# Brian Boru: High King of Ireland

Brian Boru: High King of Ireland is a board game for 3–5 players. It plays in 60–90 minutes and is meant for ages 14 and up. Ludoya players call it best with 4. It is rated 7.4 out of 10 by 23 Ludoya reviewers. The cheapest copy in stock is $44.59 (United States).

- **Players:** 3–5 (best with 4)
- **Playing time:** 60–90 minutes
- **Minimum age:** 14+
- **Complexity:** 2.6 out of 5
- **Year published:** 2021
- **Categories:** Card Game, Medieval, Territory Building
- **Mechanics:** Hand Management, Multi-Use Cards, Closed Drafting, Trick-taking, Variable Phase Order, Victory Points as a Resource, Point to Point Movement, Area Majority / Influence, King of the Hill, Turn Order: Stat-Based
- **Ludoya rating:** 7.4 out of 10, from 23 reviews
- **Owned by:** 40 Ludoya players
- **Plays logged on Ludoya:** 88
- **Unique players:** 198

**Designers:** Peer Sylvester

**Artists:** Deirdre de Barra

**Publishers:** Osprey Games

## Where to buy in United States

| Shop | Price | Link |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Cardhaus Games | 44.59 $ | https://www.cardhaus.com/brian-boru-high-king-of-ireland/ |
| Board Game Bliss | 67.95 $ | https://www.boardgamebliss.com/products/brian-boru-high-king-of-ireland |
| Element Games | 40.49 £ | https://elementgames.co.uk/board-games/brian-boru-high-king-of-ireland |
| Philibert | 39.9 € | https://philibertnet.com/fr/origames/110656-brian-boru-haut-roi-d-irlande-3760243851384.html |
| Zatu Games | 34.99 £ | https://zatu.com/products/brian-boru-high-king-of-ireland |
| Svet deskovych her | 1040 Kč | https://www.svet-deskovych-her.cz/produkty/10813/brian-boru-velkokral-irska |
| TLAMA games | 1049 Kč | https://www.tlamagames.com/deskove-hry/brian-boru-velkokral-irska/ |
| Dragons Lair | 599 kr | https://dragonslair.se/products/brian-boru-high-king-of-ireland |
| Nexus | 9995 kr | https://nexus.is/vara/brian-boru-high-king-of-ireland/ |
| Spielezar | 69.9 Fr. | https://www.spielezar.ch/brettspiele/brian-boru-high-king-of-ireland-ende |

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## Rules questions

### Who wins a trick — how is the winning card determined?

The trick is won by the player who played the highest-value card in the colour matching the active town; royal (white) cards are wild and count as the town colour (pp. 5, 7).

### Who takes actions after a trick, and in what order — does the trick winner act first?

Actions are taken in ascending card value order (lowest to highest); if a player won the trick they perform the card's primary action, otherwise they choose one of the card's secondary actions (p. 5).

### When does the action phase end and what happens to leftover cards?

Play tricks until each player has only one card left in hand; then discard those remaining cards and proceed to the upkeep phase (p. 5).

### How does the Marriage step work and what are the Princess of Denmark options?

The player whose disc is highest on the marriage track takes the marriage card and immediately gains its listed benefits, then their disc returns to the bottom of the track; the Princess of Denmark gives a choice of military support, establish trade, or be spurned (gain 4 points), each with specific effects on how Viking-controlled towns count (p. 8).

### How do Viking incursions and spoils work — who loses towns and who scores renown/points?

If Viking raiders are present, the player(s) with the fewest Viking tokens lose town(s) to the Vikings and the player with the most Viking tokens places the Viking control token; afterward the player with the most Viking tokens gains a renown and scores points equal to their renowns (returning their tokens), and then the current leader(s) each gain one point and return a token, with ties modifying or cancelling these rewards (p. 9).

### How are claim tokens flipped and scored — do monasteries or Viking towns count?

Flip face-down claim tokens if the number of towns in that region meets the token threshold (towns with monasteries count as two); face-up tokens go to the player with the most towns in the region (ties leave the token), and Viking-controlled towns count for claiming/flipping depending on the Princess of Denmark choice (pp. 9, 10, 12).

## Links

- [This page](https://www.ludoya.com/games/brian-boru-high-king-of-ireland)
- [Brian Boru: High King of Ireland in the Ludoya app](https://app.ludoya.com/g/brian-boru-high-king-of-ireland)
- [BoardGameGeek entry](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/337765)

_Data from Ludoya, updated 2026-09-26. Ratings, ownership and play counts are Ludoya's own._