Designer: Wolfgang Kramer

Artist: Wanjin Gill

Publisher: Playte

Even though Wolfgang Kramer—with or without his partnership with Michael Kiesling—is renowned for his board games, he has also designed many delightful card games. My favorite is Abluxxen, a loosely inspired trick-taking variant with plenty of thievery between players. It is a fun and highly interactive card game that is less conflict-oriented than it sounds. Also popular is the evergreen 6 Nimmt! series, which has spawned many anniversary editions and variants of the core gameplay. Buried among his more popular card games is Vampire Queen. Recently, Playte, a Korean board game publisher, released their edition of Vampire Queen, retaining the original theme but introducing new artwork.

Honestly, the biggest novelty of Vampire Queen as a trick-taker is that it can accommodate up to twelve players. Twelve! You are unlikely to find any trick-taking game out there that can accommodate up to twelve players. That said, I have never played the game at such a high player count, but I have played with eight, and it works fine. The high player count works because the game runs on a basic trick-taking mechanism and sticks to the script faithfully. Unlike single-card trick-taking games, Vampire Queen should be classified as more of a shedding game. True, individual tricks are still won by playing the highest-value set, but the winner of the round is the player who successfully sheds all their cards and thus scores zero points. This also means that the winner of each game is the one with the fewest number of points after a fixed number of rounds.

For each trick, all players must follow the lead by playing the same number of cards of similar value (from 1-14) or pass, with the highest suit winning the trick and starting the next. The only variation to this rule is playing the vampire slayer. With 3-5 players, there are two vampire slayers in play, and everyone knows who holds them because these cards are double-sided. This is intentional. When the vampire slayer is played as the lead, all players must play a single card, with the highest-value card winning the trick and taking all cards played into their hand, including the just-played vampire slayer. The vampire slayer card itself is worth 15 or 20 points apiece, which is bad since the whole goal of the game is to shed cards and score zero points. Once picked up, the vampire slayer cannot be played until the following turn. In short, when the vampire slayer is played, all players try to avoid winning the trick by playing a single lowest-value card.

This sets up an intriguing dilemma of keeping high-value cards to play as tricks versus low-value cards to fend off vampire slayers. A balance must be struck because high-value cards are needed to play and win tricks, while low-value cards are needed to fend off the vampire slayer. Getting trapped with a bunch of single, low-value cards while also holding a vampire slayer is a death spiral, as one still needs to win a trick to be able to play the vampire slayer as the lead. Keeping only high-value cards alone is also no guarantee of victory since all players are trying their best to play the vampire slayer toward the end, and nothing is worse than picking up a bunch of single, low-value cards PLUS the vampire slayer late in the round. As with all other trick-takers, timing is paramount.

Final Thoughts

There is not too much more to Vampire Queen beyond what is outlined above, and that is both its strength and weakness. If you crave an easy-to-teach trick-taker that can accommodate 5-8 players, then this is a decent option. Not many trick-taking games can support this many players while retaining some semblance of fun without becoming tedious. Part of that is because the decision tree is simpler, and actions cycle around the table more quickly. This is a must-have feature for games at higher player counts. On the flip side, I am less likely to play Vampire Queen with three, maybe even four players. The punitive qualities of the vampire slayer are really muted with fewer players. With more, you can inflict some damage when you catch someone off guard and penalize them for not keeping a few low-value cards at hand. There is nothing more delightful than slapping the leader down with a stack of low-value cards, preventing them from winning the round. However, sometimes, especially early in the game, the vampire slayer can also be a potential tool to hoard cards to assemble a powerful, hard-to-beat trick (a hand of five 2s, for example). In all, there are subtle ways to excel in Vampire Queen by utilizing the usual strategies employed by veteran trick-taking enthusiasts. However, the game is light enough and easy enough to teach and grasp for both young and old, placing it in the trans-generational, family-friendly trick-taking category. I know because it has worked for us.

A final note about the artwork: I am not a huge fan of the theme, seeing that the game is suitable for kids. That being said, I like the manga-style artwork here compared to the original version from Schmidt Spiele. The illustrations of the vampires look a bit more cartoonish and less realistic, making it more acceptable for kids with overactive imaginations.

Impressions: Good. Even though Vampire Queen has a simple premise, the game shines because of its ability to handle higher player counts. While I don’t think I will play with twelve players, 7-8 players is a reasonable count for this game. I think that alone is an achievement. The game is not unique in any way, but the addition of the vampire slayers makes each decision slightly more challenging since playing all the low-value cards at the onset might be a bad idea. Yet, hoarding them can backfire as well. While the game may not necessarily scratch your trick-taking itch, it is simple enough that it remains suitable for families.