Animal Empire

Strategy game with great artwork and lore. It has a two-player version and a different version for larger groups that includes extra layers of strategy.

Players battle each other using armies to capture kingdoms, which give you new armies. To win you must take more than half the kingdoms, so in multiplayer you need to make alliances or take vassals.

Great game for groups, gets competitive and cunning, unpredictable until your fate's already sealed.

I have played this game many a time and throughout various stages in its development and it is so much fun! The vassal mechanic makes for fun social gameplay as we try to vie for territory and demand truces and parlay between other players. The art is beautiful too!

It definitely needs a player aid if you are going to play it. Hard game for me since I hate negotiating and working with other people in alliances. Not really my type of game, but I can see it being interesting for the right group.