My work colleague Stephen (Tik Tok Games) returned from UK Games Expo with this exquisitely produced card game. I loved it so much I immediately bought it.
Courtisans by Catchup Games (distributed by Hacehette)
A new arrival on the board game scene are Hachette Board Games UK a new division of the all dominating French publishing giant Hahcette. They have collaborated with a number of smaller games designers to distribute their games just in time for Christmas.
One such title is Courtisans by Catchup Games, a simple card collecting in the style of Happy Families except that in addition to keeping and giving away cards you get to try to influence who is in or out of favour at the Queens banquet.
High Production Quality
As soon as you open the box your eye will be drawn to the tapestry play mat. Something I've never seen in a game and it is so "on theme" I'm tempted to try something similar for my 2nd favourite card game Citadels.
The playing cards are similarly gorgeous. It is not often that you see tarot sized cards in a boardgame and this again harks back to medieval times when this was the standard size for all cards. Printed with a gold spot colour these are beautifully illustrated and the necessary symbols discrete yet clear.
Fast Game Play
The objective is simple, collect as many cards of families who are Esteemed, avoid collecting cards of families who are Fallen from Grace and play cards at the Queens table to influence who is Esteemed and who is Fallen from Grace. Whichever side of the table has the most cards (Esteemed on top, Fallen below) determines which families in everyone's tableau score positive or negative points.
Every turn you keep a card, give one away to another player and add one to the table. It is that simple. However, there are four special card types (for each family) which if you draw them can be played and mix things up. These are:
- Assassin - denoted by the dagger symbol can be used to kill any card from any family whether they are played in your or another players tableau or at the queens table.
- Guard - denoted by the shield, the guard cannot be killed by an assassin.
- Noble - denoted by the Crown X2 means that they are worth two points instead of one.
- Spy - denoted by the mask symbol is played face down and only revealed at the end of the game. They can count towards your positive or negative points or can add to the esteemed or fallen from grace scores at the queens table.
Finally a range of secret mission cards can tip the balance in the end game should you be able to satisfy the win condition.
In Conclusion
Courtesans is a great little 5 player game which is quick to play and can easily fill that dead time whilst you are waiting for players to turn up to your RPG game. I personally love the intrigue element and there are lots of tactics you can deploy to try to seal your victory at a cost to other players.
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