Be a King is a new fantasy strategy title from 300AD. It follows in the tracks of games such as King Mania, Forgotten Lands: First Colony, and the Build-a-Lot series and blends a streamlined building-centric real-time strategy game with a handful of casual knowhow.
In the year 950 AD, Europe is still in the early part of the medieval era. Fear and uncertainty rule the people as they live with the constant threat of disease, starvation, and barbarian attacks. But one prince wants more for his people. Invisioning a stable society where villagers could live, work and play in comfort and safety, he set out to craft a medieval utopia, one tiny settlement at a time.
Pleasing the villagers is a relatively easy task, as all they require is food to eat and a simple home to rest their weary heads. To build a farm or a house, simply click an open plot of land followed by the corresponding icon at the bottom of the screen. Wait a few seconds and you're in business! Later you'll get a handful of new buildings to create, including barracks that ward off enemy attacks, the third pillar of your safe and successful society.
But building things isn't free. In Be a King you have four resources to think about as you expand your village: wood, stone, gold, and workers. Wood, workers and stone can be purchased from the menu at the bottom of the screen, but gold is only received by collecting "rent" from your villagers. Think of it as a "hey, I'm making this place pretty awesome" tax. Buildings can also be upgraded, which is faster and cheaper than creating new structures, and occasionally you'll get the chance to found guilds that boost building speed and decrease the cost of materials.
And then there's the ability to hire heroes, an interesting twist on the old casual RTS/building game. Heroes will fight for your village and can also undertake quests that appear on the left side of the screen. A successful quest often rewards you with gold, materials and other goodies. An unsuccessful one results in... well... let's just say you'll need to hire another hero...
Analysis: Simple but pleasant, Be a King steps into an increasingly crowded genre to claim a little corner all its own. It doesn't go too heavy on the strategy side of things, which can result in a less-than-challenging experience, but it's still an enjoyable run through 25 different levels. And I was glad to see the medieval setting didn't get too fantasy-cliche.
One point of mild frustration for me was the game's relatively slow pace. I'm no real-time strategy expert, but I know how to figure out a game and I've played plenty of similar titles in my day. If you're new to the genre, you probably won't mind, but everyone else will feel the drag from time to time, especially during the tutorial. Be a King could also use a bit more variety. Keeping things simple is one thing, but pulling out too much can result in a repetitive experience, something this game suffers from in later levels.
Despite it's sometimes too-simple design, Be a King stands out on its own with a great visual package and easy to learn gameplay. If you enjoy games like Tribal Trouble or Build-a-Lot, Be a King is for you.
Windows:
Download the demo
Get the full version
Mac OS X:
Download the demo
Get the full version
Walkthrough Guide
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Be a King Walkthrough
General
This is the start of a step-by-step walkthrough for Be A King. The levels are labled by town name and are in the order I played them in the game. I played with the timer enabled and have indicated if I achieved gold or silver for each level.
Please note that the Game Events appear to be randomly generated. The same ones don't always appear in the same order every time. If a particular event occurred and I used it, I've got it noted in the steps for the level.
I didn't spend money buying heroes, at least in the early levels. The barracks and then the mage towers take care of the robbers, trolls, and monsters pretty well. The only heroes I got in the early levels were the ones that came in a Game Event. If an Event required a hero, I just ignored it.
