Ivanhoe

About this board game

Ivanhoe is a card-driven tournament game for 2–5 players, released in 2000, with games lasting about 60 minutes. Each player takes on the role of a knight competing at the king’s court, seeking victory across a series of prestigious tournaments.

Use your cards to win jousting competitions and fight with a sword, axe, or morning-star. You can also rally squires, gain the support of a maiden, and play action cards against your opponents as the contest develops.

A key feature of Ivanhoe is the way action cards can change the type of tournament currently in progress. An “unhorse” card forces everyone still taking part in a jousting competition to switch to a weapon battle, with the card holder choosing the weapon.

Other actions make players abandon their current weapon and resort to hand-to-hand combat. In these battles, the player with the most cards wins a token rather than the player with the highest point total, creating opportunities for carefully timed plays.

• Compete in jousting and weapon-based tournaments.
• Use action cards to alter the current contest.
• Rally squires and gain support from a maiden.
• Win tokens through hand-to-hand battles based on card quantity.

Depending on the number of players, the first knight to win four or five different tournaments becomes the overall victor. With its shifting battle conditions and tactical card play, Ivanhoe offers more strategy than first meets the eye. It reimplements Attacke.