Rooted in traditional trick-taking games like Hearts or Spades, Reapers has some major differences that set it apart:
- Every hand is drafted from face-up piles of three cards rather than dealt to players.
- Winners of tricks score the lowest value card in the trick rather than the trick itself as a point.
- The game includes four suits — daggers, poison, plague, and pistols: each related to the method by which the damned souls died — as well as two different special cards called "Reapers" and "Demons".
Players place a wager as to how they think they will do in each hand, with options for scoring the fewest points, scoring the second most points, or not trying to predict — all of which can be viable strategies.
Ages 12+, 3-5 Players, 30-60 minutes playing time