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If you can’t stop watching Netflix’s Bridgerton and have already binged Season 3 part 1, these games might get you through the void until part 2 airs. So, don your petticoats and lace the corset as these games will take you on a wild ride of twists and turns.
Obsession by Sophie Jones
In Obsession you take on the role of an influential household with a crumbling estate. Over the course of the game, you will invite guests to your house, build rooms and hire new underlings all in the name of love. At the end of the courting season one player will secure the hand of a wealthy Fairchild.
Over 16 rounds, players will host activities in their estate rooms. These activities will require staff and guests. You can go bowling on the green, gamble in the parlour, plan the village fate or entertain at a dinner party. Each activity will earn players prestige points or money. Prestige will help players attract better guests and money will allow them to add rooms to their estate and purchase more staff. It’s a great mix of deck building and worker placement.
This game leans heavily on its theme and each guest card feels like it is out of Bridgerton. From scoundrels to eligible Batchelors and American heiresses to ladies in waiting, each guest has their own backstory which links with their favours. Because of this, I love making scandalous pairings and creating stories through the activities I host each round. One thing is certain, it is incredibly hard not to adopt a posh English accent as you declare each activity and look down your nose at your adversaries, take that House Wessex.
If you are missing the glamorous balls, gossiping servants and historic houses, Obsession will take you by the hand and guide you through this era. Just make sure your house isn’t the talk of the ton due to a dire courtship.
Love Letter by Dan Street-Phillips
If there is one thing that summarises the interests of the ton, it’s secrets and hidden romances. Well, 2012’s Love Letter is a quick trick taking game that seeks to explore that exact same theme. All of the eligible young men (and many of the not-so-young) seek to woo the princess of Tempest. Unfortunately, she has locked herself in the palace, and you must rely on others to take your romantic letters to her. Will yours reach her first? Your goal is to get your love letter into Princess Annette’s hands while deflecting the letters from competing suitors.
There are only sixteen cards in the deck and on your turn, you are simply drawing one and playing one as you use each character’s ability to thin the herd and kick other players out of the round. Each card has a number that coincides with the character with lowly guards being a one and the Princess herself being an eight. Higher cards will normally hold more power and if a multitude of players survive the round, the highest number will win. Playing the guard, for example, will allow you to guess what card another player has, guess right and they are out. The priest will let you look at another player’s hands and the King will even allow you to swap with someone else. However, if any player is ever forced to play their card and reveal they are the princess then they are automatically eliminated.
There is a lot in this little game of deduction, and it never fails to entertain. There are also a number of different versions now available from Princess Princess Ever After to Star Wars and now, if you want the full Bridgerton experience then there is a brand-new edition that does just that!
Coup by Tej Bhatti
Coup is a gripping board game about high society that transports players into a dystopian setting where powerful CEOs rule the world, acting as the new royal class. Players assume the role of government officials, navigating a landscape where they must outwit, manipulate, and bluff their way to attain supreme influence. If you want to succeed, you’ll have to channel your inner Portia Featherington, be cunning, ruthless and deceptive.
The game mechanics are deceptively simple. Players are dealt two cards each, which represent their influence within the royal court. These cards essentially symbolize the courtesans over whom they hold influence and who enact their bidding. Each card has a unique role, such as the Duke who collects taxes and will give the player 3 coins, or the Assassin who can eliminate another player’s influence for a fee of 3 coins. The Captain can pilfer coins from other players, while the Ambassador can switch the player’s cards with the main deck. Each card also has its own counteractions, adding another layer of strategy to the game.
A significant twist in Coup is in the ability to lie about the cards you possess. Players can bluff and take actions linked to the roles they claim to have. As soon as players lose influence and reveal their cards, the ability to deceive others becomes trickier. Tensions escalate once players begin challenging each other’s bluffs, with the loser having to forfeit one influence. Any player who loses all their influence and flips both their cards, lose the game and must be exiled from the court. If you wish to play safe and choose to neither reveal your influence or bluff about it, you may also take other actions that are not specific to any card in the game. Furthermore, if a player amasses at least 7 coins, they can leverage this wealth to force another player to lose an influence.
