Love Letter- Simple and Cheap Game

Events here are moving along and the family is going to be moving soon to the South. Nashua that is. For that reason my gaming has been pretty limited to Dance Central 2 and Phantom Leader. I did come across a copy of Love Letter recently and between the hype surrounding the game and its dirt cheap price I had to pick it up.

Love Letter is a solid game with a somewhat pasted on theme. In theory you're trying to get a love letter to a princess who is locked away in her palace. The player who gets the most love letters to the princess wins the game. Now really this game could also be called Tomato Grower or Transmission Repairer. But the theme does lead itself to very adorable illustrations and has made it a very appealing offering to non-gamers, kids, and the wife.

The mechanics of Love Letter are dead simple. Each player has a card in their hand. That card has a number value. You take turns drawing a card from the deck. Then you must play one of the two cards in your hand. Each card has some effect. It might allow you to see another player's hand (which is one card). It might allow you to trade your remaining card with someone or get a new one from the deck. At the end of a round the player with the highest valued card in their hand has successfully gotten a letter to the princess and wins a victory token. After so many rounds the person the the most tokens is the winner.

My wife and I played a few rounds of Love Letter and had a good time. The card rules are simple enough and lead to some amusing interactions. At the same time there is a good amount of luck. On the whole it was a fun time and a good filler game experience. It's completely portable, fast, simple, and kid friendly. I'd recommend it.