Deer Lord: Review

Deer Lord: Review

Information:

Mechanics: Party, Deduction
Player Age: 12+ 

Player Count: 4 - 12 Players 

Time to Play: 30 - 90 Minutes 
Game Designer: Dries

Publisher Lark and Clam, Monkeyshine Games

Year Published: 2015
Disclaimer: A review copy for the game was provided by the publisher.

Objective:

Your aim is to reduce the cards in your hand to zero through the use of deception, out-manoeuvring and misleading your fellow players.

How to Play:

Deal each player five cards then the first player to declare a duel will start the game. On your turn you will either challenge another player to a duel, pass, or announce all the dupe cards you have achieved throughout opponents turns. This will continue until one player has no cards left. The first player to successfully complete all of their cards is the winner.

Duel Card:

These duel cards will prove who is better at certain crazy activities such as singing/rapping, story telling or creating jokes. There will be two people involved in the duel; yourself and the person you choose to challenge. The winner of the duel will be determined by the other players voting on who best completed the card’s action. The winner of this duel will place the duel card in front of them face up. If the duel is the last card in your hand and you lose, you must draw a new card. If this is not the last card in hand then no replacement is needed when losing (Lucky you).

Pass:

If you are tired of the cards in your hand, you are able to pass your turn and discard one card to draw one new card.

Announce Dupes:

These are the cards attempted throughout other players turns. On your turn you can announce any dupes you have successfully achieved, this may be physical activities or uncharacteristic phrases that need to be performed with other players noticing but without them calling you out. If any player notices you doing something odd they can yell DEER LORD! If they are correct you must discard the dupe and draw a new card. If they are wrong they must discard a card and draw a new card. All of the dupes you achieved will be played face up in front of you. When announcing your dupes, at least one player must remember you doing the dupe or else you cannot claim it and must discard the card to draw a new one.  So you must make sure you get some of the other players attention when performing your dupe.

Face Up Cards:

Throughout the game you will place cards face up in front of you by claiming dupes or winning duels. Some of these cards will have rewards that will occur when they are claimed or will continue throughout the game. They can also be used in defence; if at any point you are forced to draw a card you can instead discard any face up card to cancel that draw.

Final Thoughts:

Pros:
- Easy to teach
- Perfect game for drinking or family gatherings

Cons:
- Some people may not like being forced to do odd challenges

'Deer Lord' is an easy to teach party game that doesn't out stay its welcome. Each player receives five cards and if players are trying hard to get rid of their cards there will be frequent dupes in between players turns. The game starts off calm and intensifies to a crazy amount as the game continues. The players begin by being reserved about how to achieve dupes but as this becomes more of a common practice. Players try to mislead others while still achieving their dupes as only one person needs to remember that you did the dupe and if they incorrectly call you out, it’s their disadvantage. This is a great ice breaker party game that will be brought to many more occasions.

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Lark and Clam
Deer Lord on BGG
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