Coup is a game of tactics and balance, with honesty and deception each playing a crucial role at specific instances. Playing true to your cards could allow others to adjust their narratives, accordingly, potentially putting you in a precarious situation. It’s definitely a game for those that like Bridgerton for its upper-class politics rather than its romance. However, you choose to play, the game continues until only one remains standing… as the last official in the royal court!
Surrealist Dinner Party by Northern Invasion Stu
It’s a simple premise - you have invited a group of high-profile movers and shakers for a dinner party, each with their own desires and appetites, and it’s your job to make sure that your guests have the best time possible whilst your opponents’ guests leave the party unsatisfied.
The game is very simple to learn and plays refreshingly quickly. However, this is not a game of cooperation but one of cutthroat skullduggery where you will try your hardest to stifle your opponent’s plans and achieve the best possible result for yourself.
The dinner comprises six courses with food and refreshments served upon a central silver platter. When you take your turn during each of the courses (rounds) you can choose to serve one of your guests with what is on offer, or you may instead have one of your guests pay a compliment to someone sitting beside them or else sow descent by causing drama... Of course, some of these eccentric characters thrive on conflict and will enjoy such a spectacle so you must be careful to ensure that only your guests have the best time possible. You may even send some food back to the kitchen because you know that one of your opponent’s guests enjoys it. It’s important to make sure they don’t enjoy themselves too much or they may be back one day.
Without giving too much away, each of the guests has their own special abilities that may also be employed throughout the game. Needless to say, with the right group playing, Surrealist Dinner Party is great fun and may be just the thing you’re looking for to fill that space while you’re waiting for the next season of Bridgerton. It may not be based in the regency era but it still delivers the same drama you might witness at the first seasons ball.
One word of advice. To keep things as balanced as possible, make sure to draft your guests using the optional rules rather than randomly dealing them out because some guests synergise far better than others and a lucky (or unlucky) deal can make a game ridiculously one sided.
Bridgerton The High Society Game by Rachael Duchovny
What better way to celebrate the imminent release of Bridgerton season 3 than an evening playing Bridgerton, The High Society Game. This is a fun game for 3 to 6 players lasting around 30 minutes. Played over 8 rounds, where you’ll attend a ball aiming to dance with the object of your desires and stake your claim, or affection, on the prospect of your choice. Remember to think strategically because where a prospect starts on the prestige ladder may not be where they end!
Balls are laid out in random order, and each has its own rules. Will you begin at the Queen’s Ball or end at the New Lover Ball? When the ball is over, rules can affect your prospects so be sure to forward plan and think carefully about who you will finally settle down with.
The aim of the game is to become engaged to the bachelor/ette with the highest prestige. But be careful, hidden traits may thwart your marriage desires. Your prospect could move up or down the prestige ladder, gaining or losing you points in final scoring.
Will The Duke of Hastings turn out to be a liar? Will Prince Friedrich actually be wealthy? Of course, there are cards that can help reveal or conceal a suitor’s trait, cards that let you dance with the finest suitor at the ball and of course become infatuated, swoon or seek revenge and, because this is Bridgerton after all, catch someone in a scandal! But be careful you don’t fall foul of Lady Whistledown’s gossiping ways!
This is a light, fun little game that is easy to teach and learn and whilst the traits are randomised so knowing the characters in the TV show won’t guarantee that they are a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ person during gameplay the game embodies the essence of the IP perfectly.
So, whether you’re eagerly anticipating the first episode, stuck in the annoying mid-season break or sad another season is over, pick up this game and immerse yourself in the world of ballroom dancing, high society trickery and English courtship.
These 5 games are sure to sate your Bridgerton needs whilst you wait for part 2 of season 3. They’ve got romance, deception, scandal, sabotage, dukes and an air of high society. If you’ve not watched Bridgerton but love these games, you might want to give it a go
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Editors note: This post was originally published on 29th May 2024 Updated on 19th June 2024 to improve the information available.