Levels
South Point (GOLD)
Objectives:
Income of 200 gp
Build 2x Royal Houses
Steps:
Build a farm
Build 2x houses
EVENT: Increase farm production
Upgrade farm
Upgrade houses 2x
Buy 1000 wood
Build 3rd house
Build 2nd farm
Buy 500 wood
Upgrade house
Nowhere (GOLD)
Objectives:
Population of 80
Build 2x Barracks
Steps:
Buy 1x worker
Build 1x barracks
Build 1x farm
Buy 500 stone
Buy 500 wood
Build 2nd barracks
Buy 1000 wood
Upgrade all houses 1x
Upgrade farm 1x
Buy 500 wood
Build 2nd farm
EVENT: Increase farm production
Buy 500 wood
Upgrade houses 1x again
Buy 500 wood
Build 4th house
Buy 500 wood
Upgrade 4th house 2x
Build 5th house
Placid (GOLD)
Objectives:
Income of 250 gp
Population of 60
Build 1x Inn
Steps:
Buy 1x worker
Build 1x barracks
Upgrade farm 1x
Upgrade house 2x
Build 2nd farm and upgrade 1x
EVENT: Price of buildings will be lower
Buy 2000 wood
Buy 500 stone
Build 2nd barracks
Build 2 more houses and upgrade 2x
Build 4th house
Buy 1000 wood
Buy 500 stone
Build Inn
Forsaken (SILVER)
Objectives:
Income of 320 gp
Population of 80
Build 1x Advanced Barracks
Steps:
Buy 2x workers
Buy 1000 stone
Build 1x barracks
Upgrade farm 1x
Buy 1000 wood
Upgrade 2x houses 2x
Upgrade 3rd house 1x
Wait for gold (1000)
Buy 500 wood
Upgrade 3rd house
Buy 500 wood
Build 2nd farm and upgrade 1x
EVENT: Building will be faster
Upgrade barracks 1x
Buy 500 wood
Build 2 more houses
Buy 500 wood
Upgrade both new houses 1x
Wait for citizens to arrive
Highedge (SILVER)
Objectives:
Earn 5000 gp
Build 1x Advanced Barracks
Build 1x Royal Farm
Steps:
Buy 1x worker
Build 1x barracks and upgrade 1x
Build 1x farm and upgrade 1x
EVENT: Price of buildings will be lower
Buy 2000 wood
Upgrade house 2x
EVENT: Farms will produce more
Upgrade farm again 1x
Build 3x houses
Buy another worker
Upgrade barracks 1x
Upgrade all 3 houses 1x
Wait for citizens to arrive and gold to accumulate
Middletrail (GOLD)
Objectives:
Income of 400 gp
Population of 100
Build 1x Mage Tower
Steps:
Buy 2x workers
Buy 500 stone
Build 1x mage tower
Upgrade farm 1x
Buy 2000 wood
Buy 1000 stone
Build Barracks
Build 3x houses
Upgrade barracks 1x
Upgrade farm 1x
Buy 2000 wood
Upgrade all 3 houses 2x
EVENT: All building will be faster
Build 2nd farm
Build 2 more houses
Buy 2000 wood
Upgrade both houses 2x
Demolish 1x trader house
Build 2nd barracks in its place
Wait for citizens
Kevel (SILVER)
Objectives:
Population of 150
Build 2x Royal Barracks
Steps:
Buy 3x workers
Build 4x houses
Buy 2000 wood
Upgrade both farms 1x
Upgrade all 4 houses 1x
EVENT: Building will go faster
Build 1x mage tower
Buy 500 stone
Upgrade barracks 2x
Buy 1000 wood
Build 4 more houses
Upgrade 1x farm 1x
Buy 1000 wood
Upgrade 2nd farm 1x
Buy 500 stone
Build 2nd barracks and upgrade 1x
Buy 1000 wood
Upgrade 4 new houses 1x
Upgrade 1 house 1x
Buy 500 wood
Buy 500 stone
Upgrade 2nd barracks 1x
Upgrade 2nd house 1x
Buy 1000 wood
Upgrade last 2 houses 1x
Buy 500 wood
Build 2 more houses
Iver (GOLD)
Objectives:
Population of 140
Build 2x Town House
Build 1x Advanced Inn
Steps:
Buy 2x workers
Build 1x barracks
Build 1x mage tower
Build 1x farm and upgrade 1x
EVENT: 3 heroes join your crew
Buy 500 stone
Buy 2000 wood
Build 2x town houses
Upgrade farm again 1x
Upgrade barracks 1x
Upgrade house 2x
Buy 500 stone
Buy 1000 wood
Upgrade Inn 1x
Build town house 1x
Buy 500 stone
Buy 1000 wood
Upgrade barracks 1x
Build 2nd farm and upgrade 1x
Buy 1000 stone
Buy 2000 wood
Build 4x town houses
Buy 2000 wood
Build 2 more town houses
Wait for citizens to arrive
Canyon (GOLD)
Objectives:
Earn 10,000 gp
Population of 100
Build 2x Mills
Steps:
Buy 3x workers
Build 1x mage tower
Build 1x barracks
Buy 1000 stone
Buy 1000 wood
Build 3x town houses
Upgrade barracks 1x
Buy 500 wood
Upgrade farm 2x
Buy 1000 wood
Upgrade barracks 1x again
Build 2 houses
EVENT: Farms will produce more
Buy 2000 wood
Upgrade both houses 2x
Build 3 more houses
Buy 1000 stone
Buy 1000 wood
Build 2x mills
Wait for gold to accumulate
River Rose (SILVER)
Objectives:
Population of 200
Build 3x Advanced Town Houses
Steps:
This was a close call!
