Guillotine

What could be more exciting than harvesting the heads of nobles and scoring points for pleasing the crowd. Not much, Guillotine is a fast paced card game where 2-5 players take on the role of executioners and must compete to collect the most valuable heads. The game is played over 3 rounds, below I will walk you through 1 of these rounds as well as give my thoughts on Guillotine as a filler and as a 2 player game.

The game is played over three days (rounds), each day 12 nobles are randomly lined up to be executed. Playing is simple, on your turn you play 1 action card from your hand, then you execute and take the head of the noble closest to the chopping block and finally you draw a card.

Below is an example game day in a 4 player game: Click to Enlarge
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My Thoughts:

Playing was surprisingly fun, I didn't have high expectations but ended up really enjoying Guillotine. It not only works as a light filler or warm up game for your regular game nights but it is a fantastic 2 player game. In a 4 or 5 player game you end up playing some of the most powerful cards just to snag a couple extra points, the turns aren't that exciting but the game progresses quickly and without a lot of downtime. But as a two player game you can plan a few turns in advance and with the right cards score some huge points or really punish the other player. The two player game also builds on your sense of accomplishment, giving you the opportunity to get more Palace Guards, and more of a specific colour noble in order to score extra points. I also found Guillotine to be a strong 2 player game because there is not a lot of AP something that is really common in my 2 player gaming sessions. It is definitely on the lighter end of my 2 player selection but sometimes you don't want to work your brains and just want to have fun, Guillotine is kind of goofy and laidback but still has enough going on that you won't be bored. The more times I play Guillotine the more I find myself enjoying it and it has been hitting the table a lot lately.

Casual Gamers: Light, easy and fun, I prefer Guillotine over most games that fit the same bill mostly because of how quickly turns move around the table. I enjoy games without downtime and that setup / cleanup quickly and Guillotine is very accessible in these aspects. It is great to play with people who aren't into board games or as a break from more intense games.

Gamer Gamers: If you are unfamiliar with Guillotine or have given it a pass I would suggest giving it a shot as a 2 player it really surprised me and is better than a lot of 2 player only games I have tried. Guillotine is also a great addition to your collection because you can play with your non gamer friends