Quick Peaks – 23 Knives, Codenames: XXL, Click A Tree, Löwenherz, Cascadia: Rolling Hills

23 Knives - Kevin Brantley

This game was one of my top looks at Essen Spiele this year. Over the weekend, I attended a gaming Friendsgiving where I was hoping to break my copy out. To my surprise, two additional copies were brought in. Safe to say there was an appetite for some Caesar killing/saving.

23 Knives is more of a “social manipulation” game than a “social deduction” one. Players are Loyalists (want Caesar alive), Liberators (want Caesar killed), or Opportunists (want to change Caesar's fate). Players start with characters tied to one of these three parties, and cards can be played with symbols that shift allegiances (whether you want to or not). Players win individually if they have the most symbols and their faction succeeds in its goal, while Opportunists win together if they can change Caesar’s fate (from death to life or life to death).

The concept is pretty interesting, and there’s a large amount of public information with just a small amount of private knowledge, which is enough to keep folks guessing. The Liberators want to sneak 23 knives into the Curia to pull off the murder, while the Loyalists want to sneak in doves to negate the knives. Since players “sway” others, your faction changes constantly.…

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