The Game of the Month series will highlight one of the many games in our library at Ravenwood Castle. We will briefly describe the game, how to play it, and why we like it.

Game: Love Letter

Publisher: Aldereac Entertainment Group

When you think of February, you think of Valentine’s Day. The month conjures images of roses, chocolates, and romantic dinners – why not a romantic game as well? We’ve got you covered with our February Game of the Month – Love Letter.

Published by Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG), Love Letter is a great little game that’s quick to teach and quicker to play. And when I say little, I’m not exaggerating. The entire game is smaller than a deck of cards, and comes in a tiny red velvet pouch.

Love Letter is described by AEG as “a game of risk, deduction, and luck, for 2–4 players.” The object is to get your love letter into Princess Annette’s hands while keeping other players’ letters away. Unfortunately, the Princess has locked herself in the palace, and players must rely on those within the palace to deliver their romantic letters. The player whose letter reaches the Princess first wins the round.

At the beginning of each round, players are dealt one card. On their turn they draw another card, and play one of the two cards now in their hand. Cards have various effects, such as allowing the player to look at another player’s hand, compare hands with another player (knocking the lower hand out of the round) or guess what’s in another player’s hand (and knock them out of the round if they’re right).

The last player knocked out, or the player with the card closest to the Princess when the draw deck is empty, wins the round. Rounds play extremely quickly, allowing you to tailor the length of the overall game nicely by choosing how many rounds to play.

The speed of the game combined with it’s accessibility make it perfect for introducing non-gamers to the hobby, or filling a few minutes between meatier games with veteran gamers. We often use it in our Intro to Gaming events, and it will certainly see play time at the upcoming Knights of the Round TableTop Day.

That flexibilitiy makes it a perfect game for the Ravenwood Castle guest library, and is why Love Letter is one of our go-to games, and our February Game of the Month.

Jim Reed

Jim Reed is a lifelong gamer who started with the original red box Dungeons & Dragons. After spending 20 years in the corporate world, he decided it was high time that work be fun and struck out on his own. Jim now owns and operates Ravenwood Castle, and spends his days ensuring his guests have as much fun as he does.