This Tuesday marks the start of June and with it the start of Pride Month. A month dedicated to celebration, appreciation, and, well… Pride. It is a month where LGBTQ+ folk can have their voices heard. Pride is celebrated across every form of media! In an industry with a quite abysmal queer rep, Renegade Games Studios are taking a stand. Then in a rather renegade move from the publisher, they have announced Love Letter: Princess Princess Ever After. A game in which players vie for the attention of Princess Isadora. There's even a sapphic twist on the Love Letter format! This version takes its basis from Katie O’Neill’s comic series Princess Princess Ever After, where two princesses journey to find their own ‘happy ever after’.
What to Expect?
Love Letter is a social-deduction card game. Players must work out the cards in their opponent's hand while trying to hold onto the more valuable ones for themselves. This time, however, all the suitors have been replaced with other princesses. The theme isn’t the only thing that’s changed, as the art has been replaced with O’Neill’s own gorgeous style. Fans of the base game will be pleased that Sanji Kanai (designer of the original Love Letter) will still be working his magic on the project. It's due to be released later this year.
While this project is only a drop in the ocean that is board gaming, the representation it signifies is a welcome change. Being able to look at a hobby you adore and see yourself represented is what many gamers, young and old, need. It is true that the most important step is the first. I am excited to see a positive change in how queer folk are represented in the hobby that I love.