The official rules. Simple to learn, deep to master.
Build · Expand · Command · Conquer
Every match of KingSquare tells the story of a civilization rising from a single settlement into a sprawling empire. Success is not determined by luck, but by the decisions you make, the infrastructure you build, and the kingdoms you forge. The ten steps below are the arc of a kingdom — the detailed rulings that follow (§ 2 onward) govern each one.
Every player begins with a single Capital City — the heart of the kingdom and its seat of government, industry, and military expansion. Found your Capital, raise your first Farm, and begin building your civilization. "Every empire begins with a single city."
A civilization cannot grow without food. Upgrade your Farm to support larger cities and more advanced infrastructure — every building depends upon a prosperous population.
Industry has two great branches. The Lumber Mill (woodworking, logistics, construction) unlocks the Quarry, Barracks, Harbor, Embassy, and Master Craftsmanship. The Quarry (engineering, stoneworking) unlocks Walls, Bridges, Engineered Roads, the War Forge, Religion, the Train Station, and the Airport. Together they are the foundation of your civilization. (See § 5 for the development trees.)
Every Castle may be upgraded to Level 10. As cities grow they gain capacity for more infrastructure — will each become a military fortress, an industrial powerhouse, a religious center, a transportation hub, or a diplomatic capital? Every kingdom becomes unique.
Construct Barracks to produce soldiers and improve them with a War Forge (+1 Attack / +1 Defense per level, to a maximum of +5/+5). Military doctrine is shared throughout connected territory, rewarding strategic expansion.
Infrastructure wins wars. Friendly and allied Roads increase movement by 50%; Railways give instant transport between connected Train Stations; Harbors launch naval expeditions; Airports project power anywhere on the battlefield.
Cities do not grow forever. A Level 10 city expands by founding additional cities within its territory — specialized districts (Military, Harbor, University, Religious, Industrial). "Great civilizations expand outward, not upward."
Unlike cities, Kings have no maximum Level. Each level grants +2 Attack, +2 Defense, and +1 ft of Influence; Movement rises to 10 ft before reaching its maximum. Your influence keeps growing throughout your Career.
The battlefield is alive with Dangerous Beasts, Epic Creatures, and Legendary Monsters. Defeat them for powerful rewards, rare achievements, and lasting glory — only the greatest kingdoms can overcome the world's greatest threats. (See the Bestiary.)
Victory is only the beginning. Earn Ranks through learning and years of participation, Badges through exceptional accomplishment, and League Honors through leadership, integrity, and service. Every match becomes part of your Career; every campaign, part of your history. (See the Royal Order.)
Build a kingdom. Lead a civilization. Write history.
The battlefield remembers. Will history remember your kingdom?
Every turn is three phases, in order:
Military buildings produce troops by level; industry produces resources.
Each King, army, ship, or plane moves once. Groups move together.
Spend Action Points: Build · Upgrade · Repair · Attack · Forward · Discover · Engage.
Action Points: a base of 2 each turn, plus +1 for every Embassy level, up to 5 (max +5) — one Embassy per city (⚖ Forger, Deep Audit Q8, 2026-07-12). Forward lets one chosen unit or group move again; Upgrade always costs one action; Repair spends one action to restore a damaged building, wall, or ship (⚖ Vault decree 2026-07-12).
The former City piece is gone. Instead: the Castle defines Territory, and the structures inside that Territory are the City. The Castle governs; the City emerges.
The Order of Upgrades (⚖ Forger-ruled 2026-07-10 · Deep Audit Q1, 2026-07-12): King ≥ Castle ≥ Farm ≥ every other infrastructure. No Castle may exceed the King's level, no Farm its Castle's, and every other infrastructure may tie its city's Farm but never pass it (Farm 5 → War Forge may reach 5). Ties are allowed at every step. A ruler grows in that order — upgrade the King to raise the Castle, the Castle to raise the Farm, and the Farm to raise everything else.
Royal Progression. (⚖ Deep Audit Q2/Q3, 2026-07-12) A King levels within a match: every match every King — veteran and newcomer alike — starts at Level 1 and rises by spending an Action to upgrade, exactly like a building. Those levels reset when the match ends. Each level grants +2 Attack, +2 Defense, and +1 ft of Influence; Movement also rises +1 ft per level until Level 10, then caps at 10 ft. A King's career level is ceremony and rank only — never a stat edge. Fair at the first move, earned by the last.
Cities build the realm; Kings lead it. Cities (max 10) are finite infrastructure; Kings are unlimited leadership. "A great King may win a battle. A great civilization wins wars."
