Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Harder to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Deep strategy
How it plays
How does it play?
Scrimish is a fast moving card game that pits player against player in an epic 10 minute battle of strategy, memory, and misdirection. Every game is different, and you'll want to play over and over again to try new ways of outsmarting your opponent.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Read the full game description
Scrimish is a fast moving card game that pits player against player in an epic 10 minute battle of strategy, memory, and misdirection. Every game is different, and you'll want to play over and over again to try new ways of outsmarting your opponent. The game is expandable to large team or free-for-all games. The objective of the game is to uncover and attack your opponent’s Crown Card with one of your own cards. Each player places 5 piles of 5 cards each face down in front of them. The crown card should be hidden on the bottom of one of the 5 piles. The rest of the cards may be arranged however you like, but choose carefully. A bad setup can quickly give your opponent the upper hand. Game play: Players take turns attacking by selecting the top Card from one of their Piles and laying that Card face up in front of one of their opponent’s Piles. The defending player must then reveal the top Card of the Pile that was attacked. The Card with the lowest number value loses and is discarded. The winning Card must be returned face down to the top of the original Pile it was drawn from. If the two Cards have the same number value, both Cards are discarded. Play continues until one of the players attacks their opponent’s Crown Card, winning the game. Special cards: Archer Card: If you attack with an Archer Card, it always wins. If your Archer Card is attacked, it always loses. Shield Card: Shield Cards cannot be used to attack. If your Shield Card is attacked, both your Shield Card and your opponent’s attacking Card are discarded (except for Archer Cards - see Additional Rules. Crown Card: You can attack with your Crown Card. If you attack your opponent’s Crown Card, you win. Otherwise, you lose the game