Curse of the Archmage
Curse of the Archmage is a trick-taking game for 3 to 5 players that plays like a cross between Scopa and Spades, but with a more flexible player count and no bidding. It uses a standard deck (plus a few jokers for some variants).
Core Mechanics
- Take/Give: The winner of the trick doesn’t necessarily keep the cards. Instead, the winner’s card goes to the player who “lost the most” (played the lowest card in the led suit).
- Scoring: Each suit has a different scoring curve, making some cards more valuable to win or lose than others.
- Modes: Includes an “expert” mode with secret partnerships and the option to not follow suit, along with simplified “beginner” rules.
Originally developed and playtested on BoardGameGeek, the game has since been released on itch.io.