Last weekend, me and my brother drove a few hours away to visit friends. Our main goal was to set up regular gaming days as we always talked about getting together more frequently throughout the year and it wouldn’t happen. Our main goal was to find time to play Kingdom Death, a horror cooperative miniature game. My first introduction to Kingdom Death was at Gen Con in 2019. The line for Kingdom Death’s booth is massive. I have always wanted to try playing Kingdom Death and it finally happened. I liked Kingdom Death and would play the game again, but Kingdom Death is not for the weak.

As mentioned, Kingdom Death is a horror, miniature game. Unlike Warhammer where players go up against each other, in Kingdom Death, players have to work together to set up a settlement, build resources, and go up against monsters. I was warned that Kingdom Death is brutal and that’s absolutely the case. I went through three characters who all died by the end. To begin the game, each player is given a sheet to name their character and provide basic stats. I jokingly named my character Mariah as I thought it would be funny to name my character after myself knowing they wouldn’t live long. After setting up our characters, we did a prologue section where our group went after a White Lion. After succeeding, we made camp and began to create our settlement. I had rolled for our group and rolled a 1, therefore, our settlement was much smaller than we would have liked.

This is where things started to deteriorate for our group. Our characters had to begin a hunt to collect resources to make weapons and armor. We went up against another White Lion and I had wounded the creature. To make matters worse, I gained the White Lion’s testes, which made me the permanent target for the lion. Oops. As such, I was mauled and my character died. Our whole group kept rolling so poorly that we all ended up being TPKed (total party kill). As we returned to camp, we gained resources, but in a settlement encounter, two more members of our settlement were killed, so only four people remained. This meant that if we didn’t survive the next encounter, we would lose the game since everyone in our settlement died.

What I enjoyed most about Kingdom Death is how players have to work together. I struggled to get into miniature games in the past for a multitude of reasons. I found it difficult to keep my armies straight and predict how my opponent would move their army. With Kingdom Death, we all struggled together, so I found it bound us together when times were tough. Another thing I loved about Kingdom Death is the minis. The minis are horrifying. The Screaming Antelope is disgusting with its belly opening into a huge mouth with massive teeth. The White Lion, while basic, is a menacing mini. There are multiple other creatures and bosses we didn’t have time to face, but my friend showed me those minis and they are detailed. I could see myself buying and painting Kingdom Death minis in the future even if I don’t play them.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Kingdom Death as I went into the game not knowing much. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed our session. I can understand why the game is as popular as it is. I would be open to playing Kingdom Death again. If I do opt to go to Gen Con again next year, I will swing by Kingdom Death’s booth and maybe I will purchase a mini this time.