Rat Schemes is a tactical survival card game for 4–10 players set in medieval times. Players take on the roles of selfish rats competing to be the last one standing while avoiding capture by the Hunter. The game emphasizes direct player interaction through betrayal, deception, and strategic backstabbing. The game consists of two distinct phases. In Phase 1 (Schemes and Intrigues), players draw and play cards to attack opponents, steal resources, and accumulate Cheese — the game s survival currency. Attack cards include Bite (forcing players to lose Cheese or skip turns), Rat Trap (stunning players for a turn), and Cage (forcing extended turn skips). Players defend using cards like Luck (canceling any action), Hide in Shadow (avoiding the Hunter), or Slippery Rat (redirecting attacks to the next player). The deck continuously cycles as used cards are reshuffled back into play. Phase 2 begins when any player draws The Hunter card. The deck locks (players can no longer draw cards except through specific card effects), and the Hunter begins moving clockwise around the table. On the Hunter s turn, the active player must either discard Cheese to pay him off, use defense cards to escape, or go to the cage and be eliminated. Meanwhile, players continue attacking each other — they can play Mark to teleport the Hunter to a chosen victim, use Pull from Shadow to drag hidden opponents directly to the Hunter, or play Poisoned Cheese to reverse an opponent s card effects. Victory is achieved by being the last rat not in the cage. The game features 23 unique card types (89 cards total) with mechanics that encourage temporary alliances, sudden betrayals, and constant tension, as players never know when the Hunter will reappear in the reshuffled deck. Rat Schemes is currently raising funds on Kickstarter and is not yet in retail. If you enjoy high-interaction card games filled with betrayal and chaos, please consider supporting the project on Kickstarter and help bring Rat Schemes to life. —description from the publisher

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