# The King's Dilemma

The King's Dilemma is a board game for 3–5 players. It plays in 45–60 minutes and is meant for ages 14 and up. Ludoya players call it best with 5. It is rated 7.2 out of 10 by 32 Ludoya reviewers. The cheapest copy in stock is $54.99 (United States).

- **Players:** 3–5 (best with 5)
- **Playing time:** 45–60 minutes
- **Minimum age:** 14+
- **Complexity:** 2.3 out of 5
- **Year published:** 2019
- **Categories:** Fantasy, Political, Negotiation
- **Mechanics:** End Game Bonuses, Storytelling, Voting, Bribery, Bias, Legacy Game
- **Ludoya rating:** 7.2 out of 10, from 32 reviews
- **Owned by:** 99 Ludoya players
- **Plays logged on Ludoya:** 384
- **Unique players:** 194

**Designers:** Lorenzo Silva, Hjalmar Hach

**Artists:** Giorgio Baroni, Giulia Ghigini

**Publishers:** Horrible Guild

## Where to buy in United States

| Shop | Price | Link |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Cardhaus Games | 54.99 $ | https://www.cardhaus.com/the-kings-dilemma/ |
| Dungeon Marvels | 56.76 € | https://dungeonmarvels.com/the-king-s-dilemma-42805.html |
| Ludifolie | 74.9 € | https://www.ludifolie.com/9841-le-dilemme-du-roi.html |
| World of Board Games | 879 kr | https://www.worldofboardgames.com/the-king-s-dilemma |
| Dragons Lair | 895 kr | https://dragonslair.se/products/the-kings-dilemma |
| Alphaspel | 899 kr | https://alphaspel.se/491-bradspel/109375-the-kings-dilemma |
| Spielezar | 74.9 Fr. | https://www.spielezar.ch/brettspiele/the-kings-dilemma |

## Expansions

- [The King's Dilemma: Prologue Demo](https://www.ludoya.com/games/the-kings-dilemma-prologue-demo)
- [The King's Dilemma: Recharge Pack](https://www.ludoya.com/games/the-kings-dilemma-recharge-pack)

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## Rules questions

### If there's a tie in votes, who decides and how is it resolved?

The player holding the Moderator token breaks ties during vote resolution; the Moderator’s tie-break power is applied when tallying AYE vs NAY (see p.9 and p.20).

### If I choose to Pass, do I still get Power (or coins), and how does Pass & Gather work?

Passing lets you take the Pass action and optionally Gather Power/coins instead of voting; at voting cleanup the Power on the Balance is split equally among the players who chose Pass-and-Gather (see p.17 and p.21).

### What happens to the Power I invest in a vote — does the winner keep it?

Players who win a vote place the Power they invested onto the Balance (it does not return to their pool), while losing players reclaim their invested Power to their pools (see p.22).

### When resolving a Dilemma card, how do I read the AYE and NAY outcomes?

Flip the card so the AYE side is horizontal and the NAY side vertical, then apply the outcome text on the winning side (adjust resources, Stability, Momentum, place stickers/envelopes as stated) (see p.23 and p.24–25).

### When do we open a numbered Envelope and what happens to its Story card and dilemmas?

When instructed to open an envelope you locate that numbered envelope, read and place the Story card on its Storyline (the leader signs if required), then shuffle the three dilemmas it provides into the Dilemma deck according to the procedure (see p.26).

### What exactly triggers the end of the game (abdication or King’s death)?

The game ends either when the Stability track reaches its end (King abdicates) or when the Time counter reaches the final skull/last card condition (King is dead); resolve the final card effects and then proceed to final scoring (see p.24, p.28–29, and p.31).

## Links

- [This page](https://www.ludoya.com/games/the-kings-dilemma)
- [The King's Dilemma in the Ludoya app](https://app.ludoya.com/g/the-kings-dilemma)
- [BoardGameGeek entry](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/245655)

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