Sellswords

Welcome again! For today’s third game, finally catching us up to our backlog, Amanda, Hector and I decided to play another light game: Sellswords. Sellswords obviously takes inspiration from a fictional, and later real, collectible card game from Final Fantasy 8 called Triple Triad. I had long wondered why no one had ever brought it out as a card game in North America, and apparently the designer of Sellswords did as well, because the game is played very similarly.

The components for this are pretty simple. It’s a box filled with cards and a rulebook. The rulebook is fold out, which I always hate, but it makes sense because the box if pretty small so it can be forgiven. The cards themselves are a gloss stock, double sided, square card with some neat little illustrations on them. Nothing much else to it than that, but it’s all of decent quality.

The game plays fairly simply, each card has a character with a number on each side, and a special ability. Players draft an initial hand of 6 cards, then take turns playing the cards out on a grid that is formed as the game progresses. Each player plays the cards with their side facing up and if the any numbers on the cards of an opponent’s adjacent cards are lower, they flip to the side of the player who played the superior card. Most cards also have special abilities that may flip cards, move cards around or otherwise manipulate the map. After the first 12 cards are laid, players score based on their control of each row and column. Rinse and repeat for a second round with a larger grid and the player with the most points at the end of the game wins.

I will admit from the start I was biased to like sellswords, as I loved Triple Triad and enjoyed it considerably more than the actual main game of FF8, and the prospect of playing something with that system in the real world always gets me amped up. The gameplay is simple yet strategic, allowing for a quick game but also strategy. There is a different set of cards in play each time, so every game is unique, but the draft allows players to develop an overall strategy to suit their play style.

Sellswords is quick and punchy, with great back and forth between the players. There is plenty of room to work both tactics and overall strategy, and knowing when to leave a piece unguarded to lock in control of an entire row is key. The lighthearted artwork and overall style and tone also make it a game that feels friendly, despite being quite cutthroat in terms of competitiveness. That being said, this is not the sort of game that you want to play with someone who takes games seriously or personal, it’s a brawl from start to finish.

Overall I recommend this game as a a filler or light strategy game to carry in your pocket. It plays quickly and easily, and can be learned in 5 minutes by anyone who can count to 10. Also to anyone who enjoyed the Triple Triad game, it’s close enough to capture the same feel, but different enough to not be a rip off either.

Note: Hector and I really enjoyed this game. It was fun and quick, but not quite as punchy as, say, Hero Realms.

Game: Sellswords

Designer: Cliff Kamarga
Price: $20
Players: 2
2 player Scaling: 2 player only
Playtime: 30ish minutes
Estimated Lifespan: Keeper
Average Play Frequency: Every few months
Complexity: 3
Components: 4
Bang for Buck: 5
Value for Time: 4.5
Fun Factor: 4.5
Overall: 4.5