
5
Prepare Debt cards
Place Debt Cards with "Unpaid" side facing up as a draw deck on the upper right of the Main Board
6
Prepare Suspicion cards
Shuffle Suspicion Cards and place them to the right of the Debt deck
7
Prepare Outsider cards
Shuffle Outsider Cards and place them facedown on the right side of the Main Board, then reveal 6 cards face-up below the board
8
Set up King's cards
Shuffle King's Order Cards and place 3 facedown on the left of the Main Board; shuffle King's Favour Cards and place 5 facedown to the right of the King's Orders (return unused cards to box without looking)
9
Prepare Tavern cards
Shuffle Tavern Cards and place them facedown below the left corner of the Main Board
10
Create resource supply
Place all remaining Silver, Provisions, and Workers (Labourers, Scouts, Merchants, Fighters, Clerics, and Criminals) near the Main Board as a shared supply
11
Distribute player boards
Give each player 1 Player Board
12
Distribute player components
Give each player 8 Workshops, 7 Monks, 7 Outposts, 7 Jars (placed in ascending value order), 3 Attribute Markers (stacked on the zero space), and 12 matching Paladin Cards
13
Provide starting resources
Give each player 3 Silver and 1 Provision from the supply
14
Prepare Paladin decks
Each player shuffles their 12 Paladin Cards and places them facedown beside their Player Board
15
Determine first player
Randomly select a starting player and give them the First Player Marker
16
Initial Townsfolk recruitment
In reverse turn order (starting from the player to the right of the first player, going counter-clockwise), each player must Recruit one visible Townsfolk for free, placing it face-up beside their board; then slide remaining cards right and refill empty spaces

