The Bottle Imp
A trick-taker where cards below the bottle's price become trump and stick you with a cursed imp.
A trick-taking card game with a haunted twist, based on the Robert Louis Stevenson story. One neutral card sets the price of the cursed bottle, and any card below that price becomes an instant trump that seizes the trick and hands you the bottle. Nobody wants to be holding it when scores are tallied.
Who it's for
Card-game players who like classic trick-taking but want a clever, thematic hook that shakes up trump.
Not for you if…
You dislike trick-taking or need a board and components; this is an abstract card game, and the shifting-trump rule takes a hand or two to click.
Vibe's take
Familiar trick-taking laced with dread, as the shifting bottle price makes every card a chance to grab power or catch the curse.
Published 1995 · 31 years ago
older than 95% of games
In 6,353 collections
collected more than 66% of games
2–4 players · ages 10+
Best with 3
about 30 min
shorter than 69% of games · typical 30–90 min
Complexity: medium
One warm-up round · 1.9 out of 5 · lighter than 60%
Opinions: usual spread
A normal range of ratings
Language: no text
Playable without the language
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