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?
Tricks and Deserts is a trick taking game where players play as cunning human authorities trying to obtain controls of magical species with powerful abilities. Each turn, players will be playing 1 specie card either face up or face down.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Commodity Speculation
Buy or influence goods whose values change before they are sold or scored.
Investment
Commit resources now to improve income, control, or value later.
Stock Holding
Acquire shares whose value depends on companies, assets, or player actions.
Trick-taking
Play one card each and award the trick according to suit and rank rules.
Read the full game description
Tricks and Deserts is a trick taking game where players play as cunning human authorities trying to obtain controls of magical species with powerful abilities. Each turn, players will be playing 1 specie card either face up or face down. The player that played the strongest card (usually the card with the highest number) takes all face up cards. Playing cards face down is called "passing," and these cards are abandoned to the desert. The play continues until all cards are played from player's hands. The face-up cards you take scores points, but the abandoned cards will affect your scoring, sometimes positively, and sometime negatively. You must choose wisely when to play and when to pass.