# Burning Banners

Burning Banners is a board game for 2–6 players. It plays in 60–180 minutes and is meant for ages 14 and up. Ludoya players call it best with 2. It is rated 7.5 out of 10 by 8 Ludoya reviewers. The cheapest copy in stock is $105.99 (United States).

- **Players:** 2–6 (best with 2)
- **Playing time:** 60–180 minutes
- **Minimum age:** 14+
- **Complexity:** 3.2 out of 5
- **Year published:** 2024
- **Categories:** Fantasy, Wargame
- **Mechanics:** Variable Set-up, Worker Placement, Different Worker Types, Hexagon Grid, Deck, Bag, and Pool Building, Income, Scenario / Mission / Campaign Game, Team-Based Game, Dice Rolling, Variable Player Powers, Critical Hits and Failures
- **Ludoya rating:** 7.5 out of 10, from 8 reviews
- **Owned by:** 24 Ludoya players
- **Plays logged on Ludoya:** 65
- **Unique players:** 74

**Designers:** Christopher Moeller

**Artists:** Christopher Moeller

## Where to buy in United States

| Shop | Price | Link |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Cardhaus Games | 105.99 $ | https://www.cardhaus.com/burning-banners/ |
| Board Game Bliss | 140.95 $ | https://www.boardgamebliss.com/products/burning-banners |
| Fantasiapelit | 143.4 € | https://www.fantasiapelit.com/index.php?main=ai&kat=single&mista=indeksi&etsittava=_229134 |
| Nexus | 21995 kr | https://nexus.is/vara/burning-banners/ |

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## Rules questions

### Can I stack as many armies as I want in one hex and then move them all together later?

You can stack armies in a hex but stacking and switch rules limit how you reorganize and move them; switching stacks counts as movement and must follow the stacking restrictions and movement rules (see page 19).

### If I raze a settlement or put a control marker on it, does it still give income?

Razed settlements do not produce income until the raze marker is removed, while control markers affect who receives income and can be placed or removed according to the settlement control rules (see pages 11–13).

### How do rivers, major rivers and ships affect movement—can any army just cross them?

Rivers and major rivers modify or block movement depending on the crossing and terrain, and ships are required for normal sea/coastal movement and follow the Ship Movement rules; consult the river/sea movement rules and ship examples (pages 17–18 and 30).

### When can I play Magic cards—do they need to be studied first or can I cast them in combat?

Magic cards are prepared via the Arcane Study Phase and have timing restrictions, but some Battle Magic can be played during combat in the Battle Magic sequence; see pages 33, 41–44 for when to study and the rules for casting during battles. (Arcane Study distribution and spending are on pages 43–44.)

### What exactly happens when a kingdom collapses—are its armies removed or its control markers taken off the map?

A kingdom collapse follows the specific collapse procedure in the rules, which includes removing or adjusting markers and resolving special kingdom effects; consult the general collapse rules on page 16 and the special-case collapse rules for Shashka and the Eastern Empire on pages 26 and 29. 

### Do ambushes happen before normal combat and how do critical hits work?

Ambushes are resolved as part of the combat sequence and can affect forces before the main exchanges, and critical hits are applied according to the combat hit and critical rules during resolution; see pages 21–22 for the detailed combat sequence, ambush resolution and critical hit effects.

## Links

- [This page](https://www.ludoya.com/games/burning-banners)
- [Burning Banners in the Ludoya app](https://app.ludoya.com/g/burning-banners)
- [BoardGameGeek entry](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/389820)

_Data from Ludoya, updated 2026-09-19. Ratings, ownership and play counts are Ludoya's own._