Oriflamme: Ablaze

3-5 players 20 min Oriflamme: Ablaze – The Race for the Throne The time for petty intrigue has passed; your family’s influence has grown, and the struggle for the crown has reached its most bitter and merciless peak. In Oriflamme: Ablaze, the flames of war threaten the kingdom, and nothing stands between you and the throne. The Goal In this tactical card game, players compete over 6 rounds to accumulate the most Influence points. Strategy and timing are everything as you navigate a shifting landscape of betrayal and power. Core Gameplay Mechanics Each round consists of two high-stakes phases that require careful planning and a bit of bluffing: Placement Phase: Starting with the first player, everyone secretly places one card face down into the Influence Queue. Cards can be placed at the beginning, at the end, or even on top of your own family's cards to create a stack. Resolution Phase: Cards are resolved in order according to the Resolution Direction tile. When it is your turn to resolve a face-down card, you must choose: leave it face down to accumulate Influence points from the supply, or reveal it to immediately trigger its powerful ability and claim any points already on it. Stacks and Cascades: Stacking cards allows you to protect vulnerable family members, place attackers in unexpected positions, or set up devastating cascades of actions. Character and Intrigue Cards Master a deck of 11 unique cards per family, featuring two distinct types: Characters: These remain in the queue once revealed, applying their abilities every single round. The Prince & Twin: Use the Prince to bring your Twin onto the field for massive influence gains. The Queen: A reliable source of influence, but a prime target for opponents. The Cutthroat: Eliminate adjacent cards and clear out multiple opponents with the same name. Intrigues: These are powerful, one-time effects that are discarded after use. Trap: Lure opponents into eliminating this card to steal their influence. Bribery: Place a token on an opponent’s character to claim them for your own family. In Oriflamme and Oriflamme Ablaze, the players find themselves in the middle of a medieval feud over the French royal crown. The King is dead! Long live the King! As heads of influential families, the players strive to come to power with cunning and malice, power and strength, virtue and infamy. Their goal: the king's throne! In the tactical card game, hidden cards are played in turn. By tactically uncovering and activating their effects, players can outdo or get them out of the way, because all players have the same goal in mind — to collect the most influence points for their family and thus win the game. In Oriflamme Ablaze (second installment of the award winning game Oriflamme), the incendiary war threatens to bring the kingdom to the ground. But nothing will stop your house to conquer the throne by putting forward every inch of your famous lust for power and vengeance. Oriflamme Ablaze offers 11 new action cards that can be mixed with Oriflamme or be used as a standalone. Game Components 55 Influence cards (11 cards in 5 different family colors) 63 Influence point tokens (values 1 and 5) 1 First Player tile 1 Resolution Direction tile 5 Bribery tokens Boardgamegeek