Great Wall of China

Play wall, gate and watchtower cards into rows to claim prestige tiles and build the most honor on the Great Wall.

Designer: Reiner Knizia
Publishers: Egmont Polska, Fantasy Flight Games
Editions by: Devir, 999 Games, KOSMOS, Laser plus, Sophisticated Games

You are a Northern Chinese prince with one job: build a massive wall, and earn honor everlasting while you are at it. Everyone starts with the same twenty-card deck in their own color: seven wall cards worth one point, three gate cards worth two, a watchtower worth three, plus nine more cards with different point values and special actions. You shuffle, draw five, and compete over prestige tiles, numbered one to eight, which sit at the head of the card rows. On your turn you play cards into those rows to take the lead. It is a quick, light area-majority card game, about half an hour, with two to five players, and best with three. The theme is a wall, the feeling is a tight little contest.

Identical twenty-card decks per playerPrestige tiles numbered one to eightArea-majority card play

Who it's for

You want a quick card game of timing and area majority, played with a tidy little deck each.

Not for you if…

You want a deep, evolving strategy. It is short and light, and the decks do not change during play.

Vibe's take

Light, quick and tactical. Everyone has the same deck, so the fun is in timing your cards and noticing when to commit.