“Anyway, Kyle Galli, Kyle Galli………”
“Did something good come to mind?”
“……Yeah, maybe this could be a way out. Get me a Kyle Galli set and send it over.”
“Where should I send it?”
“To the Everts Duke’s House. The Duke I know would probably find it quite entertaining. And if we’re lucky…… even the Princess.”
“The Princess, you say……? I’ve heard rumors that the Duke cherishes her so much that she’s never even stepped outside the Duke’s castle.”
“Yeah, that sounds about right.”
“Huh?”
“Well, you don’t need to know. It’s too early to think about it anyway. By the way, Charles, is it just my mood, or are we over 100 points apart in Yacht? Every roll I make is a high score.”
“It’s your mood.”
“………”
*
Now I’m free! The world is in the era of board games!
……Well, not quite, but I feel like I’ve vaguely become the King of Board Games.
‘Though my life is mortgaged for it.’
Of course, my wordplay was caught, right? My father, who elevated our family from Baron to Viscount, wouldn’t miss something like that.
Him letting it slide means he’s giving me a chance.
Naturally, I had no intention of letting such a golden opportunity pass.
“What should I do? What kind of board game would be good?”
Just thinking about it, dozens of board games come to mind.
From proven classics to mystery games with intricate storylines, management games with intense mind games, and psychological games where everyone suspects each other.
Honestly, I’d love to spread the joy of strategy games, the pinnacle of board games.
‘But obviously, that’s too much.’
Even with Yacht, how many servants gave up because the rules were too complicated?
If even games that only require dice and pens are like that, strategy board games with multiple tokens, various cards, rulebooks, and tons of things to think about are still a long way off.
Even if I passionately create one now, very few people would be able to enjoy it, which doesn’t align with my goal of spreading the joy of board games.
So, Kyle Galli it is.
“It’s already proven to be fun.”
Both Grandpa Charles and Sally enjoyed it, and Sally even stayed up all night playing Kyle Galli with the maids, oversleeping as a result.
Simple rules, primal fun, excellent gameplay. It’s perfect as an introductory board game.
The only downside, if anything…… is the name?
‘If I knew it would come to this, I should’ve named it properly.’
What kind of name is Kyle Galli? It’s like I’m blatantly advertising that I made it.
I should’ve just kept the original name. Too late for regrets now.
Everyone knows it as Kyle Galli, and I don’t feel like going around correcting each person. I’ll just have to endure the embarrassment.
Though…… I do feel a bit guilty. It’s clearly a game made by a genius from another world, and I just changed the art and the name.
As my mood slightly dipped, I suddenly sensed a presence and turned my head.
“Young Master……”
“Sally.”
“Um, well……”
So this is where you were, cleaning.
Well, as my personal maid and part-time guard, it’s only fair since she woke up later than me.
Honestly, does a third son who only stays inside the mansion even need a guard?
“I want to, but…”
“I’m so sorry!!”
“Huh? Why all of a sudden?”
“W-well, I overslept and couldn’t assist the Young Master, and then the Head of the Family scolded me…”
“Ah.”
“I-is Kyle Galli banned now…?”
“Don’t worry, Sally. It’s actually turned into an opportunity.”
“Sniff… Huh?”
“It’s true I got called by Father because of you, but I managed to negotiate and got permission to play board games. So we can keep playing Kyle Galli.”
“Ah…!”
“So stop crying. Did you finish cleaning?”
“Ah, yes! They’ll take care of it themselves!”
Sally, who was gloomy but suddenly brightened up, gestured once, and the broom and mop floated up on their own, starting to sweep and clean the area.
Magic is always fascinating, no matter how many times you see it. No wonder people go crazy over magic shows.
I chuckled and walked down the hallway with Sally.
There was something I wanted to ask.
“So, how was Kyle Galli? How did the maids react?”
“Ah, it was amazing! At first, it was just me and a friend playing, but she kept losing and got so frustrated that it got intense… Then 3, 4, and eventually over 10 people joined in!”
“You stayed up all night doing that?”
“W-well, to be honest… We got so into it that we lost track of time… When we finally snapped out of it, we had slept in really late…”
Ah, I’ve had that experience a few times too.
It’s common to go to a board game cafe with friends, get hooked on a strategy or RPG game, and suddenly realize hours have flown by.
There were times when we started at 1 PM and only realized it was 5 PM when we finally snapped out of it.
‘But that’s usually for strategy games that take hours per session. Kyle Galli rarely goes over 30 minutes, no matter how long it feels.’
There are two ways to interpret this.
Either the game time stretched out a lot because they were playing with 10 people at once.
Or they were so engrossed in the game that they lost track of time.
Personally, I hope it’s the latter.
“Anyway, now that I have Father’s permission, I’m going to spread Kyle Galli properly.”
“Ah, spread it…?”
“Yeah. Starting with the family servants and then expanding to the territory.”
“…B-but, I think people are already playing it…”
“Huh?”
“W-well, Butler Charles said it seemed really fun, so he made a few more copies and handed them out to the knights and servants…”
“…When?”
“Ah, right after you left the Young Master’s room yesterday.”
Wait, Grandpa Butler, this guy!
How did he pull off such a great move!
‘Great, then…!’
It hasn’t even been a day, so meaningful results might be hard to see yet.
Butler Charles was the Knight Commander before he became the head butler. If he personally recommended it, and it’s a board game made by the Young Master, even if he’s the third son, some of the knights must have tried it by now.
Let’s go hear what they have to say.
‘And let’s play with them!’
