Vampire: The Eternal Struggle

A 1994 gothic card game of ancient vampires who plot, bleed rivals and vote in secret politics.

Designers: Robert Goudie, Richard Garfield, L. Scott Johnson
Published by: Wizards of the Coast
Editions by: Black Chantry Productions, White Wolf Productions

You are a Methuselah, an ancient vampire who has been pulling strings for thousands of years, and your fellow players are rivals who want you gone. You play minions, younger vampires who do your bidding, and send them to do things: buy equipment, hire retainers, bleed other players for their pool, and even push political schemes through a vote of the vampire elite. It was Richard Garfield's second card game, after Magic, built for multiplayer tables where one player is your prey and another hunts you. Lose all your pool and you are out. Expect plotting, negotiation and drama rather than quick tricks, plus a lot of fun from the tabletop politics.

Play a Methuselah with a team of minionsVoting and negotiation across the tableLose your pool and you are eliminated

Who it's for

You like deckbuilding and political table talk, and you have three or four friends who enjoy dark vampire plots and negotiating.

Not for you if…

You want a casual game, a short game or a single-box purchase. It is a collectible game with a steep learning curve, and elimination can leave people watching.

Vibe's take

Scheming and political, a table full of schemers where deals are made and broken. Games are slow-burn, and you spend as much time talking as playing cards.