There are a few different versions of “Love Letter” out on the market, all of which sell for about ten to twelve bucks a pop. Why did I choose the “Batman” variant as my first “Love Letter” game? Because…”I’m not wearing hockey pads.” Bonus points if you know which movie that quote is from. Anyway, like “Love Letter”, players will be trying to figure out who has what character whilst drawing cards from the deck and making use of their abilities to knock other players out of the game. So, take your thinking cowls out of your utility belt and let’s get this review on the road…no, I’m driving. You really thought that YOU would get to drive the Batmobile? No, no…”I’m Batman”.
Love Letter: Batman – 2-4 Players, Ages 10+, Average Play Time = 20 Minutes
Components
The game includes 16 Game Cards, 4 Reference Cards, and 25 Batman Tokens. The cards number 1-8, depicting eight different Batman characters with unique abilities.
Setup & Gameplay
The game is played over a series of rounds. At the beginning of every round, the deck of cards is shuffled and each player receives one card face-down. One of the cards from the deck is secretly placed off to the side to prevent the players from counting the cards.
On a player’s turn, they’ll draw a card from the deck and discard one of their two cards. The player can make use of that card’s special ability and resolve it appropriately. Your goal is to be the last one standing and doing so earns you a Batman token (this also ends the round). You can also earn Batman tokens by playing a “1 – Batman” card and correctly guessing the identity of another player.
The first player to get seven Batman tokens, wins the game!
The Review
While I don’t own the original “Love Letter”, I did do some research and discovered that the “Batman” variant is almost the same game: the “1 – Guard” card does the same thing as the “1 – Batman” card, the “4 – Handmaid” card does the same thing as the “4 – Robin” card, and etc. The only thing that seems to separate it is the fact that you can earn Batman tokens for correctly guessing the identity of another player. I personally like this mechanic, though the average play time of twenty minutes can stretch a bit if no one is guessing identities correctly and/or often. You may end up going through several rounds as a result, though you can opt to play to three or five Batman tokens instead of seven.
Short and sweet, “Love Letter: Batman” is quick, fun, and somewhat of a mind game. I doubt you’d need more than one version of “Love Letter” as they all seem to have the same card effects and rule set, so my advice is to pick up the version that appeals to your inner geek the most.
Final Verdict: 9/10
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