House of Poison

The newly instated Emperor Nero has commissioned a House of Poison to eliminate his rivals, but its Poisonmaster, Locusta, has other plans. Prepare yourself for a thrilling, competitive experience that combines strategy, deception, and a large dose of poison. Step into the world of ancient Rome, where you’ll embark on a quest to secretly complete contracts by deftly manipulating the Poison and Favor pillars of your opponents. Unleash your strategic prowess and set up cunning chain reactions… while expertly sabotaging the plans of your rivals. House of Poison is based on a Narrative Artbook of the same name. To play, grab your player board and action guide. You will first select a unique character card and draw 1 of 7 secret contracts. Players will take 2 actions per turn, which can be directed at opponents or used for yourself. Your options include: giving Favor, giving Poison, using powerful board actions, or unleashing your unique character abilities. You can also complete Contracts during this step. When you complete a Contract, you will earn victory tokens - but don’t be too obvious about your schemes, or other players may guess your Contract and steal it from you! The first player to 4 victory tokens kicks off the final round. The remaining players have a chance to match or exceed that count with one more turn. Players then reveal their token values (between 1-5 points). The player with they highest point value wins! The fate of Rome hangs in the balance, and only the most cunning and resourceful will emerge victorious. This is a game for 3-8 players, and can run 20-60 minutes, depending on the player count. —description from publisher