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The Beast has invited you to his castle for a Masquerade. When you enter, you are magically transformed into the identity of another character from The Grimm Forest! The Beast enjoys his antics!
Players will be outed if they are given 2 artifacts of their bane, but can win the magical masquerade if they are able to collect 3 artifacts of their favor.
The Beast loves to watch the characters try and oust each other. Each player will draw 2 artifacts, keeping one for themselves and giving 1 to any player at the ball. This reveals a lot of information on both players. Why did you keep that artifact? Oh excuse me Snow White, I see you have 2 mirrors does that oust you as the Evil Queen?
Turning in 2 Artifacts activates special actions as well, timing these well have great benefits!
Don't worry if you are outed early, you take on the role of a Ghost, you get to guess what character you think will win the magical masquerade and if you are correct, you win along with them! You also take a turn handing out Artifacts to characters to try and sway the ball to your favor!
The first player to collect 3 Artifacts of Favor or to be the last player remaining will win. All other players will be given a token in their defeat. When someone has 3 tokens, that triggers the end of the masquerade and we see which player was the best!
-description from designer
- puzzle deduction premise engaging
- high player interaction
- strategic depth with subtle strategies
- secret identities, deception, collection of artifacts and roses
- Beasts masquerade ball in a fairy tale world
- puzzle deduction with hidden identities
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- card drafting — Each round you draw two cards and give one to another player while keeping one.
- deduction — Players try to deduce others' identities while concealing their own.
- hand management — Managing cards in hand and what to keep vs. pass.
- identity reveal — Certain actions or conditions lead to revealing your identity.
- puzzle deduction — Players try to deduce others' identities while concealing their own.
- set collection — Players collect artifacts as a path to scoring.
- two-card draft and pass — Each round you draw two cards and give one to another player while keeping one.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- you are one of a fairytale characters at the beasts masquerade ball but no one knows who you are behind the mask
- the game plays two to five
- you get a secret identity at the start of the game
- puzzle deduction where you try to conceal your identity while working out other players identities
- you can still draw cards and give other plays
- there are many subtle strategies to this game
References (from this video)
- nostalgic fairy tale theme
- beautiful illustrations and production quality
- accessible and quick to learn/play
- strong deduction and bluff elements
- great for introducing new players to the hobby
- fun to play with more people
- some luck involved, drawing cards may force unwanted banes
- not for players who dislike social deduction
- fairy tale characters with boons and banes; deception
- the beast's ball / fairy tale world
- storytelling through hidden identities and deduction
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Boons and Banes — characters have boons they love and banes they detest; three boons can win a round while two banes can eliminate you
- card drafting — on a turn you draw two cards and assign one to yourself and one to another player, gaining hints about others
- card-drafting action selection — on a turn you draw two cards and assign one to yourself and one to another player, gaining hints about others
- hidden identities and unmasking — each round assigns a character with boons and banes; players can unmask others to guess their character
- round-based scoring and elimination — end of each round the last man standing or the boons collector wins a trophy, roses increase per round, final winner after three rounds
- set collection — players collect 'roses' to determine the round winner; the goal is to collect the most roses by the end of the three rounds
- set collection with roses — players collect 'roses' to determine the round winner; the goal is to collect the most roses by the end of the three rounds
- two-card actions — you can use two of your cards to take an action, including unmasking a character
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- you'll be invited to the beast's ball
- the deduction piece is really interesting
- the art is absolutely fantastic
- nostalgic reminds me of my childhood
- this one's relatively quick to play