🏰👑 COURTISANS
9/10
Players: 2–5 (best at 3)
Play time: ~20–30 min
Difficulty: Light-Medium
Mechanics: Hand management, Bluffing, Area majority, Card drafting, Hidden information
🎯 Goal of the Game
You’re a schemer at the royal court. Six noble families compete for the Queen’s favor — some will be respected, others disgraced. You play cards to manipulate which families rise and fall, while stacking your own domain with the families you believe will come out on top.
Each turn you play exactly 3 cards: one to the Queen’s table (to influence a family’s status), one to your own domain (to score or lose points), and one to an opponent’s domain (to help or sabotage them). It’s a knife fight dressed in Renaissance silk.
🃏 How a Turn Works
Before the game starts, some cards are removed from the deck (depending on player count). Each player receives 3 courtier cards and 2 secret mission cards (1 white, 1 blue). The play mat goes in the center — this is the Queen’s table.
🔄 Each Turn
You MUST play all 3 cards from your hand, one to each area:
Queen’s Table — Place a card ABOVE the mat (supports the family’s reputation) or BELOW (works against it). This is how you control which families end up respected or disgraced.
Your Domain — Place a card in front of you. At game’s end, each card of a respected family = +1 point. Each card of a disgraced family = -1 point. Neutral families = 0.
Opponent’s Domain — Place a card in front of any opponent. Same scoring rules — so you can “gift” them a family you’re planning to destroy. Deliciously evil.
After playing all 3 cards, draw 3 new ones from the deck. If the deck is empty, this was your last turn.
⚔️ Special Roles
Some courtiers carry special roles (shown on the card illustration and corner symbols):
🗡️ Assassin (4 per family) — When placed, may eliminate one other card in the same area. Around the Queen’s table, can target ANY family. Use is optional.
🛡️ Guard (2 per family) — Cannot be assassinated. Once played, stays forever. Your shield.
👑 Noble (2 per family) — Counts as 2 cards for scoring AND for determining family status at the Queen’s table. Huge swing potential.
🕵️ Spy (3 per family) — Always played FACE DOWN. Nobody can look at it — not even you after placing. Around the Queen’s table, placed in a special column. Revealed only at game end. Pure chaos.
🏁 End of Game & Scoring
When the deck runs out and all hands are empty:
All spies are revealed and moved to their family columns (keeping their above/below position).
Determine each family’s status: more cards ABOVE mat = respected. More BELOW = disgraced. Equal = neutral. (Remember: nobles count as 2!)
Score your domain: +1 per respected card, -1 per disgraced card, 0 for neutral.
Reveal secret missions: each fulfilled mission = +3 bonus points.
Highest score wins. Ties = shared victory.
🏆 How to Win (Real Tips)
Watch the Queen’s table like a hawk. One noble (worth 2) can flip an entire family’s status.
At 3 players, alliances shift every turn. Read who’s invested in which family and sabotage accordingly.
Spies are your secret weapons. A well-placed spy can swing a family’s status at the very end.
Don’t forget secret missions — 3 bonus points per mission can decide the game.
Poison opponents’ domains early. Drop cards from families you plan to tank.
🌿 Why This Game Is Special
The art by Noëmie Chevalier is STUNNING — six families, each with their own visual identity, hidden in a tiny box. You open it and discover a miniature art gallery.
90 cards, a play mat, secret missions — that’s it. No board, no tokens. You shuffle, deal, and in 2 minutes you’re scheming.
This is NOT multiplayer solitaire. Every card you play affects someone else. At 3 players, it’s a perfect triangle of tension.
💀 Why It’s Not Perfect
At 2 players, something’s missing. It drags, and the interaction feels mechanical.
At 4, it’s almost too fast. The game flies by before you can build strategy.
The sweet spot is 3. Absolutely, unquestionably 3.
☕ My Impressions
I opened the box expecting a light card game. What I got was court intrigue, betrayal, and moments where you place a card, look your friend in the eye, and smile — because you just dropped an assassin on their most valuable noble.
At 3 players, Dworzanie is a masterpiece of negative interaction done right. Every backstab is strategic, every alliance temporary, every spy reveal a mini-drama.
The art deserves special mention — some of the most beautiful card game illustrations I’ve seen. All hidden in a box smaller than my hand.
🎯 Final Rating: 9/10
A tiny box hiding a gorgeous, devious, brain-burning card game. Best at 3 players where every turn is a puzzle wrapped in betrayal.
