The Emissary

About this board game

The Emissary is a solo card game for 1 player, with an approximately 60-minute play time. Using a regular deck of playing cards, you take the role of a young noble sent by your father to gather support from eight neighboring kingdoms.

Each kingdom presents a series of debates with its ruler. Your goal is to win exactly the required number of debates at every stop: not more, and not less. Failing even once ends the game, making every decision an important balance between force and deference.

At the beginning, arrange the deck’s eight kings and queens in a row. You may then visit these rulers in whatever order you choose. At each kingdom, draw a new hand of eight cards from the remaining deck, then face a sequence of tricks as cards are drawn one at a time and answered from your hand.

• Visit the eight rulers in an order of your choosing.
• Draw a fresh eight-card hand at each stop.
• Win exactly as many tricks as the ruler’s position in the row.
• Use limited special abilities to bend the rules when necessary.

The ruler’s place in the row determines the precise number of tricks you must win, from the first position through the eighth. This creates an exercise in careful hand manipulation, with excruciating trade-offs between the cards you play now and the control you need later.

Created by Wil Su and released free online as part of the “Isaludo” series, The Emissary is inspired by the decktet game Gongor Whist, itself patterned after Oneonta Whist. It also provides the core for For Northwood!, a free print-and-play game that swept top prizes in the 2021 BGG 54-card contest. Familiarity with trick-taking games helps, but prior experience is not required.