Love Letter Board Game Review

Love Letter, designed by Seiji Kanai and published by Alderac Entertainment Group in 2012, redefined what a card game could accomplish with minimal components. This pocket-sized deduction game supports 2-4 players, takes roughly 20 minutes to play, and carries an age rating of 10+. With just 16 cards and a handful of tokens, Love Letter delivers tense gameplay that has earned it a spot in the BoardGameGeek Hall of Fame in 2026.

Love Letter Overview

Players take on the role of suitors attempting to deliver a love letter to Princess Annette, who has locked herself away in the palace. The goal is simple: either be the last player standing or hold the highest-ranked card when the deck runs out.

Each round represents one day of courtship. Players draw and play cards to eliminate rivals while protecting their own position. The first player to collect enough tokens of affection wins the princess’s heart.

What’s in the Love Letter Box

Love Letter ships with remarkably few components, yet each piece serves a clear purpose.

The cards feature quality cardstock that holds up to repeated shuffling. Many editions include a velvet drawstring bag for storage, making Love Letter highly portable for travel or game nights.

Love Letter Pros and Cons

How to Play Love Letter

Setup

Shuffle all 16 cards and place them face-down as a draw deck. Remove the top card from the game without revealing it. In two-player games, remove three additional cards face-up. They will not be used during this round. Each player draws one card to form their starting hand.

Whoever was most recently on a date goes first. If tied, the younger player wins the tie.

Turn Structure

On your turn, draw one card from the deck. You now hold two cards. Choose one to play face-up in front of you and apply its effect immediately. Effects are mandatory, even when harmful to yourself.

All discarded cards remain in front of the player who discarded them. Overlap the cards so that it’s clear in which order they were discarded. This helps players figure out which cards other players might be holding.

Card Abilities

The Guard lets you name a non-Guard card and target an opponent. If they hold that card, they are eliminated from the round. The Priest reveals another player’s hand to you privately. The Baron forces a comparison between your remaining card and an opponent’s, eliminating whoever holds the lower value.

The Handmaid protects you from all effects until your next turn. The Prince forces any player, including yourself, to discard their hand and draw a new card. The King swaps hands with another player.

Higher-ranked cards carry greater risk. The Countess must be discarded if you also hold the King or Prince in your hand. The Princess eliminates you instantly if discarded for any reason.

Winning the Round

A round ends if the deck is empty at the end of a turn or if all players but one are out of the round. If multiple players survive when the deck empties, the highest card value wins. Ties go to the player who discarded higher total values during the round.

The winner receives one token of affection. Shuffle all 16 cards together and play a new round following all setup rules. The winner of the previous round goes first.

Winning the Game

Victory requires collecting tokens based on player count:

Love Letter Game Mechanics

Love Letter combines hand management with deduction. Holding just one card limits information but forces tough decisions. Playing a card reveals something about your strategy while potentially exposing others.

The player elimination mechanic keeps rounds short. Getting knocked out rarely means waiting more than a few minutes before the next round begins. Card counting becomes valuable as discarded cards remain visible, helping players deduce remaining possibilities.

Risk assessment drives every choice. The Princess scores highest but makes you vulnerable to Prince cards. Guards are common but require accurate guesses. Skilled players track discards and calculate odds before committing to their play.

Who Should Play Love Letter

Love Letter excels as a gateway game for newcomers to modern board gaming. The rules explanation takes minutes, letting groups jump straight into playing. Families with children aged 10 and up will find it accessible yet engaging.

Groups seeking deep strategy or lengthy sessions should look elsewhere. Love Letter works best as a warm-up game or a quick filler between heavier titles. Players who dislike elimination mechanics may find early knockouts frustrating, though short rounds minimize downtime.

The game shines at three or four players where deduction becomes more reliable. Two-player games lean heavily on luck, though the face-up removed cards add information to work with.

Where to Buy Love Letter

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