A Power Struggle of Abstract Proportions

Are you one of the lucky ones? Born into royalty, happy to sit atop the throne of the Kingdom of Darkhill? Or, will you be cunning enough to plot against those in power and get yourself ahead? Whatever the current case, nothing is set in stone here, and anyone can end up on top. It's about time to see if it might be you.
Let's take a closer look ...

What Is It?

An abstract card game for two where players are each dealt half the available cards and must play them in line one after another following some basic rules - only play on top of a number of lesser value unless the card's ability allows otherwise.

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Who Is It For?

I'd say this is for ages 10+ because the rules are definitely simple, but there's also a fair amount of strategy to it in knowing which card is your most optimal move (assuming you have multiple choices). I'd recommend it to fans of abstract games looking for a small and quick one to add to their collection as well.

PROS

• Plays quickly
  
• Portable
  
• Nice art
  
• Effective design - double sided with different colors for ease
  
• Easy concept to learn/teach/play, but elevated by strategy
  

CONS

• Only 14 game cards, so it can feel kind of repetitive, since you're always given half of them; it can also feel like a winner is pre-determined by the deal because of card restrictions and there only being so many moves available
  
• Sometimes feels like the imposter is too powerful, especially if you have experience with the game versus someone who doesn't
  

Difficulty

I'm going to put this one right at the middle at about a 3/5 difficulty. There's definitely strategy in what to play when especially since you play open hand and know everything your opponent can do. But again, there's still luck in the deal, which can take away a bit of that decision-making as well.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I thought this was interesting for sure, because it packed a pretty big punch for a small game, which I've come to expect with Button Shy games.
After a bunch of plays, the two biggest issues for me were that despite the strategic nature, it feels like one wrong play will lose you the game right away, and it just gets repetitive after a few plays because not enough changes game to game.
I think it's a good abstract game, and if you like a game that's consistent where you can hone your skills and strategies the more you play, this one will definitely appeal to you - especially because you can bring it anywhere!

My Final Rating: 5/10

Happy Gaming~

Additional Information:
Publisher - Button Shy Games
Reddit
BGG

*I was provided a prototype of this game to do this preview*

Support me on Ko-Fi, if you'd like ^_^

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