The king is dead! Nobody knows what happened to him but nevertheless he does not have any known heirs. The 5 factions of the realm (Goblins, Dwarves, Doppelgängers, Knights and the Undead) will now battle it out to decide who will Claim the throne once and for all. Do you have what it takes to to win over the realm’s factions?
Claim is a fantastic 2-player pocket-sized card game from Deep Water Games. The trick-taking game is played over two phases where the object of the game is to gain the majority of Followers of a faction in order to win their vote. The player who wins the vote of at least three factions wins the game!
There are five factions of cards (numbered 0-9); all of the factions, except Goblins, have special powers to help you master the game. Don’t worry if you need a reminder as there are player reference cards to help you along the way,
To set-up, shuffle the deck of 52 cards and deal 13 cards to each player. Each player takes their cards into their hand, without showing them to the opposing player. The remaining cards are placed face down in a draw pile in the middle of the table.
Phase One: Recruit followers. Decide who is going first - they will be known as the Leading
Player. After the first trick the leader will be the player who won the last trick. This phase is then played out in three steps:
- Reveal a card from the deck: this is the card that players will be competing for in the trick.
- Play a card: the leader plays any one card from their hand.
- The opposing player then plays a card from their hand - if able to, they must play a card that matches the faction of which the leader played.
The player with the highest value card of the leading faction wins the trick. (In the case of a tie - the leader wins). If the opposing player plays a card of a different faction, the leader wins the trick
unless a faction power (Doppelgänger or knight) is played.
The winner of the trick places the won card face down in front of them, creating their Follower Deck. The loser takes the top card from the draw deck and places it face down in their follower deck (they may look at the card but not show it to the other player.)
Phase Two: Gather Supporters. Players now take the 13 cards gathered in Phase One into their hand. Another round of 13 tricks is played out but now players are competing for both cards.
Winning cards are now placed in the players Score Pile. Once all cards have been played, the game ends and scoring begins. Each player counts how many cards of each faction they have in their score pile. Whoever has the most cards of a faction wins their vote. If there is a tie, the
highest scoring card wins the vote. The player who win’s the vote of at least 3 factions wins the game and Claims the throne!
Beautifully illustrated, quick to play, simply addictive and fits inside your pocket…what is there not to like? A perfect stocking filler or just a treat for yourself, Claim your copy now!
