General:
Bruno Cathala:
Serge Laget:
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Ah Paris!!! City of Lights and Fashion!
Fit for your career of apprentice jeweler at the King's Court. All of your skills will be called upon to snatch the most precious, fashionable gemstones and gain the famed Royal charge of King's Jeweler. The favors of a woman of influence (a favorite, a courtesan, even the Queen maybe!), the predictions of the Royal Astrologer, and, for those less puritanical souls among us, the services of a cut-purse or forger might all turn out to be decisive to capturing the coveted title.
A few key concepts
- the game is played
with cards representing precious gemstones (amber, rubies, diamonds, and
emeralds) and influential characters of the period.
- Each turn, you have 10 ducats to spend to purchase these stones and
buy the favors of these characters
- There is always 5 cards displayed for purchase, and you will never have
enough money to buy them all. What you will leave on the table... will
be available to the next player, only cheaper!!!
- Throughout the game, you will use the special capabilities of the characters
you gained the favors of.
- Each time a Merchant appears, a sale will occur. You will put for sale
all or part of the gemstones you've acquired so far, but, for each gem
type, only the player with the greatest number of gems on the table will
win the sale.
- The amount won will then depend on the rarity of the gems sold, and
the fashion of the Court, subject to the whims of those pretty favorites
of the King...
- King, speaking of whom... you'd never dare to make him pay, should he
ask for a Jewel!
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Queen's Necklace is illustrated in a fashion-plate style reminiscent of the period, due to the talented pencils of Humbert CHABUEL and Pierre-Alain CHARTIER |
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Game's history :
Once upon a time.... Ooops, sorry I disgress...
This game was designed jointly with the uncontournable Bruno Faidutti. We had just put the finishing touches on the prototype of our very first common collaboration, when Bruno suggested, over the phone, we do a double-dare. A vague Sci-Fi idea of buying and selling spaceships... Equipped with this thread of an idea, each of us went to work on his own...
The first joint brain storming session turned out quite surprisingly: While clearly on the same wavelength regarding the final objectives, we were clearly out of synch regarding the mechanism of the game: Bruno had in mind a big game in the style of Puerto Rico while I was pursuing a lighter fare.
The disconnect established, we started a new, on the shorter project, changing its theme, and possibly keeping the other for later. Miraculously, form there one, every thing fell into place very, very rapidly. Less than 10 days from that initial decision to the final adjustments to the definitive rules! The rapid tempo continued at Essen, where all the publishers we met asked us for a prototype of the game. Days of Wonder turned out to be the quickest to ink a deal, and given the quality of the game and exchanges with their team, I could not be any happier of this first collaboration.
Days of Wonder's Web page: Click here
Bruno FAIDUTTI's Web page: click here
Ask a question or read the answers, click here: Forum Queen's Necklace
