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Love Letter

2-6 players 20-20 min 7.5 Board Game Geek Rating

Players compete to deliver love letters to a princess by playing character cards with unique abilities. Each turn, draw and play one card, using its power to eliminate opponents or protect yourself. Win favor tokens by being the last player standing or holding the highest-value card when the deck runs out. First to collect enough tokens becomes the princess's confidant and wins.

Published 2019

Love Letter

Get Ready

Setup the game with these step-by-step instructions before diving into your turn.

1
Distribute reference cards
Give each player one reference card showing all character abilities and their numbers
2
Shuffle the deck
Mix all 21 character cards thoroughly and place them face-down in the center of the table
3
Remove hidden card
Take the top card from the deck and place it face-down to the side without looking at it; this card remains hidden until the end of the round
4
Adjust for two players
If playing with only two players, remove 3 additional cards from the deck face-down
5
Deal starting hands
Give each player one card from the deck
6
Determine first player
The player who most recently wrote a letter by hand becomes the starting player

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

1
Draw a card
At the start of your turn, you must draw one card from the deck
2
Play a card
Choose one of the two cards in your hand and play it face-up in front of you
3
Resolve card effects
Apply the ability of the played card according to its character type:
4
Mandatory play rule
You must draw and play a card on your turn; you cannot pass
5
Elimination handling
When eliminated, reveal your hand card and place it face-up in front of you; you cannot participate until a new round begins

Winning

How to claim victory.

1
Round end by deck depletion
When all cards are drawn, complete the current round of turns; players compare their remaining hand cards and the highest number wins the round
2
Round end by elimination
If all players except one are eliminated, the remaining player wins the round
3
Tiebreaker for equal cards
If players tie with the same card number, all tied players receive one victory token each
4
Spy bonus
If you played a Spy card during the round and win, you receive one additional victory token; playing two Spies still only grants one bonus token
5
Victory token requirements
The number of tokens needed to win depends on player count:
6
New round setup
The winner of the previous round becomes the starting player for the next round
7
Game victory
The first player to collect the required number of victory tokens becomes the champion
8
Classic variant
For 2-4 players, remove one Guard, both Chancellors, and both Spies from the game; all other rules remain the same

watch & Learn

Let the pros teach you with these top videos.

Conociendo Love Letter

Conociendo Love Letter

Instructional

How to Play Love Letter

How to Play Love Letter

Instructional

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FULL rules

Looking for the full details? Grab the complete rulebook as a downloadable PDF.

PDF RULEBOOK

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