Kinga 2014

Kinga is a solitaire game of patience meets deck building, set in a medieval or renaissance fantasy world. You need only a standard 54-card deck of playing cards to play.

You play the role of the Usurper, a cunning and skillful silver-tongued devil attempting to wrest control from the four kings of the countryside. You do this by climbing the social ladder in each of the four kingdoms, but beware... too many missteps and your machinations will become all too evident, and then it's off with your head!

Playing a game of Kinga involves taking turns purchasing cards from the center tableaux (sort of a reverse-tableau building mechanic), in order to reveal the kings at the bottom of the stacks, or exiling cards from your hand. The game is won if you reveal all four kings -- however, if you are unable to purchase or exile a card on your turn, you must turn one of the kings sideways, raising suspicion of your plan. If all four kings are turned sideways and you need to raise suspicion again, the kings have caught on to your game, and have ordered your execution!

Kinga contains a novel chaining mechanic for purchasing cards -- You first play a 'base' card that determines your value, then any number of other cards from your hand that match either the value or the suit of the previously played card. Each card beyond the first adds 1 to the total value of your currency, and the suits used determine the cards you may purchase. Playing 3 of a kind in a chain lets you draw 1 additional card immediately, and playing all four suits in a chain allows you to draw 2 additional cards immediately.