Masquerade (2013)

About this game

Masquerade is a card game where players battle each other to either murder the King or protect him. The deck is comprised of 61 cards. All of which are characters with their own unique abilities. Each character also has a power and defensive value. Players take turns drawing cards and placing them face up or face down in front of them. During their turns, players then attack each others' characters. By rule, you have to attack face up characters before attacking face down characters. This makes finding and killing the King more difficult had all the characters started in the face up position. Once you've attacked a face down character, it flips up assuming it survives the attack. If it remains on the table on your next turn, you have the option of placing it face down again and shuffle its position. This game is NOT Bruno Faidutti's Mascarade.

Does it fit your group?

• Group size. Works with 3 to 6.
• Rules load. At 2.0/5 this is a mid-weight game — expect a proper rules explanation before you start.
• Age. The publisher suggests 12 and up. That rates the rules rather than the artwork, so judge the box yourself for younger players.