Narratives and Databases in Game of Thrones - Game Play: Paratextuality in Contemporary Board Games - page 153

money a player has is determined by the plot card he or she played at the start
of the round. he strategy of the game arrives through the order in which those
three attacks are commenced.
For example, an initial hand of four cards might change the outcome of
the round. Cards can be characters, which allow players to engage in combat;
attachments, which can augment character cards; and locations, which can earn
players gold, reduce cost, or increase power. Some of these cards indicate idelity
to the narrative. For instance, playing the Winterfell Keep card symbolizes access
to the wealth of Winterfell, and thus on each turn the player can add  1 gold to
his or her store. Playing the general Winterfell location references the connection
to the family's home in the show, and thus adds strength to every Stark character
in play. Fidelity can occur with character play as well. For instance, in the game,
Hodor cannot attack; he can only defend. In the show, Hodor is a gentle giant—
he protects weaker characters like Bran but rarely goes on the ofensive.
However, some cards allow a deviance from the larger narrative. he Iron
hrone card symbolizes the power to rule in Westeros. Both players have a copy of
this card, and thus both can vie for dominance. If only one player plays this card,
though, that player receives dominance for the round, even if the characters are
not in control of the kingdom. Or, when playing an attachment like Needle, the
sword of Arya Stark, the player must place it on a particular character, regardless
of whether that character is Arya or not. his deviation from the original narrative
allows greater luidity in the players' interpretation of the story. Lancaster ofers a
similar example in the Babylon 5 Card Game, when the “declare war” card depicts
a particular alien species but that species does not have to match the actual event
in the game. 40 Such player-created agency to shit narrative is dependent on the
cards that are drawn, but present within the possibilities of the card set. hrough
player action, a form of narrative is achieved.
Once each player has laid down his or her hand of cards, the “marshaling
forces” round of play, the “challenge round,” begins and, like the previous round,
it is also based in serialized action. Much as in the “conlict phase” of the Babylon
5 Card Game, in which “players … initiate a military, diplomatic, or intrigue
action,” in the HBO Card Game , players choose attacks “in an attempt to gain
the upper hand.” 41 Once both players have played their cards, the irst player can
initiate an attack against the other player. Players have the choice of which type
of challenge they will start with.
Characters face of against each other, each ighting with his or her particular
skills until no ights are let for the round. Following a game through its seven