The Games of Game of Thrones

April 9, 2019

Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by the arrival of the final season of Game of Thrones. In celebration of this, you can meet actors Wilf “Rhaegar Targaryen” Scolding, Richard “The Night King” Brake, Luke “Rast” Barnes, Josef “Pypar” Altin, and Miltos “What do we say to the god of death?” Yerolemou at the Austin shop this Friday and Saturday. They’ll be in the store from 10 AM to 4 PM on April 12th, and from 4 PM to 8 PM on April 13th.

But that’s not the only Game of Thrones goodness you’ll find in a Dragon’s Lair Comics and Fantasy® store. The shelves of all of our stores are stocked with games full of the treachery, betrayal, clash of mighty armies, and wine and knowing things you expect from George R.R. “Gotta Kill ‘em All” Martin’s epic fantasy series.

If you’re looking for an experience as big and epic as the show, you’ll want to check out Fantasy Flight’s Game of Thrones: The Board Game, now in its second edition. This is an all-afternoon experience where three to six players take on the roles of the great Houses. You’ll use diplomacy and warfare (as well as card strategy) to claim the Iron Throne for yourself. There’s also an expansion called Mother of Dragons that adds the Free Cities of Essos to the board, a new vassalage mechanic, the financial resources (and dangers) of the Iron Bank, as well as allowing two more players to play.

Fantasy Flight also has the Game of Thrones Card Game. Again, you’ll be championing one House, with your deck built around that House. Plot Cards give you your strategies as you contest via military might, intrigue, and raw political influence. You can play one-on-one or in great multiplayer melees. The game predates the TV show by nearly a decade and sports wonderful art not influenced by it, so fans of the books will enjoy the chance to see a different imagining of the people and places of A Song of Ice and Fire.

If you’re looking to really live in Westeros, you’ll want to check out Green Ronin’s A Song of Ice and Fire RPG, now in its third edition. Unlike most of Green Ronin’s current stable of RPGs, this one does not use the AGE engine. Instead, it uses d6 dice pools. The default version of the game has the players work together to create not just their individual characters but the House they belong to and serve. The game covers everything from individual actions to intrigue to great mass clashes like The Battle of the Bastards.

Those looking for a quicker dip into George R.R. Martin’s world have Game of Thrones: Oathbreaker to look forward to. This game is from Dire Wolf Digital, the creators of the Clank! games. Oathbreaker is a game for five to eight players taking less than an hour to play, so it’ll be perfect as a pre-show game while you wait for everyone to gather in front of the TV. Will you be a loyal defender of the King or will you seek to sow chaos as a traitor? Each player takes on the role of a character from the show and anyone could be a traitor. Players acquire Coin, Power, and Honor, the currency of the game, in their quest to either topple the King or strengthen his rule (in addition to their own personal ambitions, of course). This is a game of social deduction, where you’ll need to unmask the traitors (or, if you are one, keep those masks firmly in place) before the game ends.

Oathbreaker will be released in May, but the loyal and steadfast champions of House Dragon’s Lair Comics and Fantasy® can pre-order the game for you today. Stop by to share some of your favorite theories on who will sit upon the Iron Throne when the final credits roll.

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