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Quick Look: Heraldry (From The Game Chest)

Designers: Paul D. Allen, Johann Chipol
Artist: Raben White
Publisher: Pocket Fox Games
Year Published: 2024

No. of Players: 2

Playing Time: 10 – 20 minutes.

Find more info HERE.

From the Publisher:

Disclaimer: The publisher provided the copy of Heraldry (From The Game Chest). The opinions expressed in the review are completely my own.

Review:
 

Not too long ago I covered Showdown, game 1 out of 3 of Pocket Fox Games’ portable Game Chest. 

Today, I am dealing with the second game from the collection, which is Heraldry, in its two player form.

While Showdown was great for using the trope of a classic western gun fight, Heraldry uses themes and imagery from medieval combat to capture its essence. Consisting of a meager 9 cards per player, it has no problem slipping into its dedicated portion of the Game Chest. 

We really ended up liking Showdown, so were curious as to how Heraldry would hold up.

Now I will say that Showdown was quite mindless fun, perfectly suited for travel and not having to think too much while passing the time doing whatever it is you may like doing while waiting for planes to arrive or while sitting at a picnic table.

Heraldry is ever so slightly more involved. Not quite as brainless as Showdown, but you may have to think a bit more about your next move. 

The game begins with each player getting 9 predetermined cards, each with an associated number value from 1 thru 9, and dedicated art to match, from the lowly prince at 1, Knight at 6, and up to the King at 9.

After determining which player goes first via random draw, players will take turns laying down cards in a serial procession, that is to say, in a line.

Once the first player lays the base card, subsequent plays must be laid next to this card with very specific rules :

—The next card played must be higher valued, or ; 

—It must be exactly one less than the preceding card or; 

—A player may elect to play two cards if the combined value meets the exact value of the card that proceeds them. In such a base, the other player’s previously played card gets banished from play this round and gets counted against their final score.

There are a few special cards that let you break the rules of normally playing just one card per turn ; cards with a golden chalice can be played with other similarly marked cards for example, as can cards with silver acorns, adding some circumstantial tricks to be held up your sleeve. 

Once a player can no longer play cards due to being unable to take a turn according to the conditions noted above, the round is over and scores are tallied. Higher is worse, so any cards you have in your hand leftover get added up in total to those that were banished, and if you have the lowest total numerical value you win for this round.

The best out of 3 rounds takes home the final victory trophy.

Our thoughts :

Heraldry showcases yet another example that proved us wrong in our presumption that one would need a full sized deck to enjoy a game. It challenges that “norm” wonderfully, and when combined together with what we have enjoyed with the other games in the Game Chest, when things start to feel a little repetitive (as many games of this type can get after a while), you can still swiftly swap to another game in the collection to refresh the atmosphere.  So in that light, it is a very good choice to bring around with you while gallivanting around the countryside. 

The art is once again wonderfully drawn, and again captures the essence of what it is supposed to be. I have always enjoyed this sort of hand-drawn pencil art, and what I see with Heraldry is no exception to this particular fancy of mine.

I should also mention that it doesn’t take up a ton of table space either, which is especially important given that many card games I have recently played are actually unplayable in places such as coffee shops due to the amount of space they consume!

At its core, Heraldry may be the simplest form of strategy in a game, but it works for what it is intended to do, which is being something to do to pass the time without a fuss while on the go. So under this light, I would recommend it. 

Be on the lookout for my review of the third game in the series soon, which is Lucha Mania!

After reading Jazz’s review, if this sounds like a game for you at the time of this posting Heraldry (From The Game Chest) there are 500 or less copies. So check it out and get your copy while they last HERE.

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