Curses & Covens

About this board game

Curses & Covens is an all-vs-one card game for 4–6 players that plays in around 20 minutes. One player becomes the witch hunter, while the other players work as towns to protect friendly witches and form a winning coven.

The witch hunter wins by capturing five witches. The towns win by gathering three witches of the same suit in one player’s hand, but they may also cast a spell on the hunter when they have two witches in hand.

Each round follows four repeating phases:

• Census: All town cards are revealed. The mix may include witches, innocent villagers, rituals, or a fake witch called a scarecrow. Players discuss their plans while the witch hunter listens.
• Arrival: The hunter observes and deals one new card to each town player. The hunter now knows every hand, while players receive new information they cannot communicate to their team.
• Travel: Town players assess their new cards, then secretly give or request cards from one another. They can also move a key card into the woods, protecting it from the hunter while potentially making it available later.
• Hunt: The witch hunter chooses two cards from the towns, seeking witches while avoiding innocent villagers, dangerous rituals, and the fake witch, which frees previously captured witches.

Success depends on careful communication and managing what the hunter can learn. The hunter observes the cards in motion, but not exactly where they go, leaving the towns to weigh probabilities, protect crucial cards, and recognize when a plan must change.

In Curses & Covens, every discussion can reveal useful information to the opposing side. Town players must coordinate under observation, while the witch hunter interprets movements and takes calculated risks before the next hunt.