Clash of Kings

I love playing this, both the two and four player versions which feel surprisingly different in terms of gameplay.

I find the 2-player game really interesting with the alternating moves between your armies giving potential for complex tactical calculations if you're good at looking ahead and planning future moves - this has a similar appeal to chess but I find more interesting. The 4-player version is great fun to play - its much more chaotic than chess, making planning ahead less significant because of how diplomacy with your fellow players makes the interplay between each other important. I like how by using alliances cleverly you can sneak a win even if you appear to be losing.

There is potential for player elimination in the 3 or 4 player version, which I'm not normally too keen on, however this tends only to occur towards the end of the game and is relatively rare as often players might want to keep each other in play to help hinder other opponents.

Full disclosure - I designed the game so you'd expect a high rating, but I think it deserves it, as I'm always on for playing it.

I've played the Battle for Anvil edition. Good fun. Enjoyed winning.

In 4 player version there's scope to bribe some of your opponents to gang up on others :)