- BGG rank
- BGG #434
- BGG rating
- 7.8
For Northwood! A Solo Trick-Taking Game
- 1 player
- 15–30 min
- Complexity 1.9/5
- 2021
- BGG rank
- BGG #14,200
- BGG rating
- 7.6
The Emissary
2021
Rules assistance for The Emissary
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 1 player
- 15–60 min
- 10+
- Complexity 2.6/5
For 1 player
Rules assistant for The Emissary
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
The Emissary is a board game released in 2021 for 1 player, 15–60 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. It was designed by Wilhelm Su and its main mechanics are Hand Management, Solo / Solitaire Game, and Trick-taking.
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About the game
In The Emissary, you are a young noble sent by your father to gather support from eight neighboring kingdoms. In each kingdom, you engage in a series of debates with their ruler. Using the right amount of force and deference, you must win exactly a certain number of debates per kingdom. Succeed and you may call upon the ruler for future support; fail even once and lose the game. The Emissary is a solo trick-taking game playable with a deck of regular playing cards, with rules created by Wil Su and made available free online as part of his "Isaludo" series. The game begins by arranging the deck's eight kings and queens in a row. The player then "visits" each card, in whatever order they choose, drawing a new hand of eight cards from the remainder of deck at each stop. They then draw cards one at a time from the deck, forming the basis of tricks, which the player answers from their own hand. The catch is that whatever place the king or queen being "visited" by the player is (e.g., 1st place through 8th place), that's how many tricks must be won by the player -- no more, and no less. With only a limited capacity to bend the rules through special abilities, the game becomes an exercise in careful hand manipulation and excruciating trade-offs. The game is inspired by the decktet game Gongor Whist, which itself was patterned from the standard-deck card game Oneonta Whist. This game also holds the core for the free print-and-play game For Northwood!, which swept top prizes in the 2021 BGG 54-card contest. Familiarity with trick-taking games will make understanding the following rules a breeze. Of course, prior knowledge isn't strictly necessary.
Categories
Designers
Publishers
- (Web published)
Questions and answers
The Emissary supports 1 player according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.
The listed playing time for The Emissary is 15–60 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 The Emissary for ages 10 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.
The Emissary has a complexity rating of 2.6 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.
The Emissary belongs to these categories: Card Game, Abstract Strategy, and Political. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Solo / Solitaire Game, 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 The Emissary are: Wilhelm Su. 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 The Emissary 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.