TSR (1980, $10.00)
Designed by Glenn & Kenneth Rahman

Players 2-6
Playing Time 2-4 hours
Period Fantasy
Scale Tactical
Turn abstract (between a day and a week?)
Map areas
Unit individual men and beasts

Components

1 box 11"x9" thin bookcase box
1 17 1/2 "x21 1/2" unmounted mapsheet
1 36 page rulebook
1 40 die-cut counters
1 sheet of reference tables
5 perforated sheets of cards
3 six-sided dice (listed as one pair and one odd die in the rulebook - however my used set did not include any dice.)

Counter Manifest
20 brigands
12 monsters
12 castles
12 animals
12 ships
6 ladies
6 dwarves
6 non-player knights
3 black special chits
2 pilgrims
42 player counters (consisting of six sets of seven counters distinguished by color and letter: each set includes one common knight, one Arthurian knight and adventure markers numbered 1-5)
7 blank counters (6 white, 1 blue)

Card Manifest
15 kings
30 ladies
75 knights

TSR says:

“The legendary Kings, Knights and Ladies of ancient Britain come to life as players seek to become Knights of Camelot in the court of King Arthur ... each player’s knight sets forth on adventures where he may encounter Morgan Le Fay and perhaps even Merlin himself. Your knight may be challenged to a joust, or be sent on a pilgrimage to Canterbury or Rome, or King Arthur himself may find you worthy enough to be sent on the Quest for the Holy Grail, where only the most virtuous of knights can succeed.”

The reviewers say:

“Players begin the game as common knights who wander about the country side of the British Isles, Gaul, and the coastal waterways in search of adventure ... until [becoming] virtuous enough to approach King Arthur and be knighted a member of the renowned Round Table ... What failed in a two player game loomed unique and gratifying to four or five of us, and we’ve had no trouble getting a game together since ... For those of you who have difficulty finding opponents, KOC has excellent solitaire potential, though once again, it will never be as much fun as when there are other players to interact with ... If you seek a rather complexly designed ‘family’ game, or a simple ‘gamers’ game, have an interest in the Arthurian legend, like multi-player games, and can come up with enough people (3-5), KOC is your bill of faire.” Mel Willoughby in Campaign 99.

“And (until the novelty wears off) the game works astonishingly well; all the right things happen — being seduced into deserting one’s lady, yet proceeding to faithfully serve her successor (as, we recall, Lancelot served Elaine, who seduced him; and after Elaine, Guinevere); being ambushed by brigands who steal one’s armour; being imprisoned by an evil king and rescued by a passing knight of Camelot; even (as happened to me last time) being slain in epic combat by a Serpent in Gaul. Splendid! Mechanically, Knights of Camelot plays like a hybrid between Kingmaker and Dungeons & Dragons.” Andy Gilham in The Wargamer 16.

“I felt it succeeded admirably in its task, it was enjoyable, easy-to-play and had some neat design work ... As our knight gallops around hacking up people he gains Chivalry Points, but ... the important feature is the Knight’s Virtue Level ... a Knight who grows mighty without caring for his immortal soul ... will find his Virtue Level getting bigger (whereas ... a low Virtue Level is what you want). A Knight who does well in combat but has his honour doubted can soon find himself foully evil ... The Knight must therefore judiciously mix in adventures that increase his Virtue Points. He will undertake penances, for example, or go on pilgrimages. In one simple rule the designers have obliged to cease the mindless slaughter of most games and to actually play the role.” Charles Vasey in White Dwarf 26.

Comments

Another fantasy world brought to life in board game form by the Rahman brothers who also brought us the classic Divine Right. Knights of Camelot is also one of the better attempts at crafting a game which bridges the gap between RPG’s and board games without requiring a “game master” to run the show.

Collector’s Notes

Considering that the designers’ other TSR effort (Divine Right) can command prices of $150 and up, this one looks like a relative bargain. Boone lists low, high and average prices of 5/41/18.44 at auction and 12/42/29.67 for sale.

Literature

Designer Glenn Rahman’s variant entitled Being a Bad Knight was published in The Dragon 58. If you can’t find the original issue, the first 250 issues of The Dragon are available for “one low price” on The Dragon Magazine CD-ROM Archive.

Other designs by the Rahmans

Divine Right (TSR); Down With the King (AH). Individually — Glenn Rahman: The Trojan War (Metagaming). Kenneth Rahman: Dark Cults (Dark House).

Capsule Profiles Games That Begin with "K"

Kriegspiel
Kamikaze
KampfPanzer
Kingmaker
Knights of Camelot
King of the Mountain
Khyber Rifles