"When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground."

–George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

Across the Seven Kingdoms, the Great Houses of Westeros struggle to control the Iron Throne. As the influential House Baratheon, honorable House Stark, treacherous House Lannister, and fierce House Targraryen vie in a life-or-death struggle for the future of the realm, dark and supernatural forces amass outside the kingdom’s defensive wall. Winter is coming. Do you have what it takes to emerge victorious in the only game that matters, A Game of Thrones?

A Game of Thrones: The Card Game is a card game of intrigue, diplomacy, and strategy for two to four players. The Core Set includes everything that four players need for a self-contained and vastly replayable gaming experience. Its most compelling attribute, however, is the infinite customization afforded by the Living Card Game®, or LCG, system. This innovative new way of looking at card games gives players the ability to expand their library of cards, at a relatively small cost, by purchasing monthly Chapter Packs, which offer fixed sets of sixty new cards. This setup allows you to choose which components to include, and it shifts the advantage away from players able to afford rare cards to players capable of creatively compiling the most effective deck. In short, the LCG system levels the playing field, providing the best features of both CCGs and standalone card games.

Whether you own only the Core Set, or you’ve collected every Chapter Pack available (or anywhere in between), you’ll find A Game of Thrones: The Card Game to be a deep and satisfying contest of wits for yourself and up to three friends.

Choose Your House

“Give me honorable enemies rather than ambitious ones, and I'll sleep more easily by night."

–George R.R. Martin

In A Game of Thrones: The Card Game, players take control of one of the major Houses of Westeros, and they zealously compete for power. The first player to earn fifteen power tokens claims the Iron Throne and victory. Each House’s deck has different strengths and weakness based on the themes, characters, and locations of George R.R. Martin’s epic A Song of Ice and Fire series. Indeed, fans of Martin’s writing will find A Game of Thrones: The Card Game strikingly true to the novels, and newcomers to the saga will be drawn in by the strife, intrigue, and backstabbery that so many readers have come to love. House Stark’s strength, for example, is their military capabilities, while House Lannister’s cards concentrate on shocking and devious manipulations of the normal flow of the game. The Core Set even includes House cards for House Greyjoy and House Martell, and with the addition of just a few Chapter Packs, viable decks can be built for both!

Make Your Challenges

Ned felt his anger rise. "You knew of this plot, and yet you did nothing."

–George R.R. Martin

A Game of Thrones: The Card Game offers another unique element: the inclusion of a plot deck for each player. At the start of each round, before the table-wide battle for power, intelligence, and military supremacy ensues, each player selects a plot card from individual plot decks of seven cards. These cards trigger special, thematically driven effects that have repercussions for all players throughout the coming round and beyond. Some plot effects are positive, while others are devastatingly negative… but they all must come to pass, so players should wisely consider the order in which to reveal their plots throughout the game. The ever looming threat of destruction or loss due to a plot, whether generated by your own deck or by an opponent's, adds another level of strategic depth to the game.

When the time comes for direct action against your opponents, you’ll find a wide range of choices based on your specific agenda. Unlike other card games, which limit you to only one kind of attack, A Game of Thrones: The Card Game gives you three options, each with its own rewards. A military challenge kills your opponent’s characters, an intrigue challenge limits your opponent’s choices by discarding his cards in hand, and a power challenge lets you steal your opponent's power tokens for yourself. Since different characters (and different Houses) excel at different types of challenges, you’ll find yourself constantly adapting your round-by-round strategy, while you form a larger, long-term plan based on the strengths of your deck.

Joust or Melee

“Put not your trust in spiders, my lord." That was scarcely anything Ned needed to be told.

–George R.R. Martin

In addition to this wealth of strategic depth, A Game of Thrones: The Card Game offers a robust and engaging multiplayer system. In games including three or more players, each player chooses a specific role from the king's Small Council at the start of every round. In addition to conferring special bonuses on their owners, most roles support or oppose other roles, forbidding aggression against players they support, and rewarding aggression against those they oppose. Every alliance in A Game of Thrones: The Card Game is short-term, and multiplayer games are always unpredictable. With the inclusion of cards that potentially help your opponents, the capacity for deal-making and deal-breaking is vast. Be careful who you trust!

A Game of Thrones: The Card Game offers an experience faithful to George R.R. Martin’s beloved saga while simultaneously providing a clever and addictive game system. Whether your tactical style is underhanded or openly aggressive, diplomatic or blunt, you’ll find a House that can match your priorities. All of this, along with the infinite flexibility of the LCG system, truly makes A Game of Thrones: The Card Game the only game that matters…