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?
A fast-paced card dueling game in which two players battle each other to win. Each deck in Showdown: Icons can be played against any other Showdown deck.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Read the full game description
A fast-paced card dueling game in which two players battle each other to win. Each deck in Showdown: Icons can be played against any other Showdown deck. Each player plays a feint card from their hand face up, then each player plays a strike card face down. Strike cards are revealed and added to the value of the feint card. Normally the highest total wins the combat and deals one damage. However, each card has one of three disciplines marked (Physical, Intellect and Cunning), and if both strikes are of the same discipline, it is the player with the lowest total who wins that combat! Players receive an advantage if both their Feint and Strike are from the same Discipline. In this way, Showdown contains a heavy bluffing element. The player who can read their opponent the best has the advantage! The game ends once one player has taken enough damage to have flipped over all of their own Aces. Showdown: Icons features rough and hardened characters from the world of the Icons, including: King of Clubs, Queen of Hearts, Jack of Diamonds, The Jokers, and Ace of Spades. Includes 5 plastic card decks.