
- BGG rank
- BGG #818
- BGG rating
- 7.5
A Game of Thrones: The Card Game (Second Edition)
- 2–4 players
- 60–120 min
- Complexity 3.5/5
- 2015

Rules assistance for A Game of Thrones: The Card Game – Illyrio's Gift
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

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Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
A Game of Thrones: The Card Game – Illyrio's Gift is an expansion for A Game of Thrones: The Card Game released in 2010 for 2–4 players, 60 minutes per game, and ages 13 and up. It was designed by Eric M. Lang, Christian T. Petersen, and Nate French and its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Hand Management, and Simultaneous Action Selection.
Illyrio’s Gift is the first pack in the Brotherhood Without Banners cycle. It introduces a new era of factions and subfactions to your deck. Illyrio’s Gift is the first monthly installment of 60 fixed cards for the Brotherhood Without Banners expansion to A Game of Thrones: The Card Game. The never-before-seen cards in this expansion were designed to augment existing decks and add variety to the A Game of Thrones metagame. Featuring the hard-to-kill lightning lord Beric Dondarrion, as well as other popular characters like Edric Dayne and Rakharo, Illyrio’s Gift will bring a new level of theme and strategy to A Game of Thrones.
A Game of Thrones: The Card Game – Illyrio's Gift supports 2–4 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for A Game of Thrones: The Card Game – Illyrio's Gift is 60 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists A Game of Thrones: The Card Game – Illyrio's Gift for ages 13 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
A Game of Thrones: The Card Game – Illyrio's Gift has a complexity rating of 2.3 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
A Game of Thrones: The Card Game – Illyrio's Gift belongs to these categories: Card Game, Fantasy, and Fighting. Its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Hand Management, and Simultaneous Action Selection. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of A Game of Thrones: The Card Game – Illyrio's Gift are: Eric M. Lang, Christian T. Petersen, and Nate French. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists A Game of Thrones: The Card Game – Illyrio's Gift as an expansion for A Game of Thrones: The Card Game. Expansions add new content, rules or scenarios to the base game and usually cannot be played on their own, so you need A Game of Thrones: The Card Game to use it. Check that your edition of A Game of Thrones: The Card Game is compatible, as some expansions were revised between editions.