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- BGG #2,002
- BGG rating
- 6.8
Bloodborne: The Card Game
- 3–5 players
- 30–45 min
- Complexity 2.0/5
- 2016
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- BGG #14,020
- BGG rating
- 6.9
Fickle
2019
Rules assistance for Fickle
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 3–5 players
- 12–30 min
- 12+
- Complexity 1.8/5
For 3 players
Rules assistant for Fickle
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Fickle is a board game released in 2019 for 3–5 players, 12–30 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Glenn Cotter and its main mechanics are Hand Management, Take That, and Set Collection.
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About the game
Your goal in Fickle, an inverse set collection card game, is to build the strongest fairy alliance over five rounds and win the Queen's crown. You do this by keeping fairies in your alliance that gain you favor points. Each card represents a single fairy from one of the five families. Each family has a unique power that enables you to improve your alliance and thwart opponents. Each round, you choose a single fairy, playing it into your alliance tableau, then resolve the family power. Easy, except that with all those powers, fairies don't seem to stay in one alliance for long. They tend to be...fickle. In more detail, to set up before the game, players decide which five fairy suits to use in the game from the 22 suits included in the box. In each round, you are dealt three cards; you look at them, decide on the order in which to stack them, then pass that stack to another player. You'll receive a stack in turn, which is in effect a "press your luck" deck created by an opponent. You look at the top card, then decide whether to keep it or discard it and draw the next card, which you can also discard in favor of the third card. Once the "press your luck" draw is complete, each player has one fairy card in hand, which they play into their alliance, then resolve in order starting with whoever played the card with the highest favor. After the fifth round, players score each fairy suit in their alliances, and because fairies want equal influence in an alliance, scores are based on an inverse scoring curve: 1 card of a suit: Score its favor value. 2 cards: Score 0 points. 3-4 cards: Lose points equal to the card of this suit with the highest favor. 5 or more cards of a suit: Score the summed value of all these cards. The player with the highest favor score wins.
Designers
Publishers
- BARD Games LLC
Questions and answers
Fickle supports 3–5 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 Fickle is 12–30 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 Fickle for ages 12 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.
Fickle has a complexity rating of 1.8 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a 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.
Fickle belongs to these categories: Card Game and Fantasy. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Take That, and Set Collection. 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 Fickle are: Glenn Cotter. 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 Fickle as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.