Love Letter Board Game
Dec 09, 2020 Love Letter is a tiny card game, that every true board gamer should have in his collection. It’s a perfect filler game since rounds are finished in minutes and the entire game in 10 minutes. It’s something you play when you get knocked out of something bigger, or something you teach new players to. Love Letter is a card game introduced in May 2012 and designed by Seiji Kanai. It is produced in the United States by Z-Man Games. Love Letter is a game of risk, deduction, and luck for 2–4 players. Your goal is to get your love letter into Princess Annette's hands while deflecting the letters from competing suitors. From a deck with only sixteen cards, each player starts with only one card in hand; one card is removed from play.
| Designer(s) | Seiji Kanai |
|---|---|
| Publisher(s) | Alderac Entertainment Group (2012–2018) Z-Man Games (2018–present) |
| 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[edit]
Each player aims to deliver a love letter to the princess with the assistance of collaborators.
Playing method[edit]
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[edit]
| 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. |
Premium Edition[edit]
A premium edition of Love Letter has been sold that includes a 5-8 player variant. This variant uses all of the cards above, as well as the following.
| Card | Strength | Number in deck | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assassin | 0 | 1 | Does nothing when played, but if in player's hand when a Guard is used on them, the player who used the Guard is eliminated, even if they correctly guessed. Then the player with the Assassin must draw a replacement card. |
| Jester | 0 | 1 | Player chooses another player and gives them a 'jester token'. If a player with a 'jester token' wins the round, then the player who played the Jester gets an additional token of affection. |
| Guard | 1 | 3 | Same effect as a Guard in a normal game. However, in the premium edition, Guards guess based on numbers, not card names, since different cards have the same number. |
| Cardinal | 2 | 2 | Player chooses two players and they swap hands, then looks at the hand of one of those players. |
| Baroness | 3 | 2 | Player looks at one or two other players' hands. |
| Sycophant | 4 | 2 | Player chooses a player. During the next turn, players must target that player with card effects if able. |
| Count | 5 | 2 | Does nothing when played. If in a player's discard pile at the end of a round, that player receives a +1 bonus to their card's value at the end of the round. |
| Constable | 6 | 1 | Does nothing when played. If in a player's discard pile and that player is eliminated from the round via a card effect, then that player gets a token of affection. |
| Dowager Queen | 7 | 1 | The player will privately compare hands with another player, and the player with the higher-valued card is eliminated from the round. |
| Bishop | 9 | 1 | The player must guess the number of a card in another player's hand. If guessed correctly, then the player who played the Bishop gets a token of affection and the player that was designated may optionally choose to replace their card with a new one. Despite this card's value of '9' and the Princess's value of '8', the Bishop loses to the Princess at the end of the round. |
Second Edition[edit]
A 2nd 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:
| 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.
An April Fools print-and-play version (named as Love Letter: Sender) is also available, which combines the game's theme with a parody of online dating.
