Tainted Grail: Kings of Ruin Announced

A board game funded by one of the biggest Kickstarter campaigns of all time is getting a sequel. Earlier this week, Awaken Realms announced Tainted Grail: Kings of Ruin, a new standalone story campaign that continues the story from the first Tainted Grail game. Tainted Grail: Kings of Ruin is intended to be a self-contained story that allows new players to jump into the world of the game. Tainted Grail: Kings of Ruin will launch on Gamefound, a crowdfunding platform that serves as a board game alternative to Kickstarter, later this year. Awaken Realms also announced a second edition of the first Tainted Grail for those looking to jump into the full board game. Previews of both games can be found on Gamefound.

Tainted Grail is a retelling of the Arthurian myths that combines exploration, adventure, and survival mechanics along with a branching campaign storyline. Players slowly explore a map made of cards while trying to keep large Mehnir statues that stave off a creeping Wyrdness that afflicts the land alight. Both combat and diplomacy encounters are resolved through a deck of cards, with players attempting to string together combos. In addition to the core game, two expansions were released that served as a prequel and sequel to the main campaign storyline. 

Tainted Grail made headlines back in 2018 when it was the center of the biggest Kickstarter of the year, raising over $6.4 million. While several other Kickstarter campaigns have since surpassed Tainted Grail, the game remains one of the ten biggest tabletop games funded via Kickstarter of all time.

While specific details were not provided about Tainted Grail: Kings of Ruin, the game will be “one of the most mechanically polished and most exciting stories in board games” with several key improvements made to the original mechanics, including changes to Menhir travel system and a rebalanced character advancement. Expect more details about the new games to be announced soon.