Capital Lux

About this board game

Capital Lux is a clever card game for 2–4 players that plays in around 30 minutes. Across three rounds, you will balance the needs of your hometown against the growing power of the capital.

Each round begins with players drafting a hand of five or six character cards. On your turn, play one card into your own hometown or place it in the capital at the center of the table. Hometown cards may score at the end, while cards played to the capital provide valuable special abilities.

Every character belongs to one of four professions, each with a distinct effect when added to the capital:

• Merchants provide a gold coin, which can increase your limit for a profession.
• Agents add a secret modifier to a profession in the capital.
• Scholars let you draw another card into your hand.
• Clerics move the lowest-valued card of any profession from the capital into your hometown.

At the end of each round, compare your hometown with the capital profession by profession. You cannot have a higher total value than the current capital total. If you exceed a profession’s limit, you lose every card of that profession from your hometown.

After the third round, the characters remaining in your hometown are worth points. Every card creates a meaningful dilemma: keep it for potential points, or send it to the capital for an immediate ability while increasing the potential limits for everyone. With only a small hand each round, every play matters. Featuring art by American painter Kwanchai Moriya, Capital Lux combines bluffing, risk-taking, and careful planning in a compact card game of constant pressure.