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.
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