CROWNS & CUTTHROATS (2024)

PLAYERS	TIME	DESIGNER	ARTIST	PUBLISHER
2	30 mins	Paul Robert Adams	n/a	Permargin Quality Games

METHOD

Trick Taking games are a dime a dozen these days, and to make one stand out it needs something extra to do, mechanics wise, to solidify its identity.

CROWNS & CUTTHROATS does the usual Trick Taking stuff while adding a cat ‘n’ mouse chase that is powered in different ways by the winner and loser of each trick.

Points are the main goal (first to twelve over a number of rounds), but if that Cutthroat card makes it atop the Crown card . . . it’s an instant win for the tricky little cutthroat.

POINTS OF INTEREST

Classic Trick Takers were all about winning the most ‘tricks’. But as the genre has evolved, losing a trick has become just as important. SKULL KING, for example, has players bet on how many tricks they think they can win in a round. So there’ll be a moment when you play a card down with the intention to lose and it’s all part of your plan.

CROWNS & CUTTHROATS has a similar idea with the use of it’s card powers. There are four suits in the game, with cards in each suit numbered 1-8. Each number has it’s own potentially useful ability which is only activated by the tricks loser each turn.

Gone is playing a low card just to get rid of it. Now there is an extra layer as to which card you’re getting rid of. You’ll need to think about those abilities and figure out which one can help out your next turn.

But that’s not the end of that card. You see, when you place a card from your hand into the grid to activate it’s power, you’ll get to retrieve one too. Another layer, right? Now you’re also thinking about what card to add back into your hand. Nice when there is a high number from the trump suit just sitting there.

Of course, once that card goes into the 3×3 grid, it’ll be there for your opponent to take next time if they lose this next trick. Something else to think about. Trick Taking is it’s own puzzle, but there is a lot to consider each time you lose a trick in CROWNS & CUTTHROATS. And each change has the potential to really alter the play state going forward.

It also alters your hand, which I feel is pretty unique. I’ve not played a Trick Taking game (to my fickle brain’s recollection) where you’re hand of cards has the potential to change and improve through a round of the game. One game saw me have a middling start with okay cards, but three losses in I was all 8’s and 7’s.

Annoyingly, losing a hand and having to place a great card into the middle can hinder as much as it’s ability helps, so losing a trick can be a double edged sword.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT

Unfortunately it’s the card abilities that let the game down for me. I don’t think they are a super interesting mix, with some being quickly countered when revealed upon placement. The 1, for example, makes the next trick’s win condition be the lowest card. But if you’re activating that power, you lost the last hand, so you won’t be going first. This twist for the round also isn’t hidden from your opponent, so they can just play their lowest card and win another trick. It might even benefit them to do so.

I also wasn’t a fan of the role switching mid game. It immediately took me out of the game when I’d spent a round chasing down the crown, not making it, and then suddenly I’m on the run. This leads into wondering how the game would have played with the Crown having it’s own win condition to go after, keeping the Cutthroat off guard while trying to focus on the chase. Or perhaps a single track like the one in 7 WONDERS DUEL.

Because both players are also going after points across the multiple rounds, the Cutthroat having that extra win condition almost feels like the Golden Snitch. I could be 11-3 up and still lose because I couldn’t get far enough away in a quite contained space.

This issue is escalted within the 3×3 grid because, even if the Crown wins a decent amount of tricks, they can’t get that far away from the Cutthroat. You feel like you’re trapped in a small cage with a rabid mongoose, just counting down a timer until you’re hopefully rescued.

EXTRA CONTENT?

The game has no expansions, modules, or any kind of extra content.

FOR 2-PLAYERS?

This is a 2-player only game.

– – CONCLUSION – – Overall, I liked the added mechanic of the 3×3 grid between player that was affected by the outcome of the tricks, as well as the changing state of the grid and the players hand of cards. However, I felt that the card abilities were a little unimaginative, and I wonder if a tug of war would have worked better between the players, allowing a dominating Crown player to elude the instant loss condition. One player having an extra way to win didn’t appeal to me.

Review #0220

[ Review copy supplied by Permagrin Quality Games, obtained through the UKBG Review Circle – thoughts and views are my own ]