Game Review: Love Letter

How can I get my love letter to the princess and earn her affection?  How can I ensure that it is my love letter that reaches her first?

In the card game Love Letter, suitors attempt to gain the Princess' affection by getting their love letters to her.  This game developed by Alderac Entertainment Group, makers of the game Smash Up is a game big on strategy, has a fair amount of deception, but is small in time required to play, making it a great game to play before the last player's arrival for another game, while waiting for dinner to be done, or around a coffee table while enjoying a steaming beverage of one sort or another.

Mechanics

The mechanics of this game are super simple.  First you are dealt a card, then you draw a card, then you discard the card and follow the actions of the card you have just discarded.  Do this all while trying not to reveal your own card as your opponents will be trying to get you out.

Why I Like this Game

In the post that I did on Spy Alley, I mentioned that I was not a huge fan of the fact that players are eliminated from the game.  In Love Letters, players spend so little time eliminated,due to the frequency of starting a new round, that it is more like missing a turn or two.  The game is not a fast paced game, but it is important for players to see what others are doing, so you can never zone out and not pay attention.  This keeps all of the players involved in the game for a majority of the time.  For the occasions when they are not they can use this time to look at the playing styles of the other competitors to see how they play their cards.

Deception

The deceptiveness in this game is akin to poker.  I will never claim to be a good poker player or have a good poker face, but Love Letter offers up an opportunity to try out one's best poker face.  In gauging the two cards, players have to make decisions about playing the best cards for them while looking like you have a strong enough hand but not too strong of a hand.  That sentence sounded like you have to play well, but not too well, and really you have to play the game to get it all figured out and that is what I would suggest you do.

Kids

This is a great game for kids.  They will figure out the rules really quick and know the actions of the characters just as quick.  This gives them the opportunity to work on determining their strategy when faced with two card combinations at different points in the game.

I am really looking forward to playing this again and again with my own kids, but am interested to see how their strategies change over time as they get more perceptive about the game and its nuances.

There are a number of different versions of the game with the same basic premise.  I recently saw a Batman themed version.  This might be a great way to get boys playing the game.  My girls love the idea of a princess getting love notes, but boys might shy away.  Who doesn't love Batman and I am sure he gets a ton of "fan" mail.







Comments

I would love to read your comments if you have any and would love to get ideas for similar card games that will add a bit of difficulty for my girls to move onto.

Tabletop Cafe: A Review

This past New year's Day (Happy New Year's everyone), my three eldest daughters (aged 7, 10, and 11) went to the original Tabletop Cafe in Edmonton, Alberta.  We stayed for a few hours, each had a cold beverage, and played some games.

We decided on trying out some games we had seen featured on Wil Wheaton's Tabletop.  The games were Sushi Go and Smash Up.

Atmosphere

We were greeted in a very nice way by the two young men (in their 20's I am guessing) who took our names, made small talk and let us know how the Tabletop Cafe worked.

The atmosphere of Tabletop Cafe was quite "home"y.  There were about eight or nine tables in the cafe that looked as though they could have come from the average family's dining room.  Some of the tables were more suited to sitting four players around them and others could easily fit 6 or even eight players.  There were also a number of couches in the cafe.

How it Works

At the Tabletop Cafe, it costs $5 per person ($2.50 for kids) and you can stay as long as you like and play any of the plethora of games that you want.  There are so many games they need a menu for the games.  The games are very well organized into the type of game that you want to play (co-operative, two player, and intro or heavy).  The organization of the games is such a positive.  As a newer gamer, I know that I can walk in there, find a game with an "intro" sticker on it and I am not going to get so confused by the game that I will have a bad time as a result.  As well, the employees are willing to help you play any of the games.  I did not test our their ability to assist, but I suspect they would have been spot on to help.

Once you have a game, you are free to play any of the games for as long as you like.  I would really recommend making a reservation.  We arrived at around 3:30 pm, but by 5:00 pm it was getting quite busy.  When I tweeted earlier in the week asking whether reservations were needed for a Tuesday night, it was highly recommended that I do so.

There are numerous food and beverage choices.  I thought the options were quite sufficient for the type of establishment (you are really not going for the food), but did find them a bit expensive.  I suspect that part of the cost of playing is built into the food and beverage pricing, which I can understand.

Tabletop Cafe has a significant number of games that can be purchased, as well.  We ended up buying both games that we tried.

Overall Impression

What a great way to spend a few hours with my kids.  The staff was friendly and helpful.  This is the type of place that I want my kids to experience so that when they are older they have a safe place to hang out, spend some time with friends, and be safe.  The experience was fun and we will definitely be back!