Love Letters from February

6th Grade Strategy Games
Mr Edwards

In February we held a tournament for one of the simpler games played in sixth grade, Love Letter.  Released in 2012, this game has been wildly popular for it simplicity and portability.  The game was created by Japanese game designer, Seiji Kanai.  It is no surprise that in a country known for its minimalist culture and crowded living space, Love Letter is comprised of nothing more than 16 cards and a few wooden cubes to track wins.

Love Letter by Seiji Kanai

For the strategy games class, I think it is important for students to learn a little about what makes a game 'tick'.  This is even more important for students who continue taking the games elective in 7th and 8th grade when the main focus is making a game.  Two important facets in a game are theme and mechanics.  The theme for Love Letter:
"Suitors throughout Tempest seek to ease Annette's sorrow by courting her to bring some joy into her life.  You are one of these suitors trying to get your love letter to the princess.  Unfortunately she has locked herself in the palace, so you must rely on intermediaries to carry your message.  During the game, you hold one secret card in your hand.  This card represents the person who currently carries your message of love for the princess.  Make sure that the person closest to the princess holds your love letter at the end of the day so it reaches her first!" 

Mechanics for Love Letter include player elimination, memory, and hand management.  Some cards allow you to see another player's hand, so the memory mechanic just means that a you need to remember what cards you have seen.  Some cards instruct you to compare your hand to another player's hand and the lower ranked card loses; its owner is eliminated for the rest of the round.  On each turn you draw a single card and add it to your hand, and then decide which card to play;  the decision of which card to play is the hand management mechanic.  

A round is played by going through all the cards in the deck just once which takes about five minutes.  The winner of each round receives a little wooden cube, known as a token of affection.  With four players the first person to win 4 tokens of affection wins the game.  

                                                                                                                          

 
 We have winners for the Mon/Wed and Tue/Thur classes.  Congratulations to Lindsey!



 



 Congratulations to Luke!