Description

SUMMARY from the designer:
"Shades and Glamour is a card game based on an alternate history of the English Regency. The game mimics social life in 1814 — if one adds magic. The goal is to improve one’s social standing. Social standing is the value of one’s cards. One improves it by acquiring better cards. As with all romances, the game ends when a character becomes betrothed by losing his or her last card."

AVAILABILITY:
The game is available from the designers website as a print-and-play. Some character cards are only available directly from the author at conventions. The game additionally requires a standard deck of playing cards and a pen and paper.

GAMEPLAY SUMMARY:
Each player will play the character on their character card. Each character card has a different balance of a number of different attributes. The attributes each map to a suit of a standard set of face cards. Each player holds five facecards with which one will attempt to acquire the other player's character cards from them.

Players will take turns making advances via one of their attributes toward another player. That player can respond in kind, or counter with a different, attribute (analogous to each suit having a different suit which can trump it). Players then simultaneously reveal their played cards and add that total to the corresponding attribute on their character card. The player with the higher total triumphs, and takes the opposing player's character card.

If one does not hold a suitable card one can attempt to bluff by playing a face card as if it is suitable, but when it comes time to compare scores, only the attribute on the character card is counted, with no additional strength given via the face card. Alternatively one can opt to not participate in an exchange at all, before the face cards are revealed, but one will lose a turn as a penalty for doing so.

Play continues in rounds until only a player loses her last card. Points are counted, and the player with the highest points wins.