#trick-taking

#trick-taking

Whoever plays the highest card in the led suit wins the trick. Their card stays face-up and gives it value as strength in that territory. The loser flips their wolf card over, turning it into a lone wolf worth only a single strength. All is not lost; you also get a scar token, which adds a special ability or extra scoring opportunity for you.

We're all out here living our ordinary lives. Day by day, the sun rises on our respective horizons. Each dawn bringing new opportunities, new challenges, new experiences. The call to adventure isn't always glamorous. Sometimes the act of getting out of bed is enough to push destiny in a new direction. Yet it's that pull toward greatness that we crave, the crossing of the threshold to reach new heights, ordeals overcome, a transformation before the sun truly sets.

The past couple of years have seen an explosion of small-box trick-taking games that each bring their own twist to the category. Scout has multi-numbered cards. Ruins has players building better cards. The Crew is cooperative, but without verbal communication. Seers Catalog lets players break the normal rules. Lone Wolves and Katmai actually work at the 2-player count. Cat in the Box makes players predict their winning trick-count and the cards have no suit. I could go on.

The Bottle Imp combines a unique story theme with classic trick-taking mechanics, where players navigate the dangers of a wish-granting bottle while avoiding its deadly consequences.