Metropolitan Expansion — grow outward, not upward. When a Castle reaches Level 10 it has reached its physical limit and stops leveling. Instead, the ruler founds new Cities in the same territory as specialized Metropolitan Districts — Military, Harbor, University, Industrial, Religious — sharing the territory's industry, doctrine, and technology. The battlefield becomes a sprawling capital region of roads, rails, harbors, and flags rather than one oversized tower. "Empires become powerful because many great cities work together."
The Infrastructure Slot System. "A Castle may contain Infrastructure equal to its Castle Level." Within that count the ruler chooses any combination — five Barracks at a Level 5 Castle is entirely legal.
Farm (required · outside the slot count) · University · Embassy · Religion. Centralized institutions: a Castle holds one of each, no more. The War Forge allows a second — as war redundancy only (see § 4).
Barracks · Quarry · Lumberyard · Harbor · Hangar · Trainyard. Production and logistics stack: each Harbor adds ship capacity, docking, and fleet production; each Hangar adds aircraft capacity; each Trainyard adds rail throughput; each Quarry adds wall, bridge, and stone engineering; each Lumberyard adds roads, wooden bridges, ships, and construction.
"Every Castle reflects the priorities of its ruler."
Two Level 8 Castles should almost never look the same.
"No great ruler conquers alone."
A General is a second human player, not a game piece. A Kingdom may appoint one General who serves under the King's authority and never replaces him — letting friends, family, or a command team share one kingdom (true 2-player kingdoms at large events).
Move armies · build · upgrade · attack & defend · scout · manage logistics · coordinate naval & air operations.
Diplomacy · alliances · political decisions · Capital development (the General may not upgrade the Capital) · kingdom strategy.
Because the General is a person, the old "expendable piece" rule is retired; the level cap now sits on the Capital Castle (Capital ≤ King level).
The War Forge. "Each War Forge level grants +1 Attack and +1 Defense to every soldier produced from that Castle's territory." A Castle may raise up to two Forges — the second is war redundancy only: doctrine survives if the first is destroyed, but bonuses never compound; the +5/+5 cap is absolute (⚖ Forger-ruled 2026-07-10). War Forge level may never exceed Castle level, and the Capital Castle's level may never exceed the King's. Upgrades are never retroactive — only soldiers produced after the upgrade improve. The combat bonus caps at +5/+5 (Level 5); Levels 6–10 unlock military doctrines instead of further Attack/Defense (Founder decree 2026-07-02; doctrines TBD). Castle L5 + War Forge L5 → the Barracks produces Soldier Level 5 (+5 Atk / +5 Def).
Army Power = Soldier Count × Soldier Attack Level + King Power + Beast Buffs
100 soldiers × Lv5 = 500 · + King 20 · + beast 10 = 530.
L1 Quarry · Barracks · L3 Harbor · L4 Embassy · L5 Master Craftsmanship.
L1 Walls · Bridges · Improved Roads · L2 War Forge · L3 Religion · L4 Train Station · L5 Airport.
⚖ 2026-07-10: the full Mill & Quarry unlock ladders are under Forger review — these trees stand as the working state, not final. The Mill and the Yard are one building ("the mill and the yard are the same thing"); Barracks unlocks at Lumber Mill L1.
Most institutions must be connected to the Castle by a continuous road to function — roads represent administration, not merely movement. Cutting a road isolates a building (inactive) without destroying it. Exceptions that work unconnected: Farm, Quarry, Lumberyard.
Rails connect Trainyard to Trainyard for instantaneous travel. Ships and Planes each take a Build Action; plane sorties cost two.
"Roads are not movement. Roads are civilization."
Combat should pressure civilization before destroying it. The order of pressure:
Infrastructure → Institutions → Military → Castle → King
Defenders return half damage unless modified. Destroyed buildings become Ruins — no benefit until repaired, but never removed. Troops do not recover; lost strength must be reproduced. Army strength is tracked in poker chips — 1 strength each, raised only through upgrades (soldiers produced from a Forge-equipped Castle carry +1 Attack/Defense per War Forge level).
Connected buildings are defensive fabric: every building connected to a Castle — directly or by road — grants +1 Defense per level (⚖ Founder 2026-07-04, recovered 2026-07-10).
A player is eliminated when the King is defeated or can no longer govern. In tournaments the defeated player removes their custom pieces, the MapMaster replaces the territory with official pieces, and the battlefield remains intact.
"The battlefield itself remembers."