Game of the Year Game Club, Episode 2: Fit for a King

“Hear ye, hear ye! Spoilers below!”

— Town Crier Mike

Coming out of some Royal-themed Humble Bundle or other, years ago, Fit For a King is the perfect panacea to the drudgery of modern life. When life has us down, spiraling into anxiety and depression, with our world, politics, communities running out of our control, For For a King comes along to allow us to reshape the world to our whims. Want to marry an animal? Ordain a wine barrel? Anything the king says goes!

So how did our game go?

My Queen married every princess she could get her hands on, and not a few animals. But alas, her ambitions exceeded her kingdom's resources, and her people were left with hunger and hardship - a cautionary tale disguised as a playful adventure.

Our collective experiences shed more light on the game's unexpected depth. Darin found himself in a peculiar situation where everyone, including the executioner, was locked away in jail. So when the jail was full, there was none free to execute the prisoners to free up space.

Ian, in his eagerness to explore the game, failed to inquire about an important summit. His castle became a sanctuary for whimsical characters, with Father Mirror and Father Fireplace taking on divine roles. Later, he would encounter a roadblock when he mistakenly exiled pirates instead of dispatching them, leading to a life sentence on their pirate ship, unable to sail home.

Melinda, on the other hand, enjoyed a harem managed by her faithful consort, Piddles. But she found unexpected friendship with her rival, aptly named King Dickface, a surprising twist in their royal relationship.

Trevor's achievement came in the form of ordaining a bear, a testament to the game's quirkiness. The game presented us with challenges that required us to think outside the ordinary. Ian,

In the end, we played it not just for the brevity of the experience, but for the enchantment of a game that defied expectations. It served as a reminder that even in the realm of hyper-real Royalty Simulators, the most delightful surprises can be found in the unlikeliest of places.

Yeah, alright, but is Fit for a King actually any fun to play?

For some of us, Fit For a King was a good lark, best played in a single setting with friends you can share tales with. This made it perfect for Game Club, though not something that would stick with us for years. Yet it remains easy to play, and lets you bail out once you’ve had your fill in a satisfying way, calling for the royal contest to obtain whatever ending your kingdom has earned (but probably didn’t deserve).

But the game’s real success was its emergent comedy, seen in such lines as, “A rat doesn’t need your forgiveness.” It uses the medium well to get its jokes across. It leans into the silliness of its tropes. Nor does the comedy doesn’t overstay its welcome and is well themed. So it’s actually funny.

What truly makes this game shine as a comedy and, in many ways truly accurate, Royalty Simulator is that it’s the type of game that really enjoys the kind of game it is. It does not mock its genre or the players; feudal kings, specifically kings like Henry VIII, are the butt of the joke here. This proves to strike the right tone, and allows the player to laugh along with the game instead of at it, even when the game’s DOS-adventure-style limitations create some of that humor - such as attempting to forgive a rat her sins.

Will Fit for a King make our Top 10 Games of the Year?

It’s historical accuracy is off the charts and therefore better than Pentiment by default, so it could very well! Many of us are big fans of short games that don’t overstay their welcome. We will always be able to say “A rat does not need your forgiveness.” It’s smaller and simplistic, and the developers clearly enjoyed making the game.

Yet the games’ ephemeral nature could keep out of the running. While it is undoubtedly fun for an afternoon’s laugh, there is no real depth to it.

All the same, it’s hard to deny its value. The commitment needed to get what the game has to offer is so low, after all.

Like a good wine tasting, we recommend the following games to play with Fit For a King: