Masques

Venice, a masquerade ball, and a room full of guests who are not what they seem. In Masques (also published as Intrigo, and prize-winning in France under the title St Benoît in 2009) you run an ambitious family and send your most influential representatives to the Doge's party. You play guest cards, each with an influence value and a power of its own: the peddler, the assassin, the gondolier and their friends. Higher influence means more clout at court, and you can also use a rival family's guests against them. Position your people smartly, nudge your opponents' guests around, and win the attention of the city's guild masters. It is a 2010 card game of bluff and timing for two to four players, around forty-five minutes.