Kingdom 18 is an 18 card hand management game with hints of deck building. Players take the role of nobles attempting to build kingdoms either through diplomacy or force. The goal is to grab the highest point value lands and create the most powerful kingdom or take less valuable lands that offer you powerful actions later.
Players start with a hand of 4 cards, each with 2 possible actions. These can be different values of military might or political savvy, or they can be an assassin or a shield that can steal the values of other cards their opponents play.
Each turn players place 1 card facedown on each land. These cards are revealed and another turn commences. After the second turn the players with the most strength on the land wins it. Bonus points are awarded for matching the types of cards the land prefers.
Collected lands count towards the end of the game scoring but also have their own in-game action. They are shuffled into the player's starting 4 cards and 4 new cards are drawn. The lands can have strong or weak abilities but only have one option.
Once all lands have been claimed the final scores are tallied and the highest score is the winner.
—description from the publisher