El Grande Review

Intro

El Grande stands as one of the most celebrated area control games ever designed, and nearly three decades after its 1995 release, it's easy to see why. You're a powerful Grande in medieval Spain, maneuvering knights called caballeros across the kingdom while the aging king's authority crumbles around you. The goal is simple: control more regions than your opponents when scoring happens.

This game works with 2-5 players, though it truly shines with a full table of five. Expect around two hours of gameplay, maybe a bit less once everyone knows the ropes. With a 7.77 rating on BoardGameGeek and a Spiel des Jahres win under its belt, El Grande has serious pedigree. The complexity sits in that sweet spot where newcomers can grasp it without too much pain, but there's plenty of depth for seasoned players to chew on.

How It Plays

Each game runs nine rounds, with scoring happening after rounds three, six, and nine. Every round starts with everyone secretly selecting one of their 13 power cards. These cards do double duty: they determine turn order and how many caballeros you can recruit from the general supply into your personal court.

Once turn order is set, players take turns choosing from five action cards laid out on the table. One card is always the same—it lets you move the king to a new region. The other four rotate each round and offer various special abilities plus different numbers of caballeros you can deploy from your court onto the board.

Here's the key restriction: you can only place caballeros in regions adjacent to wherever the king currently sits. And nothing—absolutely nothing—can enter or leave the king's region. It's like a sacred space that freezes everything inside it.

The castillo adds a delicious layer of intrigue. This tower sits in the middle of the board, and caballeros placed there remain hidden until scoring. When the castillo is scored, you secretly choose which region to dump your accumulated forces into using a hidden dial. It's your chance for a surprise power play.

Scoring rewards area majority in each region according to values printed right on the board. You get bonus points for controlling the region where your Grande figure stands and wherever the king happens to be. After nine rounds of this territorial chess match, whoever has the most points wins.

Highlights

The power card system creates fantastic tension. Playing a high-numbered card gives you more caballeros but forces you to go later in turn order, potentially watching your perfect plans crumble as opponents snatch up the action cards you needed. It's a brilliant balancing act that keeps every decision meaningful.

That mystical castillo is pure genius. Watching opponents stuff caballeros into that tower while you wonder where they'll eventually land keeps everyone guessing. The psychological warfare is real—do you commit forces to defend a region you think is safe, or gamble that the hidden armies will strike elsewhere?

The king movement mechanic prevents the game from becoming a static slug-fest. Since you can only place caballeros adjacent to his royal highness, moving the king opens new opportunities while potentially cutting off others. It's area control with a dynamic, shifting focus that keeps everyone on their toes.

What really impresses me is how the game scales tension across nine rounds. Early rounds feel exploratory as you establish positions, but by round seven or eight, every placement becomes crucial. The three scoring rounds create natural crescendos, with the final scoring often producing nail-biting finishes.

Criticisms

The biggest knock against El Grande is how it can occasionally punish players through no real fault of their own. If opponents conspire to move the king away from your strongholds while you're stuck with low power cards, you might spend several turns essentially twiddling your thumbs. This kingmaking potential grows more pronounced in five-player games, where temporary alliances can shut someone out of contention.

The game also suffers from some analysis paralysis with certain groups. With multiple action cards offering different combinations of abilities and caballero counts, plus the need to consider king movement and potential castillo surprises, turns can drag as players calculate optimal moves. This is especially true in the later rounds when point swings become more dramatic.

Despite its reputation as a modern classic, El Grande can feel a bit dry thematically. You're moving wooden cubes around a map, and while the medieval Spanish setting provides some flavor, it doesn't create the immersive experience that more narrative-driven games offer. Some players might find the abstract nature of the area control mechanics less engaging than games with stronger thematic integration.

Conclusion

El Grande deserves its status as an area control masterpiece. If you enjoy games where every decision matters, where you need to balance short-term tactics with long-term strategy, and where reading your opponents is just as important as controlling territory, this game will click immediately. It's particularly brilliant with groups that appreciate interactive gameplay without resorting to direct conflict mechanics.

Strategy gamers who love classics like Tigris & Euphrates or Samurai will find a kindred spirit here. The game rewards careful planning but punishes rigidity, demanding you adapt as the king moves and opponents shift the landscape. Nearly thirty years later, El Grande remains a benchmark for how area control should feel: tense, interactive, and deeply satisfying when your carefully laid plans finally pay off.