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Off With Their Heads!
2026
Rules assistance for Off With Their Heads!
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–4 players
- 15–30 min
- 13+
- Complexity 2.0/5
For 2 players
Rules assistant for Off With Their Heads!
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Off With Their Heads! is a board game released in 2026 for 2–4 players, 15–30 minutes per game, and ages 13 and up. It was designed by Michael Mihealsick and J.B. Howell and its main mechanics are Paper-and-Pencil and Trick-taking.
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About the game
Off With Their Heads! is a clever reveal-and-write game where players serve as loyal Card Soldiers tasked with keeping the mercurial Red Queen pleased. Influenced by a wide range of classic card games including poker, hearts, and euchre, players secretly choose and reveal cards from their hands to compete for position in each bout. The ranking of the revealed cards determines whether you place highest, lowest, or somewhere in between, and that result dictates where you record the card’s value on your personal score sheet. Each section of your sheet rewards a different strategy. Claim the highest card to mark the Meadow and complete mushrooms for points, land in the middle to carefully place numbers throughout the Woods while following the Jabberwock’s rule, or take the lowest rank to navigate the maze-like Keep where every number you record becomes valuable. Along the way you can earn bonuses, invite iconic Wonderlandians to your Tea Party, and manipulate your marks using helpful teacups. At the end of each round, two cards are set aside. After three rounds, those cards form a six-card pool from which players create their best five-card poker hand for bonus points before final scoring. The player who has earned the most favor with the Queen across their sheet wins the game… and keeps their head. —description from the publisher
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- Druid City Games
- Present Is Future Games (PIF GAMES)
Questions and answers
Off With Their Heads! 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 Off With Their Heads! is 15–30 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 Off With Their Heads! 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.
Off With Their Heads! has a complexity rating of 2.0 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.
Off With Their Heads! belongs to these categories: Card Game and Fantasy. Its main mechanics are Paper-and-Pencil and Trick-taking. 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 Off With Their Heads! are: Michael Mihealsick and J.B. Howell. 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 Off With Their Heads! 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.