El Rey Planeta

About the game

What is El Rey Planeta?

You are Philip IV, the King of Spain and Portugal since 1621. Your empire has reached approximately 12.2 million square kilometers, and you are El Rey Planeta - the "Planet King". But the king must not only run an empire, he must also "live life": have an heir for the kingdom, find a concubine, and of course fill the court with the best artists of the century. El Rey Planeta takes 1 to 2 players into the economic, military, and diplomatic actions of the biggest European empire. But each European powers has its own agenda and a series of events will try to undermine the empire. Player(s) recruit "Tercios" (armies), fleets, improve colonial defenses, use the ambassadors, tries to improve the economy while defending the empire from the attack of other European powers. While Philip runs his empire, he must employ his nobles to lead the armies and rule the kingdom's territories. Each turn represents 3 to 6 years of real time. There is an introductory game scenario, two campaign scenarios of four turns each, and an eight-turn campaign scenario covering the entire reign of Philip IV. There is always a risk of an Automatic Defeat, either because the Prestige of the monarchy or its level of Enlightenment is equal to or less than 1 point, or because of a Sudden Death of Philip IV if his happiness falls to zero. Players: 1-2 (full solitaire system and cooperative mode) Map: Area movement Time scale: 2-4 year per turn —description from designer

How it plays

Mechanics

On the shelf

Categories

Questions players ask

Questions to bring to BoardGameBrain

• How do setup and the first turn work in El Rey Planeta?
• When does scoring happen and what ends the game?
• How should the table resolve an unusual timing or rules interaction?