Love Letter (card game)
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2020) |
| Court the Royal Princess of Tempest | |
|---|---|
 Box cover | |
| Designers | Seiji Kanai |
| Publishers |
|
| Players | 2 to 4 |
| Playing time | 20 minutes |
Love Letter is a card game introduced in May 2012 and designed by Seiji Kanai.[1] It was produced in the United States by Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG) until 2018, when Love Letter was acquired by Z-Man Games (a subsidiary of Asmodee).[2]
Premise[]
Each player aims to deliver a love letter to the princess with the assistance of collaborators.
Playing method[]
2–4 people play. First, one card is dealt to each person, and one is discarded face-down from the round (so the process of elimination cannot be used to prove which cards are left) and the rest are deposited face-down into a deck in the middle. During each player's turn, they draw one card from the deck and play either that card, or the card they already had. After processing the effect described on the discarded card, the next player gets a turn. This is repeated until either the deck disappears, in which case the player holding the highest card wins the round (if tied, then the player with the highest total of cards in their discard pile), or until all players but one are eliminated, in which case the remaining player wins the round. The deck (including the discarded card) is shuffled, and play begins again. Once a player wins the game, that player receives a token of affection. The game ends when one player has obtained a predetermined number of tokens of affection (normally anywhere from four to seven).
Card types[]
Following cards are available in the classic version of the game:[3][4]
| Card | Strength | Number in deck | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guard | 1 | 5 | Player designates another player and names a type of card. If that player's hand matches the type of card specified, that player is eliminated from the round. However, Guard cannot be named as the type of card. |
| Priest | 2 | 2 | Player is allowed to see another player's hand. |
| Baron | 3 | 2 | Player will choose another player and privately compare hands. The player with the lower-strength hand is eliminated from the round. |
| Handmaid | 4 | 2 | Player cannot be affected by any other player's card until the next turn. |
| Prince | 5 | 2 | Player can choose any player (including themselves) to discard their hand and draw a new one. If the discarded card is the Princess, the discarding player is eliminated. |
| King | 6 | 1 | Player trades hands with any other player. |
| Countess | 7 | 1 | If a player holds both this card and either the King or Prince card, this card must be played immediately. |
| Princess | 8 | 1 | If a player plays this card for any reason, they are eliminated from the round. |
Second Edition[]
A second edition of Love Letter was released in 2019 with new artwork, as well as having five cards added to support play by 2–6 players. This version uses all the cards in the basic version but changes the strength value of the King to 7, the Countess to 8 and the Princess to 9. It also adds one additional Guard card and the following new cards:[4]
| Card | Strength | Number in deck | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spy | 0 | 2 | Does nothing when played, but if the player is the only player who played spies, he gain an additional token of affection. |
| Chancellor | 6 | 2 | Draw two cards from the deck to your hand. Choose and keep one of the three cards, then place the other two on the bottom in any order. |
This version can also be played in accordance with the original version by removing the five additional cards, though this only supports for 2–4 players.
Awards won[]
Love Letter has received the following awards:[5]
- 2014 Deutscher Spiele Preis, 4th place
- 2014 Spiel des Jahres recommended
- 2014 Origin Awards Best Traditional Card Game
- 2014 Guildbrikken Best Family Game
- 2014 Fairplay A la Carte
- 2013 Golden Geek Best Party Board Game
- 2013 Golden Geek Best Innovative Board Game
- 2013 Golden Geek Best Family Board Game
- 2013 Golden Geek Best Card Game
- 2012 Japan Boardgame Prize Voters' Selection
- 2012 Dice Tower Best Family Game[1]
- 2012 Origins Award for Best Traditional Card Game[6]
Editions[]
In addition to foreign language editions, many are themed:
| Name | Date | Publisher | Language | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Love Letter | 2012 | AEG | English | the first edition of the game |
| Love Letter: Legend of the Five Rings Edition | 2014 | AEG | English | Themed, new art, identical rules to the original game. |
| Love Letter: Wedding Edition | 2014 | AEG | English | Wedding-themed version of the game with corresponding art, only available directly from the publisher, and only to those celebrating their own or someone else's wedding |