Buy 2x workers
Build mage tower
EVENT: All building will be faster
Build 1x farm and upgrade 2x
Buy 1000 stone
Build 1x barracks and upgrade 2x
Demolish 2x houses
Buy 1000 wood
Build 2x town houses
Buy 500 wood
Upgrade town house 1x
Buy 1000 wood
Upgrade remaining 2 houses 2x
Buy 1000 wood
Buy 500 stone
Build 2nd farm and upgrade 2x
Buy 1000 Wood
Buy 500 stone
Build 2x town houses
Buy 500 wood
Upgrade both town houses 1x
EVENT: All farms will produce more
Upgrade remaining town house 1x
Build mill 1x
Buy 2000 wood
Buy 1000 stone
Build 2nd barracks and upgrade 1x
Buy 2000 wood
Buy 1000 stone
Build 3x town houses and upgrade all 1x
Buy 2000 wood
Build 2x town houses and upgrade all 1x
Buy 1000 stone
Demolish Mage Tower
Build 1x town house in its place
Wait for citizens to arrive.
Northnoise (SILVER)
Objectives:
Income of 1500 gp
Build 2x Royal Town Houses
Steps:
Demolish 4x houses
EVENT: Farms produce more
Buy 2x workers
Buy 1000 wood
Build 1x barracks
Build 1x farm
Buy 500 wood
Upgrade farm 1x
Build mage tower
Upgrade farm 1x
Buy 500 wood
Build 1x town house
Demolish remaining houses
Buy 2000 wood
Build 2x town houses
Buy 500 stone
Upgrade barracks 2x
Upgrade 1x town house 1x
Buy 500 stone
Buy 500 wood
Buy 1x worker
Upgrade 2x town houses 1x
Upgrade 1x town house 1x
Buy 500 stone
Buy 1000 wood
Buy 2nd farm and upgrade 2x
Buy 1000 stone
Buy 1000 wood
Upgrade 2x town houses 1x
Buy 2000 wood
Build 2x town houses
EVENT: All building will be faster
Upgrade 3x town houses 1x
Cliff (GOLD)
Objectives:
Earn 18,000 gp
Income of 1600 gp
Build 2x Advanced Mills
Steps:
Buy 3x workers
Build 1x mage tower
Build 1x farm
Buy 500 stone
Buy 1000 wood
Build 1x town house and upgrade 2x
Buy 1000 wood
Upgrade farm 1x
Upgrade existing mill 1x
Buy 500 stone
Buy 500 wood
Build 2nd town house and upgrade 2x
Buy 500 stone
Buy 1000 wood
Upgrade existing barracks 2x
Buy 1000 stone
Buy 1000 wood
Build 3rd town house and upgrade 1x
Buy 2000 wood
Upgrade 3rd town house 1x
Upgrade farm 1x
Build 2nd mill and upgrade 1x
Buy 1000 stone
Buy 2000 wood
Build 1x town house and upgrade 2x
Build 1x town house
Lowland (SILVER)
Objectives:
Income of 1850 gp
Build 2x Advanced Mage Towers
Steps:
Buy 2x workers
Buy 1000 stone
Buy 2000 wood
Build 1x farm
Build 1x barracks
Build 1x mage tower
Build 1x town house
Buy 2000 wood
Upgrade town house 2x
Upgrade mage tower 1x
EVENT: Farms will produce more
Upgrade farm 2x
Build 2nd town house
Buy 500 stone
Upgrade town house 1x
Buy 1000 wood
Build 1x Inn
Buy 500 stone
Upgrade 2nd town house 1x
Buy 1000 wood
Buy 500 wood (I didn't mean to buy wood again, but it worked out ok)
Upgrade barracks 2x
Buy 1000 stone
Build 2nd mage tower
Build 3rd town house and upgrade 1x
Buy 1000 stone
Buy 1000 wood
Upgrade town house 1x
Upgrade 2nd mage tower 1x
Build 4th town house
Buy 2000 wood
Buy 500 stone
Build 5th and 6th town houses
Build 2nd farm and upgrade 2x
Buy 2000 wood
Buy 1000 stone
Upgrade Inn 1x
Upgrade last 3 town houses 2x
Posted by: Pam | April 12, 2009 2:47 AM