The latest edition of the Seers Catalog has everything you need for stopping werewolves. Can you limit yourself to the essentials in time to save the village?
Seers Catalog is an almost-shedding card game in which each player tries to get rid of almost all of the cards in their hand. Each round, players have a unique set of artifacts that give them asymmetric abilities to help manage their hand of cards. When one player runs out of cards, the round is scored: Each card is worth -1, but if you have five or fewer cards in your hand, the lowest value on those cards is worth positive points! However, once you have five or fewer cards, you can no longer voluntarily pass, so holding on to a high-value card near the end of the round hoping for a big payout can result in total failure.
- rich strategic space that scales with player experience
- artifact cards create high variability and replayability
- interesting tension between rushing the end and avoiding point-heavy hands
- paradox of needing to shed but not overcommit early
- requires multiple plays to master scoring interactions
- artifact-driven trick-taking and hand management under pressure of the werewolf threat
- Retro-fantasy world where werewolves exist and a magical catalog guides danger
- flavor-rich items and flavor text that color the risk-reward of each play
- Haggis
- 535
- Haggis and Bacon
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- bombs and artifact cards — two artifact cards are dealt to each player; they grant special powers (go first, change suit, play again, etc.) and can dramatically shift control.
- climbing and shedding — players ascend by playing higher melds; the goal is to shed cards while preventing opponents from outrunning you.
- climbing shedding — players ascend by playing higher melds; the goal is to shed cards while preventing opponents from outrunning you.
- Compound Scoring — when a player has six or fewer cards, a token flips to bonus, altering scoring and preventing passes in that hand.
- dynamic endgame tension — artifact cards create uncertainty about opponents' holdings and timing, producing multiple viable paths each hand.
- negative-point hand scoring — each card in a player's hand at the end of a round is worth -1 point; going out early can yield zero but leaves others with negatives.
- token-based bonus scoring — when a player has six or fewer cards, a token flips to bonus, altering scoring and preventing passes in that hand.
- Trick-taking — lead determines allowed plays; players must top the lead with a higher value in the same meld or by bombs/artifacts.
- trick-taking with lead constraints — lead determines allowed plays; players must top the lead with a higher value in the same meld or by bombs/artifacts.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- this is a giant Paradox you want to get rid of your cards but not too fast
- the big Hook is this is a giant Paradox you want to get rid of your cards but not too fast
- I haven't played a ton of climbing shedding games just for your reference
- this game is cheap it's easy to try out
- if you're not a big climbing shedding game, I absolutely recommend trying this game
- you and your game group have a high chance of liking it