“Sometimes you roll a 1...

… and sometimes you roll a 20 and crush it! In the Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game, the dice may control your fate, but in The Great Dalmuti, it’s about how cleverly you play the cards you’re dealt. One round you’re polishing your royal crown, and the next you’re whacking rats in a filthy alley. It’s a gloat-filled, winner-take-all contest in this D&D-themed version of the classic card game.”

The Great Dalmuti (1995) by Magic the Gathering designer Richard Garfield remains one of the classic social card games from the golden age of board game expansion. Playable by groups of 4-8, Dalmuti has simple rules, yet involves tons of fun social awkwardness. In The Great Dalmuti, players use a deck of cards numbered from 1 to 12, with the value of each card also equaling how many of that card resides in the deck. The start player, referred to as the Great Dalmuti, leads with a set of identical cards face up, such as 4 tens. Then, in turn order, each player must play the same number of cards of a better rank (ie. lower value, such as 4 eights). After each hand, the player in last, the Greater Peon, must clean up the table and redeal. The first player to play all of their cards becomes the next Great Dalmuti and rules the table. The second player to go out is the Lesser Dalmuti, and so forth. Players switch seats at the table to reflect the new social hierarchy, and the game continues. Jokers add some randomness and the possibility of a revolution, overthrowing the ranking leaders.

Wizards of the Coast has just announced a the first new edition of this beloved game since 1995, Dungeons and Dragons Great Dalmuti. Featuring fantastic art from Harry Conway as well as D&D theming.