Richelieu

About this board game

Richelieu is a tactical board game for 2–4 players, with an approximate playing time of 60 minutes. Set in 17th-century Paris, it places players in the role of nobles competing for prestige and favors amid the power struggles surrounding Cardinal Richelieu and King Louis XIII.

Cardinal Richelieu is centralizing power and defending France against those he considers its enemies. Players must decide whether to support the cardinal or pursue the promise of wealth and influence offered by the queen and foreign nations. Each intrigue creates an opportunity to choose a side—or to support both sides while keeping your intentions concealed.

• Place agents with secret values to influence intrigues.
• Use bluff and interaction to reveal—or disguise—your loyalties.
• Spend money to place agents and compete for greater rewards.
• Earn additional recognition by being the most helpful player to each faction.

Every intrigue brings Cardinal Richelieu into conflict with his enemies, while the players’ decisions shape their standing at court. Support can remain secret or be made directly known when agents are placed, creating constant tension between immediate rewards and the plans of rival nobles.

The cardinal’s mood changes according to his successes and failures. If he becomes intolerant of nobles who grow too influential, those players have one fewer action to spend during a turn, adding another consequence to ambitious play.

With intrigue everywhere, Richelieu rewards players who anticipate opposing plans and thwart them at the right moment. Released in 2012 and winner of the Plateau d’or 2009, it challenges nobles to decide where their loyalties—and their opportunities—truly lie.