Outwit your opponents and deliver the Love Letter!
The story of how I acquired this game goes like this. I played it once at a friend’s house, and it was so simple and enjoyable that I immediately hopped on Amazon (because going to the store would take too much time) and purchased the game for next-day delivery. We introduced the game to our friends a week later, and they also went out to buy it that same week!
Needless to say, this game is simple, addicting, and a quick time filler for a group of friends. Pretty quickly you will come to learn your friend’s habits while playing and can use it to your advantage. The game's goal is to outwit your opponents, become worthy of the Princess, and deliver your love letter.
Mechanics: Deception, Social deduction
ART: 5/10
It’s just okay. The paint style blends nice gradients and gives each card a warm, soft glow. Very fitting for a princess in a castle game. Since the theme isn’t my favorite, and the art is centered on characters (I’m huge on landscapes and culture), the art just falls short for me. Pleasant to look at but nothing to rave about.
STORYTELLING: 3/10
I honestly don’t think about the princess theme at all when playing this game. You have to be very imaginative to align the character’s mechanics with the flavor of who they are. The guard kind of makes sense, as you are keeping players away from the princess by taking people out of the game. With the spy, you are trying to stealth your way into the final round alone in order to deliver your love letter.
Most of the rest fall short. What does the prince have to do with discarding a card and drawing a new one? What does trading hands with another player have to do with the king? However, the game is so simplified that you could put any theme to it, and it would still be fun. Again, most of the focus is on increasing your odds and less on who the characters are.
COMPONENTS: 3/10
I’m basing this score only on the ZMan publishing of this game since they are the most recent publisher. Not much to judge here, as there are only cards and a few victory point tokens. The tokens are nice, heavy acrylic with a screen-printed design. The cards are just synthetic cards. Bonus points for a velvet pouch to contain the game, but I wish the logo was embroidered and not printed.
COMPLEXITY: 4/10
Draw a card, and read the one sentence that describes what the card does. Then play a card. It is as simple as that. Some cards try to guess what other players have, and others just want you to have the highest card in your hand. There is a level of strategy in order to outwit your opponents, like in poker. Understanding probabilities can help you make different decisions in the game that can increase your odds of winning.
TRAVEL-FRIENDLY: 10/10
The game is literally 21 cards sold in a small, velvet pouch. There’s no excuse why you can’t keep this with you to bring out to play whenever you are waiting for something with a group of friends. Having space to lay out your cards is a nicety, but unnecessary.
UNIQUENESS: 3/10
This is the only game I have played that is simple while still containing in-depth strategy in only 21 cards. However, the mechanics of each card are all basic and seen across many traditional card games. Bringing all these mechanics together makes for a great game with high replayability. Doesn’t have to be unique to be well-loved.
Final Comments
This is probably my social network’s number-one game to go to in a jiffy. Love Letter is a great game to introduce new players to board games, warm up a board game night, play with a time constraint, and have a lot of laughs with friends. It is not my favorite game of all time, nor am I always dying to play it. But when the moment arises, this is a quick, easy, enjoyable way to spend time with loved ones.
Mash Up Of: Go Fish, War, Poker, Blackjack
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Publisher: Zman Games
Game(s) Pictured: Love Letter
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