Republic of Virtue

About this board game

Republic of Virtue is a 30-minute card game for exactly two players, casting both participants as French politicians trying to keep their heads during the Reign of Terror.

The game uses 27 cards, each combining a suit—hearts, diamonds, or spades—with a rank of 2, 3, or 4 and a sphere: Military, Politics, Mob, or Wild. Four cards are available in a shared market, with each purchased card immediately replaced from the deck.

On your turn, choose one of three options: buy a card from the display, play a card from your hand to your Tableau, or use a card already in your Tableau. These choices shape how you develop your position while competing for points and responding to the dangers hidden in the deck.

• 27-card game featuring suits, ranks, and four spheres
• Shared four-card market replenished as cards are bought
• Three Crisis cards that trigger purges and scoring
• A direct race to 21 points

Three Crisis cards are shuffled into the deck. When a Crisis card is bought from the market, certain cards in players’ Tableaus are purged and players score points, creating moments of upheaval as the game progresses.

If either player reaches 21 points, that player wins. If nobody does so before the third Crisis, both players are swept up in the Thermidorian Reaction and sent to the guillotine. With its compact card set and sharp shared-market decisions, Republic of Virtue offers a focused contest of timing, tableau management, and survival.