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Description
The island of Oshra is in turmoil. Following the death of the Emperor, the conflict between the Hill Tribes and the Imperial Army escalated. While the Water People try to maintain balance between the old rivals, the Undead aim to escalate the war. All hope rests on the six children of the Emperor: Who of them will claim the throne?
In Hidden Leaders, you take the role of one of six secret leaders, each of them is allied with two of the four factions/colors. By playing heroes into your tableau, either openly or secretly, you influence the outcome of the conflict.
At the end of the game, one of the four factions will win:
Red leading > Red victory
Green leading > Green victory
Tie between Red & Green > Blue victory
Red & Green in War Zone > Black victory
Each player who is aligned with the winning faction can claim the victory. However, they must have more heroes of this color than any competitor.
Hidden Leaders is a quick, light strategy card game with direct player interaction. It combines tableau building and deduction elements with its unique winning mechanism. This is a game of great tension with no-down time, that’s fast to learn. Its distinctive artwork and character names will make you smile.
—description from designer
Year Published
2022
Transcript Analysis
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 3
This page: 3
Sentiment:
pos 1 ·
mix 1 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 1
Showing 1–3 of 3
Video s7z-PF9khY0
Chairman of the Board general_discussion at 11:31 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 11139 · mention_pk 32762
Click to watch at 11:31 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
- Kickstarter-backed title; potential
Cons
- Speaker was unhappy with the review and sold the copy
Thematic elements
- Hidden roles/leadership dynamics
- Kickstarter project; leadership themes
- unknown
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- hidden roles/bluffing — not fully described in transcript; speaker mentions review was negative
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- "Caesar sees Rome in 20 minutes"
- "this is like the spiritual successor or at least a sister game or a partner game to paulo maurice blitzkrieg"
- "I believe you're investing in these companies these companies can merge with each other so it's just all about making profit"
- "Detective Club and the expansion"
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video -cFShq1KvQY
Before You Play rules teach at 0:00 sentiment: positive
video_pk 7783 · mention_pk 22972
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Hidden leaders mechanic fosters deception and social deduction without explicit name-calling or direct accusations
- Four factions with two-faction alignment per leader adds depth and strategic ambiguity
- Highly variable card effects create interesting combos and board interactions
- Graveyard resurrection and wild-card interactions add tactical timing and flexibility
- Prototype status is acknowledged with balance tweaks and final artwork ready
Cons
- Prototype copy means balance and card selections may change in the final production
- Complexity may be a barrier for new players due to hidden information and multiple factions
- Tracking and managing markers and face-up/face-down heroes requires careful attention during play
Thematic elements
- political intrigue, hidden identities, faction balance, and public tracking of influence on a central board
- The emperor has died and four factions (Water/Blu e, Undead/Grey, Empire/Red, Tribes/Green) vie for control; players are hidden leaders loyal to two factions.
- deception-forward, track-driven victory condition with hidden information
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- card-driven board manipulation — Cards move faction markers on a central tracker, affecting end-game conditions and which faction wins.
- end-game trigger via face-up heroes — In a two-player game, the game ends when a player has a certain number of face-up heroes; in larger games, multiple end conditions interact with tracked markers.
- graveyard and resurrection — Heroes can be killed (moved to a graveyard) and resurrected via card effects, expanding strategic options.
- Hand management and drafting — Players start with a hand of five cards, discard into a wilderness, and play cards face down or resolve them for board effects.
- hidden roles — Each player is secretly assigned a hidden leader affiliated with two factions; others do not know which leaders belong to whom.
- tavern/harbor pools and wilderness discard — Frontline and backline pools provide face-up cards, while discards go to wilderness to balance hand size and options.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- the emperor has died
- it's a two to six player social deduction game hidden roles
- we're not quite sure which way we're going to go right until the very end
- nobody knows who each other's hidden leader is
- please let us know if you have any questions about how to play the game or anything about the campaign
- thank you all so much for watching the video we hope you enjoyed it
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video zpCpiLHDgEY
Chairman of the Board general_discussion at 6:00 sentiment: negative
video_pk 1275 · mention_pk 3705
Click to watch at 6:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
negative
Pros
- Beautiful artwork
- interesting theme and concept
Cons
- Gameplay can become tedious and predictable
- Push-pull can feel unrewarding
Thematic elements
- hidden agendas and manipulation
- tug-of-war with hidden objectives
- competitive, hidden-info play
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- hidden objectives — each player has secret goals influencing their moves
- high interactivity back-and-forth — tedious back-and-forth play when opposing objectives align
- tug-of-war track movement — moving pieces along a shared track toward agreed endpoints
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- the production and the visual aesthetic of the game was absolutely stunning
- the decisions were relatively uninteresting and pretty obvious once you've groked the game
- one and done style game so once you've done one of the missions you've experienced it can't go play it again
- it's a gorgeous looking game
- the money in this game, particularly in the first half was extremely tight
- this game's out there that I enjoy more that are faster they're a bit more succinct
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–3 of 3