The Hand of the King was the second-most powerful man in the Seven Kingdoms. He spoke with the king's voice, commanded the king's armies, drafted the king's laws. At times he even sat upon the Iron Throne to dispense king's justice, when the king was absent, or sick, or otherwise indisposed. Robert was offering him a responsibility as large as the realm itself.
- A Song of Ice and Fire, Volume I: A Game of Thrones
In celebration of the highly-anticipated premiere of HBO's A Game of Thrones television series, based on the first volume of George R.R. Martin's fantasy epic, A Song of Ice and Fire, Fantasy Flight Games is proud to present the Hand of the King Tournament!
Join us Sunday, April 17th at the Fantasy Flight Games Event Center in Roseville, Minnesota for a day of A Game of Thrones: The Card Game, featuring the Hand of the King tournament, as well as the Chosen Few deckbuilding contest Proxy Tournament.
In addition to our hosted event, we invite interested retailers and gaming groups who cannot make it to Minnesota to host their own Hand of the King tournaments. For more information on The Hand of the King variant and on how to sign up to host an event, read on!
The Hand of the King Variant
The Hand of the King is a rules variant designed by A Game of Thrones: The Card Game's Lead Designer, Nate French. For this variant, you will appoint one of A Game of Thrones' unique characters to be your Hand of the King and your victory will depend not only on your Hand's achievements but on his or her survival. The Hand is one of the most powerful figures in a King's Small Council - choose yours carefully! For the full rules of the Hand of the King variant, download the PDF below.
Hand of the King variant rules. (PDF, 328 KB)
Sign Up to Host an Event
For those retailers and gaming groups interested in hosting their own Hand of the King tournament, send an email to [email protected]. Your event can be held any time between April 15th and April 24th, 2011.
Be sure to include your name, contact information, venue information (store address, hours, phone number, etc.), and especially your tournament's time and date when you email us. Give us your event's details and we will post it here on our website for your players to find.
As an added bonus, venues can also purchase a Hand of the King prize support kit featuring:
• 1 engraved plaque for the winner of the tournament
• 8 Hand of the King commemorative cards, with the rules for the variant printed on the back
Above: The Hand of the King player aid card.
The deadline to sign up to host a Hand of the King tournament is March 7th, 2011.
The Hand of the North
Come to the Fantasy Flight Games Event Center at 11:00AM on Sunday, April 17th to participate in our Hand of the King tournament and square off against the other claimants to the Iron Throne! In addition to the prizes listed above, we will also be giving out other exclusive prizes, to be announced in a future update.
While players compete in the Hand of the King tournament, FFG Staff will be facing off in the Chosen Few Proxy Tournament mentioned in a previous front page feature. Watch as FFG's staff battles for the honor of the creators of the Chosen Few's decks!
Celebrate A Game of Thrones
The Fantasy Flight Games Event Center will be the center of an exciting day of A Game of Thrones, kicking off a week of celebration of the premiere of HBO's A Game of Thrones TV series. Join us and other A Game of Thrones fans worldwide for the Hand of the King tournament!