In Love Letter, two to six players deduce, misdirect, and sabotage their way to winning the Princess’ favor. At the end of the game, those with enough favor tokens win, taking the Princess' hand to rule the kingdom together. Love Letter's gameplay is done through various cards, each with their own unique abilities and values that inform the way you play. As this is a deduction and reasoning game, it’s important to memorize where certain cards are at a given time, since you’ll often have the ability to look at your opponents’ hands throughout the numerous rounds played.
The original Love Letter game came to the States in 2012 and was distributed by AEG before being acquired by Asmodee in 2018. Numerous editions of the base game and themed expansions have been released in its decade-plus lifespan since. The Second Edition (which is now the definitive way to play) was released in 2019, and added five new cards to the mix, including the Spy and Chancellor, new artwork for every card, and the ability to play with up to six players.
Love Letter is good enough that it has landed on a number of our best board games lists, including our list of the best pocket-sized board games, best four-player board games, and best quick-playing board games. That's to say nothing of the spinoffs, which you can read about below. If this card game's caught your interest, here’s everything you need to get the full Love Letter experience.
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If you're ready to get right into it without even glancing at a blurb explaining what you're looking at, this carousel is for you. It has all the items featured below, but in one convenient side-scrolling format. For full descriptions of what these items are, read on.
The Base Game
Love Letter Card Game
- Price: $14.99
- Players: 2-6 players
- Age Range: 10+
- Play Time: 20 minutes
The game that started it all, the original Love Letter from 2012 (translated to English) is extremely easy to pick up and play, and the Second Edition is no different. Set up is a breeze, as you’ll deal one card to each player from the main deck before starting the rounds, which use a clockwise turn order. Your turns consist of playing cards from your hand that will both benefit you and hinder your opponents, so strategize accordingly. At the end of each round, favor tokens are awarded to players still in the round with the highest value card in play. Once the requisite number of favor tokens are held by one or more players, the game ends, and those players win! Games go quick, offering plenty of opportunity to replay, learn different cards, and find the best way to win.
Different Themes
Munchkin Loot Letter
- Price: $18.20
- Players: 2-4 players
- Age Range: 10+
- Play Time: 20 minutes
One of the products from the aforementioned AEG era, this Love Letter Munchkin tie-in is seemingly one of the only themes from the publisher still widely available for purchase from retailers. AEG also produced a handful of other themed Love Letter tie-ins, like Legend of the Five Rings, Letters to Santa, and even FX’s Archer that are out of print. In this version, you play the same way as you would the base game, just with art and lingo from the Steve Jackson board game. It also comes with an exclusive card for use in Munchkin!
Love Letter: Princess Princess Ever After
- Price: $18.91
- Players: 2-6 players
- Age Range: 10+
- Play Time: 20 minutes
Based on Kay O’Neill’s Princess Princess Ever After series of graphic novels, this iteration is the only one to be published by Renegade Game Studios and does not change the gameplay mechanics of the original. It does, however, feature exclusive art from the original author.
Infinity Gauntlet: A Love Letter Card Game
- Price: $11.49
- Players: 2-6 players
- Age Range: 10+
- Play Time: 15 minutes
Sporting gorgeous comic book art from Monica Helland, this iteration of Love Letter turns the gameplay on its head by having one player duke it out against the rest! Playing as the Mad Titan Thanos, one player is trying to gather all six Infinity Stones to claim ultimate power in the universe, while one to five others team up to take them down. If the Thanos player gathers all six Stones, or if the heroes lose all their life, the game ends. It's such a smart spin on the idea that this one earned a spot on our list of the best Marvel board games.
Jabba's Palace: A Love Letter Game
- Price: $11.78
- Players: 2-6 players
- Age Range: 10+
- Play Time: 20 minutes
The gameplay of the original is unchanged here as well, but the Star Wars paint job makes this a perfect birthday gift or stocking stuffer for your loved ones obsessed with the galaxy far, far away. This one landed on our best Star Wars board games list, so you know it's good.
Bridgerton: Love Letter Card Game
- Price: $19.98
- Players: 2-6 players
- Age Range: 10+
- Play Time: 20 minutes
Another reskin of the classic Love Letter, the Bridgerton version comes with a small twist: included in this set is the special Queen Charlotte card, which introduces a bit of chaos into the mix with her new ability constantly eliminating players from rounds. The diamond favor tokens and drawstring bag are also quite regal, making this a great gift for any Bridgerton fan.
Love Letter: Sender
Released as a special promotion for April Fool’s Day 2020 (and great timing for those stuck at home at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic), Sender is a free print-and-play version of the Second Edition! The only catch is you have to be creative with your own favor tokens. M&M’s, anybody?
The Bottom Line
If you research Love Letter online, you’ll surely come across a much wider variety of themes than what’s listed here. I don’t have the out-of-print games on the list, as I only wanted to focus on games more readily available for purchase, however a lot of them are available on the secondary market. For newer gamers and those looking to buy themed gifts for your geeky friends and family, Love Letter is the perfect pick-up-and-play card game, offering a handful of different popular IP reskins and replay value.
Myles Obenza is a freelance commerce writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter @Myles Obenza.