Honestly, I’ve only been playing with Grandpa Butler and Sally, so I’m desperate for new players. Some fresh reactions! Fresh attitudes! Fresh faces!
Let’s see some lively newbies, newbies!
“Alright, let’s head to the training ground!”
“Yes, yes!”
*
The Byron family was only a baronage a few years ago, but their territory and mansion are by no means small.
I heard that my great-grandfather…
My grandfather was a knight who made great achievements in the war, and thanks to his personal friendship with the emperor of the time, he was not only granted the title of baron instead of a lower rank, but also received a prime piece of land as his fief.
Although there were no mines or dungeons in our territory, it was a key transportation hub connecting the central region to the west and south.
Even without doing much, merchants, grains, and goods constantly passed through, so even without great business acumen, we managed to earn a considerable amount of money.
This was also why my eldest brother, despite showing talent in magic, chose to study economics at the academy instead of going to the Magic Tower.
Anyway, what’s the point of all this?
It’s that the training ground inside the estate is ridiculously huge.
“Swordsmanship practice!”
“Ahhh!!!!”
“Your voice is too soft! Louder!!!”
“AAAAAHHHHH!!!!!”
“Still tough as ever.”
“Wow, that looks really exhausting……”
Well, in a world where superhumans exist, knights who can wield aura are forces beyond imagination.
They can literally run across lakes and leap over hills. While wars between nations might be different, territorial disputes often end in duels between knights.
The number and quality of knights directly reflect the prestige of a family, so every day is filled with intense training.
‘No wonder gambling was allowed.’
When you’re undergoing high-intensity training every single day, you need some way to blow off steam.
Originally, that outlet was gambling, but since it was banned by my father’s order, there’s no real substitute now.
So, I’m going to fill that gap!
‘Feels a bit like giving poison and then the cure, though.’
The one who messed up was that knight who used yachting for gambling, not me or board games.
Having neatly concluded that, I headed toward the training ground.
“Everyone’s working hard, huh?”
“Huh? Y-Young Master Kyle!? Everyone, attention!”
“No, no. Don’t bother……….”
The Knight Commander, who tried to have the knights salute as soon as he spotted me, canceled it at my wave and approached.
He looked curious as to why I, who hadn’t visited the training ground since childhood, was here now.
“Young Master Kyle, it’s been a long time since you’ve visited the training ground. Is something the matter?”
“Nothing major. It’s about board games.”
“Board games……? You mean Kyle Galli?”
Huh.
You know about it too?
“Have you tried it, Knight Commander?”
“W-Well, yes. Senior Charles insisted I try it at least once, so I did………but.”
Hmm.
Contrary to my expectations, the Knight Commander’s tone when talking about Kyle Galli was…微妙 (subtly awkward).
He seemed hesitant, unsure whether to speak or not.
Feeling a slight sense of foreboding, I urged him on.
“What is it? Speak freely.”
“………Then, I’ll be honest. Frankly speaking, um. It’s not very……fun.”
“……Really?”
“Ah, it’s not that Kyle Galli itself is boring! The game itself is quite entertaining.”
“Then?”
“It’s just that, the rules……are a bit too inconvenient.”
Rules? The rules of Kyle Galli are inconvenient?
Blinking in confusion, the Knight Commander sighed and continued.
“I heard about the rules from Senior Charles. The game’s basic rules were easy to understand, but……the ban on aura and magic, well, it’s a bit……”
……Aura and magic ban?
After the first game, Grandpa…
“That thing where the tiger’s aura and Sally’s magic were banned?”
“Um, would you like to take a look?”
“…Please.”
“Alright, knights who’ve tried Kyle Galli! Assemble!”
“Assemble!!”
At the Knight Commander’s command, a short knight, an older-looking knight, and a knight with a shiny bald spot hurriedly set up the game board.
They placed a table from the corner of the training ground, and with a bell and cards brought from somewhere, it was done.
The knights sitting around the table turned their gaze to the Knight Commander.
“Commander? Should we proceed as usual?”
“Yes. The Young Master needs to see it.”
“Understood.”
“Then, begin!”
───Crash!!!
“…Huh?”
It was over in an instant.
In the blink of an eye.
…As soon as the game started, the bell was flattened into a lump of scrap metal.
The knights’ indifferent expressions suggested this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened.
“This is… how it is.”
“………”
Only after witnessing it firsthand did I realize the problem. A problem I hadn’t even considered.
All the board games I knew were designed for ordinary people without any superpowers. After all, in the original world, there was no such thing as aura or magic.
But here, in a world where all sorts of supernatural abilities and magic are part of everyday life.
How well would a board game from the original world hold up in such a place?
‘The servants in the mansion or the ordinary territory residents are fine. They’re just like me.’
But for knights, magicians, and other various superhumans, it’s a different story. Naturally, problems like this are bound to arise.
…Actually, the solution is simple. Just accept that it can’t be helped.
After all, knights and magicians are just a minority in the grand scheme of things. Most people in this world are ordinary, just like in the original world.
We can overlook the minority and just make the board game the same, but.
‘If that was the plan from the start.’
I never dreamed of everyone enjoying board games.
“Don’t worry, Knight Commander.”
“Yes?”
“I’m the one who made the game. We can just make new rules.”
House rules.
In board games or TRPGs, it’s when players add or change rules by mutual agreement for convenience or variety.
Now was the time for that.
‘But the house rules I know won’t work.’
Not the ordinary house rules from the original world, but a way unique to this world.
For a board game that everyone can enjoy with a smile.
It was time to create completely new rules.
