Love Letter (card game)
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2020) |
| Court the Royal Princess of Tempest | |
|---|---|
 Original box cover | |
| Designers | Seiji Kanai |
| Publishers |
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| Players |
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| 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
At the start of each round, one card is dealt to each player, 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, one card is drawn from the deck and the player gets to play either that card, or the card already in their hand. After processing the effect described on the played/discarded card, the next player to the left gets a turn. This is repeated until either the deck runs out, in which case the player holding the highest-strength card wins the round (if tied, then the player with the highest total strength of cards in their discard pile wins; original edition only), or all players but one are eliminated, in which case the remaining player wins the round. Once the round ends, the winning player receives a favor token. All cards are collected and shuffled, and play continues with a new round, where the winner of the previous round takes the first turn. The game ends when one player has obtained a predetermined number of favor tokens (from 3 to 7), depending on how many players are participating.
Card types
Following cards are available in the original edition of the game:[3][4]
| Card | Strength | Number in deck | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guard | 1 | 5 | Player may choose another player and name any card in that player's hand, but not Guard. If the hand contains the card specified, that player is eliminated from the round. |
| Priest | 2 | 2 | Player may privately see another player's hand. |
| Baron | 3 | 2 | Player may choose another player and privately compare hands. The player with the lower-strength card is eliminated from the round. |
| Handmaid | 4 | 2 | Player cannot be affected by any other player's cards until their next turn. |
| Prince | 5 | 2 | Player may choose any player (including themselves) to discard their hand and draw a new one. |
| King | 6 | 1 | Player may trade hands with another player. |
| Countess | 7 | 1 | If the player holds this card and either the King or the Prince, this card must be played immediately, which otherwise does nothing. |
| Princess | 8 | 1 | If the player plays or discards 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 and the addition of five cards to support play by 2–6 players. This edition carries over all the cards in the basic version, but changes the strength values of the King, the Countess and the Princess to 7, 8 and 9 respectively. The five cards added in this edition include 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 was the only one who played or discarded this card by the end of the round, they gain an additional favor token. |
| Chancellor | 6 | 2 | Player may draw two cards from the deck into their hand, then choose one of the three cards to keep for themselves, and place the other two on the bottom of the deck in any order. |
This edition can also be played in accordance with the original version by removing the five additional cards, though this only supports 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 | Pegasus Spiele | 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
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ 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!