皇継の書状 (Koukei No Shojyou) is a card game from Japan that combines deck construction and a worker placement by using people cards upon letter cards. The game marks the 10th production of Polygonotes and features Hugame's innovative game system.
In the game, player's are aides of different princesses following the death of the emperor, trying to build up the nation. The previous emperor was a tyrant, shunned by the people, so many talented people were scattered all over the place. The aide's are using letters from the princess to bolster support from Masters in the regions and build their strength in the land.
The game works with a deck construction system and uses card placement to trigger the letters of influence (the title translates as Letter of Imperial Succession). The game is designed to be quick but intense, serious but easy to play though. As players develop their field, the goal is to send people to their own flag, building up Imperial Succession points.
Key to the game are the Letter cards. By placing other cards on a Letter, the player triggers action such as drawing cards, exchange cards for stronger cards, generate coins and so on. But the Letter cards are one-off and must be bought again and prepared before their effect can be used.
By drawing on the skills of a Master, the player can amplify their actions and attack their opponents by forcing them to reduce their hands of cards. By this way, the Masters let players use powerful cards quickly and not feel a mistake of buying the wrong card.
This combination of one-off Letters and powerful Masters means the player must try to build a strong set of experts to make the most of the preparation. By sending these cards to the player's own flag, the player who gets enough support wins by achieving imperial succession.
The Master cards also can improve by rotating in the tableau, so a merchant goes from generating 2 coins to 3 coins. This way, cards obtained early in the game remain useful as the players progress.
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