Voodoo Prince

Designed by: Reiner Knizia

Voodoo Prince is a trick-taking game following the basic rules of the classic card game whist: one player leads a card, everyone must follow suit if they can, and the highest card wins the ‘trick’. But with a name like Voodoo Prince, you know there will be a twist…

The deck is made up of five suits of cards numbered from 0-12. The zero of each suit can only beat the 12 of its own suit, nothing else. Players are dealt a hand of cards and five rounds are played. In each round, as soon as any player takes their third trick, they are out of that round – and their score is the number of tricks the other players have taken at that point. The exception is the last player standing will only score their own tricks – so really the key here is not to be out first or last, but – ideally – get out before the round ends! There is a trump suit (a trump suit beats anything, though you must still keep to the follow-suit rule if you’re able to) and there’s an extra twist in that if you win a hand with a 5 or a 7, that wins you two tricks instead of just one. Handy at times; often disastrous. Additionally playing a zero when you don’t want to win the hand can be risky, because if someone else dumps the 12, you go from being the lowest card to the highest!

When the fifth round ends, the player with the most points wins.

Sam says

I like trick-taking games and the twist in Voodoo Prince really appeals. Simple rules, but a little depth in play means this gets a big tick from me - we return to it again and again.

Joe says

This is great - normally with a trick-taker you're trying to get out first, or possibly last. Here, trying to get out second-to-last makes for a clever twist, and demands that you look at your hand of cards in new ways. Very neat.

The guru's verdict

GNG Favourite
  • Take That!

    Take That!

    A little. It's more interactive than a standard trick-taking game because there are many times you don't want to win the trick, but are forced to.

  • Fidget Factor!

    Fidget Factor!

    Minimal. It's a fast-moving game.

  • Brain Burn!

    Brain Burn!

    Low, but you definitely need to think about how you play your cards here.

  • Again Again!

    Again Again!

    Not a huge variety in play, but rather more-ish all the same if you like speedy card games. Best with 4 or 5 players, we think.