Murder of Crows

About this board game

Murder of Crows is a card game for 2–5 players that takes about 20 minutes, in which players race to be the first to spell “murder” with letter cards.

Each player begins with five cards in hand. On your turn, choose to draw two cards, or draw one card and play one card. Played cards become part of your murder, your collection of cards on the table, while their special powers can change the situation for everyone.

• M — Misplace: Take one card from another player’s murder and add it to your hand.
• U — Uncover: All players reveal their hands, then you take one card for your hand.
• R — Reap: Draw one additional card.
• D — Drain: Choose a letter; every player discards one of that letter from play, if possible.
• E — Expel: Everyone discards their hand and draws three new cards.

The Wild Crow card can do just about anything, adding another flexible option to your hand. Every card also shows a crow power in its top-left corner, giving you a way to defend yourself when an opponent’s card would affect you.

To resist an incoming action, discard a card with the matching crow power and become immune to that action. Deciding when to build your own word, when to disrupt another player’s collection, and when to protect your hand is central to the game.

With its compact rules and direct card interaction, Murder of Crows creates a race around a single five-letter target. It was released in 2012.