A Game of Thrones is a strategy board game created by Christian T. Petersen and published by Fantasy Flight Games in 2003. The game is based on the A Song of Ice and Fire series of high fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin. It was followed in 2004 by the expansion A Clash of Kings, and in 2006 by the expansion A Storm of Swords. A Game of Thrones allows players to take on the roles of several of the Great Houses of Westeros vying for control of the Seven Kingdoms, including House Stark, House Lannister, House Baratheon, House Greyjoy, House Tyrell, and as of the expansion A Clash of Kings, House Martell. Players maneuver armies to secure support in the various regions that comprise the Seven Kingdoms, with the goal of capturing enough support to claim the Iron Throne. The basic gameplay mechanics are reminiscent of Diplomacy, especially in the order-giving process, though A Game of Thrones is significantly more complicated overall. Upon its release, the game received positive reviews, and was nominated for several awards. Playable Houses Arryn (included in A Feast for Crows expansion and Mother of Dragons expansion) Baratheon Greyjoy Lannister Martell (included in A Clash of Kings expansion and the second edition) Stark Targaryen (included in Mother of Dragons expansion) Tyrell Gameplay Victory condition The goal of the game is to be the first to control a specific number of cities and strongholds, determined in advance by the number of players, or to control the most cities and strongholds at the end of ten turns, to take the Iron Throne. Setup The game is played on a board that divides the continent of Westeros into several regions. Most regions have at least one icon representing a city, a stronghold, a support barrel, or a power icon, and some key locations have multiples of such icons. Each player selects a starting House, places starting units on the board as indicated by the instructions, places House markers on the Supply and three Influence tracks, and takes the hand of seven House characters to be used in battles. At the beginning of the game, the players with House markers on the highest positions in the Iron Throne, Fiefdoms, and King's Court Influence tracks will start with the Iron Throne, Valyrian Steel Blade, and Messenger Raven special tokens respectively. The three Westeros decks are shuffled, and placed off