Love Letter continues to be one of my favourite card games. It was originally released in 2012, 14 years ago! Proof that if I’m happy to return to play a game throughout those 14 years, it must be good!
Stick with me on this one, it may seem long winded but once you’ve learnt this game, it is so easy to pick up and a super speedy playthrough.
Intro
In this 2-6 player game, you play as a suitor, trying to get your love letter to Princess Annette. Unfortunately, she’s locked herself away in the palace so you must rely on intermediaries to carry your message.
During the game, you hold one secret card in your hand; this is who currently carries your message of love for the Princess, but this can change as you draw and play cards.
A word of warning, the people of the city of Tempest are sneaky and sometimes deceitful. You’re playing against all other players at the table; intercept the other suitors to ensure your letter gets to the Princess first.
Will you become the Princess’s ideal partner and confidant for when she assumes the throne?
Set Up
Give each player a reference card, which lists the values, effects and quantity of each character card type. Shuffle the 21 character cards to create the deck and place it face down on the table, alongside 13 favour tokens.
Take the top card of the deck and set it facedown without looking at it, if playing a two player game, take three more cards and set them aside face up.
Deal each player one card from the deck as their starting hand, the player who most recently hand wrote a letter takes the first turn.
Player Turn
On your turn, draw one card from the deck and then play one of your two cards in hand, resolving its effect. The played card stays face up in front of you and you keep the other card in your hand. Each character card has different abilities and perks, some are more helpful than others.
Be sure to check your player reference card before guessing another player’s hand, as this will tell you how many of those cards are in the deck. For example, the card states ‘Handmaid x2 – so if there are two Handmaids already faceup on the table, don’t waste your next Guard card by guessing a Handmaid, because they’ve already been played!
Card Effects
9. Princess – If you either play or discard the Princess for any reason, you are immediately out of the round (turns out she was writing the letters to herself!)
8. Countess – You must play the Countess as your turn if the other card in your hand is the Prince or King. You may still choose to play the Countess card if you don’t have the Prince or King just to be sneaky and throw the other players off, it’s your call how deceitful you want to be.
7. King – Choose another player and trade hands with them.
6. Chancellor – Draw two cards from the deck into your hand, choose and keep one of the three cards and place the other two facedown on the bottom of the deck in any order.
5. Prince – Choose any player, including yourself, to discard their card without resolving its effect and draw a new hand.
4. Handmaid – Until the start of your next turn, other players cannot choose you for their card effects and you are protected.
3. Baron – Choose another player. You and that player secretly compare your hands and whoever has the lowest value, is out.
2. Priest – Choose another player and secretly look at their hand (without revealing it to other players).
1. Guard – Choose another player and name a character card that you think that player has in their hand (you can’t guess a Guard though, the Guards are clearly friends and don’t rat eachother out).
0. Spy – The Spy has no effect when played immediately, however they can gain you a favour token at the end of the round if you’re the only player with a Spy face up in front of you.
You’ve been discovered!
If you are knocked out of a round, a competing suitor has ensured that your letter could not be delivered to the princess.
There are many ways to outwit your opponents in this game and to me, that’s the beauty of it. It can be played over and over and you can still be completely blindsided by your fellow players, leading to people ‘ooo’ing and ahh’ing’ at the table.
Summary
In an ideal world, I don’t really want to have the Princess in my hand, because it makes me an instant target and I have the worst poker face in history, so if I draw her from the deck, other players tend to know straight away!
My personal favourite card is the Guard, because they’re just nosey and are able to randomly guess what other player’s have. It keeps other players on their toes and even more motivated to keep their character card a secret.
Love Letter is a game of risk, deduction, and sometimes plain luck. Who will get to the princess first? Will it be the Handmaid, the Baron, or perhaps the Priest? This game has excellent replayability and what may have started as a simple warm up game, has actually become the main event that you’ll want to return to at every opportunity.
Love Letter is also a perfect size (no bigger than a deck of standard cards), meaning it can be taken out on adventures, perhaps down to the pub and on road trips.
There are a couple of versions of Love Letter, I myself have the original and the premium editions, but have always had my eye on the Wedding edition and Bridgerton. If you haven’t tried any of them, please do, you won’t regret it!