Awards won[edit]
Felt Letter Board
Love Letter has received the following awards:[3]
- 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[4]
Variations[edit]
Due to the game's successful sales, Alderac has subsequently produced different variants of Love Letter, each of which uses a similar or identical set of rules:
- Love Letter (2012) – the first edition of the game
- Love Letter: Legend of the Five Rings Edition (2014) – a Legend of the Five Rings-themed version of the game, with new art but identical rules to the original game
- Love Letter: Wedding Edition (2014) – a 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) – a 'postcard expansion' explaining how to use 2 sets of the base game to play with up to 8 players, released in German by Pegasus Spiele
- Munchkin Loot Letter[5] (2014) – a Munchkin-themed version that is otherwise identical to the base game (though it includes one new card for Munchkin itself)
- Letters to Santa (2014) – a Christmas-themed edition of the game featuring characters such as Santa Claus, snowmen, and reindeer
- Love Letter: The Hobbit – The Battle of the Five Armies[5] (2015) – a 17-card tie-in version for the 2014 film The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies with 2 notable changes from the base game: it adds a 'The One Ring' card with a special value, and includes two different versions of the Baron card (one causes the player with the higher-value hand to be out of the round instead)
- Love Letter: Batman[5] (2015) – a Batman-themed version with a single added rule: a player who plays Batman (card value 1) and correctly guesses another player's card immediately earns a token
- Land of the Lustrous Card Game: 'Love Letter' (宝石の国カードゲーム 「ラブレター」) (2015) – a Japanese variant themed after Land of the Lustrous (Hōseki no Kuni) with some rules changes and new cards, included with the special edition release of volume 4 of the manga
- Adventure Time: Love Letter[6] (2015) – an Adventure Time-themed version with 2 new rules: an additional possible win condition, and the ability to receive an additional token for winning the round with a 'Companion' card in one's hand
- Star Wars: Secret Invasion (Russian: Звёздные войны: Тайное вторжение)[5] (2015) – a 17-card Star Wars-themed Russian version that grants each character card a special ability, and once again includes two different versions of the Baron
- Love Letter Premium (2016) – an enhanced version for up to 8 players with an additional set of cards
- Archer: Once You Go Blackmail...[5] (2016) – an Archer-themed version of the game
- Harap Alb Continues: A Love Letter Game (Romanian: Harap Alb Continuă...: un joc Love Letter)[7] (2016) – a Romanian version based on the character of Harap Alb, released by publisher cutia.ro
- Osomatsu-san Love Letter Board Game (おそ松さんラブレターボードゲーム) (2016) – a Mr. Osomatsu-themed variant for up to 6 players published in Japanese by Arclight, with a few notable rules modifications: each player chooses to play as 1 of the 6 Matsuno siblings, and there are 6 cards with a value of 1 that are each named after a Matsuno sibling; if the card in a player's hand matches the player's character, the card is treated as having a value of 9 instead
- Love Letter: Erweiterung (2017) – an expansion that adds 10 new characters, released in German by Pegasus Spiele
- Lovecraft Letter[8] (2017) – a version based on Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos that introduces new versions of the cards based on 'insanity' powers
- Pummeleinhorn: The Super Cookie (German: Pummeleinhorn: Der Superkeks) (2018) – a version themed after German mascot Pummeleinhorn (Chubby Unicorn), released in German by Pegasus Spiele
- Chief Arino's Love Letter (Japanese: 有野課長のLove Letter, Hepburn: Arino-kachō no Love Letter) (2019) – a GameCenter CX-themed Japanese version published by Arclight, featuring Shinya Arino from Japanese comic duo Yoiko
- Love Letter second edition (2019) – a version with updated cards and additional cards to support up to 6 players
- Witch Hat: Magic Test (とんがり帽子の魔法試験, Tongari Bōshi no Mahō Shiken) (2019) – a Witch Hat Atelier-themed Japanese version included with the special edition release of volume 5 of the manga
- Love Letter from Yozakura (ラブレター・フロム・ヨザクラ) (2018) – a Yozakura Quartet-themed Japanese version published by Kanai Factory, included with the limited edition release of volume 22 of the manga
- Love Letter: Sender – a print-and-play version themed after online dating, released for free for April Fools' Day
- Touhou Bomb Letter: Delivery Barrage! (東方ボムレター -届け弾幕!-, Touhou Bomb Letter: Todoke Danmaku!) (2020) – a Touhou Project-themed version that adds 3 new types of cards, released in Japanese by Arclight
- Infinity Gauntlet: A Love Letter Game (2020) – a version set in the Marvel Universe in which up to 5 players deploy iconic heroes to defeat Thanos, controlled by another player, who plays with a 2-card hand and draws from a separate deck of minions and Infinity Stones
Letter Board Target
References[edit]
- ^ abOtake, 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 Page at Boardgame Geek
- ^'2014 Origins Winners Announced'. ICV2. Retrieved 2020-09-02.
- ^ abcdeMappin, Don. 'Hobbit, Batman, Archer, Star Wars—the many faces of Love Letter'. Ars Technica. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
- ^'Adventure Time Love Letter'. Board Game Geek. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
- ^'Harap Alb Continuă... un joc Love Letter'. Board Game Geek. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
- ^'Lovecraft Letter'. Board Game Geek. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
External links[edit]
- Love Letter at BoardGameGeek