| Big Love Letter | 2014 | German | "Postcard expansion" explaining how to use 2 sets of the base game to play with up to 8 players. | |
| Munchkin Loot Letter [7] | 2014 | AEG | English | Themed, identical rules to the original game. Includes one new card for Munchkin itself |
| Letters to Santa | 2014 | AEG | English | Christmas-themed edition, featuring characters such as Santa Claus, snowmen, and reindeer |
| Love Letter: The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies [7] | 2015 | AEG | English | Themed, 17-card tie-in for the 2014 film The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. Two notable changes from the base game: it adds a "The One Ring" card , and includes two different versions of the Baron card. |
| Love Letter: Batman [7] | 2015 | AEG | English | Batman-themed version with a single rew rule. |
| Land of the Lustrous Card Game: "Love Letter"[8] | 2015 | Japanese | Themed with some rules changes and new cards, included with the special edition release of volume 4 of the manga. | |
| Adventure Time: Love Letter [9] | 2015 | AEG | English | Themed with 2 new rules. |
| Star Wars: Secret Invasion (Russian: Звёздные войны: Тайное вторжение)[7] | 2015 | Russian | Themed, with 17 cards. | |
| Love Letter Premium[10] | 2016 | AEG | English | An enhanced edition for up to 8 players with an additional set of cards |
| Archer: Once You Go Blackmail... [7] | 2016 | AEG | English | Themed TV tie-in. |
| Harap Alb Continues: A Love Letter Game (Romanian: Harap Alb Continuă...: un joc Love Letter) [11] | 2016 | cutia.ro | Romanian | Themed, based on the character of Harap Alb |
| Osomatsu-san Love Letter Board Game[12] | 2016 | Arclight | Japanese | Themed Mr. Osomatsu edition. Has a few notable rules modifications. |
| Love Letter: Erweiterung | 2017 | Pegasus Spiele | German | Expansion that adds 10 new characters. |
| Lovecraft Letter [13] | 2017 | AEG | English | Themed, based on Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. Introduces new versions of the cards based on "insanity" powers. |
| Pummeleinhorn: The Super Cookie (German: Pummeleinhorn: Der Superkeks) | 2018 | Pegasus Spiele | German | Themed, based on Pummeleinhorn (Chubby Unicorn). |
| Chief Arino's Love Letter[14] | 2019 | Arclight | Japanese | Themed, based onGameCenter CX, featuring Shinya Arino from Japanese comic duo Yoiko. |
| Love Letter second edition | 2019 | Z-Man Games | English | Updated art and additional cards to support up to 6 players. |
| Witch Hat: Magic Test[15] | 2019 | Japanese | Themed, included with the special edition release of volume 5 of the manga | |
| Love Letter from Yozakura[16] | 2018 | Kanai Factory | Japanese | Themed, included with the limited edition release of volume 22 of the manga |
| Love Letter: Sender | English | Themed, free print-and-play online dating April Fools' Day edition for April Fools' Day. | ||
| Touhou Bomb Letter: Delivery Barrage![17] | 2020 | Arclight | Japanese | Themed, adds 3 new types of cards. |
| Infinity Gauntlet: A Love Letter Game | 2020 | English | Themed Marvel Universe tie-in, for up to 5 players |
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b Otake, Tomoko (31 January 2014). "Indie designer Kanai carves out niche with analog board games". The Japan Times. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
- ^ "Z-Man Games Acquires Love Letter". Z-Man Games. 8 May 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
- ^ "Love Letter Rules" (PDF). AEG. 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 May 2016.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Love Letter Rules" (PDF). Z-Man Games. 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 May 2021.
- ^ Love Letter Page at Boardgame Geek
- ^ "2014 Origins Winners Announced". ICV2. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Mappin, Don (4 June 2016). "Hobbit, Batman, Archer, Star Wars—the many faces of Love Letter". Ars Technica. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
- ^ 宝石の国カードゲーム 「ラブレター」
- ^ "Adventure Time Love Letter". Board Game Geek. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
- ^ "Love Letter Premium Edition" (PDF). alderac.com. AEG. 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 April 2021.
- ^ "Harap Alb Continuă... un joc Love Letter". Board Game Geek. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
- ^ おそ松さんラブレターボードゲーム
- ^ "Lovecraft Letter". Board Game Geek. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
- ^ 有野課長のLove Letter, Arino-kachō no Love Letter
- ^ とんがり帽子の魔法試験, Tongari Bōshi no Mahō Shiken
- ^ ラブレター・フロム・ヨザクラ
- ^ 東方ボムレター -届け弾幕!-, Touhou Bomb Letter: Todoke Danmaku!
External links[]
- Card games introduced in 2012
- Dedicated deck card games
- Origins Award winners