Lords of Maleryth

"The decline of the great Malerythian Empire began with the sudden and mysterious death of the Emperor. The eight houses of the nobility plummeted into a ruthless cold war in an effort to claim the throne. You control one of these houses and must use everyone at your disposal (including covert agents, military geniuses, scientists, traders, diplomats and administrators) to ensure that the next in line is allied with your house." Lords of Maleryth is a fast-flowing deck management game set in an interstellar empire. Using a deck building mechanic, players must defend their own deck whilst attempting to remove cards from their opponents decks, control fleet movements on a central board, and develop rule-breaking technology. The majority of cards represent different characters in the Empire with different skills and abilities. Each card is numbered sequentially.Once the central supply deck is depleted the game ends, and the player with the lowest numbered card in play in front of them wins. Unique player communication rules add to the pressure, meaning that players indulging in thinking time give their opponents opportunity to scheme against them, whereas players who think fast limit their opponents opportunities. —description from the publisher