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

1
Round structure overview
The game plays over 7 rounds; each round, players select a Paladin and 6 new Workers, then take turns performing single actions clockwise until all players pass
2
Pass First Player Marker
Give the marker clockwise to the next player (skip this on round 1)
3
Reveal King's cards
Flip any King's Order and King's Favour Cards matching the current round number (shown on green shields above card spaces)
4
Reveal Tavern cards
Draw Tavern Cards equal to player count plus 1, placing them face-up
5
Select Paladin
Each player draws the top 3 cards from their Paladin deck, keeps 1 facedown on their board's card slot, places 1 on top of the deck (seen next round), and 1 on the bottom
6
Reveal Paladins and collect Workers
Starting with first player clockwise, reveal your Paladin and take the 2 Workers shown on it from the supply
7
Select Tavern card
Choose 1 available Tavern Card and take the 4 Workers shown on it; rotate or flip the card to show it's taken (one Tavern Card always remains unclaimed)
8
Place collected Workers
Store all Workers gained this round below your Player Board
9
Perform one action
On your turn, either perform a single action by placing Workers on your Player Board or a King's Favour Card, or pass
10
Worker placement rules
Transparent spaces accept any Worker type; colored spaces require matching Worker colors; Criminals (purple) act as wild and can fill any space
11
Action limits
You may perform Commission, Fortify, Garrison, Absolve, and Convert actions only 7 times each during the game; Attack has no limit
12
Develop
Place 2 Workers of any type and pay 4 Silver to move your leftmost Workshop to any right-side action space (reducing future Worker costs for that action by 1); immediately gain the Worker revealed under the Workshop
13
Recruit (1 Worker)
Place 1 Worker in the left slot to discard a Townsfolk Card from the board and gain its top-right immediate rewards (pay the Silver cost shown below the card position, or take a Debt for the leftmost 2 positions)
14
Recruit (2 Workers)
Place 2 Workers (1 must be a Fighter) to add a Townsfolk Card to your crew, gaining its ongoing ability and any immediate rewards shown at the bottom
15
Hunt
Place 1 Worker to gain 1 Provision, or 2 Workers (1 must be a Scout) to gain 3 Provisions
16
Trade
Place 1 Worker to gain 1 Silver, or 2 Workers (1 must be a Merchant) to gain 3 Silver
17
Pray
Place 1 Cleric and pay 2 Silver to immediately return all Workers from 1 action space on your board to the supply (allowing that action to be used again this round)
18
Conspire
Place 1 Worker of any type to gain 1 Criminal; you must also gain 1 Suspicion Card
19
Commission requirements
Place 3 Workers (1 Scout, 1 any type, 1 Cleric) and pay Provisions (1 for first 3 Monks, 2 for next 2, 3 for last 2)
20
Commission placement
Use your Faith Attribute to determine which region you can place your Monk; place in an empty square space matching your Faith requirement and gain the printed reward plus any revealed Attribute increase
21
Fortify requirements
Place 3 Workers (1 Merchant, 1 any type, 1 Scout) and pay Provisions (1 for first 3 Walls, 2 for next 2, 3 for last 2)
22
Fortify effect
You must have enough Influence to build the next Wall; draw the top Wall Card, place it in the leftmost empty slot above your board, and gain all printed rewards (always includes at least 1 Strength increase)
23
Garrison requirements
Place 3 Workers (1 Merchant, 1 any type, 1 Fighter) and pay Provisions (1 for first 3 Outposts, 2 for next 2, 3 for last 2)
24
Garrison placement
Use your Strength Attribute to determine which region you can place your Outpost; place in an empty square space matching your Strength requirement and gain the printed reward plus any revealed Attribute increase
25
Absolve requirements
Place 3 Workers (1 Cleric, 1 any type, 1 Merchant) and pay Silver (1 for first Jar, 2 for next 3, 3 for last 3)
26
Absolve effect
You must have enough Influence to use your leftmost Jar; move it to an empty space in the lower right of your board, gain the printed reward, increase Faith by 1, and remove 1 Suspicion Card from your board
27
Attack requirements
Place 3 Workers (1 Scout, 1 any type, 1 Fighter) with no mandatory cost
28
Attack targeting
Use your Strength to determine which Outsiders you can Attack; for every 2 Strength you lack, you may pay 1 Silver to reach further cards
29
Attack rewards
Gain the top-right immediate rewards (always includes at least 1 Influence increase) and keep the Outsider Card facedown beside your board
30
Convert requirements
Place 3 Workers (1 Fighter, 1 any type, 1 Cleric) and pay Silver (0 for first, 1 for second, 2 for next 3, 3 for last 2)
31
Convert targeting
Use your Faith Attribute to determine which Outsiders you can Convert
32
Convert rewards
Gain the bottom rewards (always includes Strength increase) and place the Outsider Card face-up below your board for end-game scoring
33
Gain Suspicion
Whenever you gain a Criminal, draw 1 Suspicion Card and place it face-up on the upper right of your Player Board; immediately take Silver from the Tax Supply equal to the amount shown on the card (0, 1, or 2)
34
Tax shortage
If you need more Silver from Tax than available, take the remainder from the main supply; taking the last Silver from Tax immediately triggers an Inquisition
35
Determine guilt
When triggered, the player(s) with the most Suspicion gain 1 Debt; if no one has Suspicion, no Debt is collected
36
Discard Suspicion
Each player who gained a Debt from this Inquisition discards half their Suspicion (rounded down) to the discard pile, removing the most recently gained cards first
37
Resolve Townsfolk abilities
Conspirators, Peddlers, and Squires activate before Debts are collected; resolve them in any order
38
Refill Tax Supply
After the Inquisition resolves, refill the Tax Supply from the main supply according to the icons below it
39
Unpaid Debts
Place gained Debts "Unpaid" side up; these cost -3 VP at game end
40
Paid Debts
When you pay a Debt, flip it to "Paid" side; these grant +1 VP at game end
41
Destroyed Debts
When you destroy a Debt, return it to the Debt deck
42
When to pass
You must pass when you have no Workers left to use or choose not to take more actions
43
Clear Workers
Return all Workers from your Player Board to the main supply
44
Carry over Workers
You may keep up to 3 Workers from your personal supply for the next round; return any excess to the main supply
45
Effects while passed
You cannot take actions but can still be affected by Inquisitions and some Townsfolk abilities
46
Discard rightmost Townsfolk
If a Townsfolk Card remains in the rightmost position, discard it; slide remaining cards right and refill empty spaces from the deck
47
Discard leftmost Outsider
If an Outsider Card remains in the leftmost position, discard it; slide remaining cards left and refill empty spaces from the deck
48
Remove Tavern cards
Collect all Tavern Cards (taken and untaken) and place them face-up as a discard pile; reshuffle if the deck runs out
49
Clear King's Favour
Return all Workers on King's Favour Cards to the main supply (starting from Round 3)

Winning

How to claim victory.

1
Game end trigger
The game ends immediately after the 7th round concludes
2
Score King's Orders
Gain VP for each completed King's Order (4 VP for first, 6 VP for second, 8 VP for third) if you meet the condition by game end
3
Score Attribute Track
Gain VP based on each Attribute Marker's position on the track
4
Score Developments
If you placed 6 or more Workshops, gain the printed VP bonus
5
Score Commissions
If you placed 5 or more Monks, gain the printed VP bonus
6
Score Fortifications
If you built 5 or more Walls, gain the printed VP bonus plus any VP printed on specific Wall Cards
7
Score Garrisons
If you placed 5 or more Outposts, gain the printed VP bonus
8
Score Absolutions
If you used 5 or more Jars, gain the printed VP bonus
9
Score Converted Outsiders
Gain VP based on each Converted Outsider's end-game scoring condition
10
Score Debts
Gain 1 VP for each Paid Debt; lose 3 VP for each Unpaid Debt
11
Score remaining resources
Gain 1 VP for every set of 3 resources (Silver and Provisions combined)
12
Determine winner
The player with the highest total VP wins
13
Tiebreaker first
If tied, the player with the most VP from King's Orders wins
14
Tiebreaker second
If still tied, the player with the fewest Suspicion Cards wins
15
Shared victory
If still tied, all tied players share the victory

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