HMS Dolores Review

Slipping silently through the night, the HMS Dolores might have passed you by unnoticed. But look closely. Who’s that bearded rogue manning the wheel? Why, that’s Eric Lang! And look! Swinging from the rigging! Is that not Bruno Faidutti? And my goodness I could have sworn I saw Vincent Dutrait touching up the paintwork on the figurehead! Why, HMS Dolores is most certainly worth a closer look.

 

 

Players: 2 – 4

Time: 20 mins

Ages: 10+

 

 

The good ship Dolores comes with merely a deck of cards, promising noting more than an enjoyable and relaxing evening. But behind its captain’s coy smile is the implication that something is more than it seems. This might be a card game, but it will be anything but simple.

You’ve probably heard of the Prisoner’s Dilemma? It’s a brilliant little example of game theory. In essence two players are offered some reward, a pot of money say, or a selection of cards in our game, and each of them has the choice to respond peacefully and share the pot, or to fight. If only one choses to fight, then they win the whole pot, if both fight, neither of them get anything. That’s an awesome set up for a mind game with no easy solution, but of course Mr Lang and Mr Faidutti were going to mix it up a bit!

Being in one prisoner’s dilemma is a nerve wracking prospect. So HMS Dolores makes you play through them again and again! When you screw over your friend you’ll be facing them again next round! Add to this the fact that the other players will be watching your turns or, if you have interesting friends, throwing out “advice” and general abuse. You’ll play 2 turns in a row, one with each neighbour and then watch the others pair off. Which would be awful if watching 2 players try to convince the other they aren’t about to screw the other wasn’t so entertaining, and the final reveal wasn’t such fantastic drama. Even if they agree amicably before the draw, you never know what players have decided until the hands are on the table.

Now, at the start of a game you naturally won’t want to scare the table and you’ll probably be content to take the half of the split you’re offered by the deck. I mean, you could be a dick, but we’ll assume you’re not for now. But that commitment to decency only lasts as long as you’re not caring about scores because this game has a brilliantly cunning scoring system. Cards come in different types and values varying from 1 to 3. So when your opponent gets that tasty 3 of wine and you’ve got a poncy 1 of crockery things immediately get a little bit tenser. But as the game goes on things only get worse and worse (by which, of course, I mean better and better) because your final score is only the sum of your highest value “suit” and your lowest value “suit”. So, for example with this set of boxes

You’d score 7 for your vast collection of violins and 2 for your parasols and all those ornate pistols are completely wasted. Let’s go into why that is so good. You see, after the first round or two you really start to care desperately about the cards you pick up. Starting to collect a new type of good could devastate your score. Upping the ante even further is the fact that if you have multiple sets of the same lowest/highest sets you get to score them all, letting you really rack up a good score with cunning and a little bit of luck. Really optimising your collection is a huge challenge, especially because even if you succeed the game isn’t over and you might still have to pick stuff up! The game only ends once dawn breaks from the deck and so often this happens when you’re desperate for just one more turn… and that’s great!

Creating these sets may seem like an improbable task but that’s where something I’ve not told you about yet comes in. Each turn isn’t a pure prisoner’s dilemma. In addition to acting peacefully and fighting you can also stick out your thumb to indicate you want first pick. It does extend the rules explanation in a similar way to adding lizard and Spock to rock-paper-scissors but also gives you that little bit more control. First pick lets you grab a single card from either side of the draw, then the other player takes whatever they are owed. Unless you both try and pick first and then not only do you not get anything, you are also forced to discard an entire set from your hand! Brutal! And funny for everyone else. Except if you’re really cunning you can try and trigger this to get rid of those low scoring extra sets you’ve ended up with to try and boost your overall score.

The final twist in this tale are the message cards offering one shot special powers that vary from the usual fodder you might expect (steal a card, rearrange the cards of a sharing contest) to utterly ingenious cards. For instance, playing the broken lantern means only you are allowed to see what cards are available that turn and you can say whatever you like to the others. Another card forces the players involved to re-play that turn, perfect for mixing up a particularly confrontational result. These aren’t necessarily powerful abilities but they are extremely entertaining!

That’s what HMS Dolores is all about. It’s a short game with only so much strategy involved but it’s full of negotiation, betrayals and not taking things too seriously (or personally). And it has such good theatre! Add to that a scoring system that borders on the Machiavellian and you have a recipe for a tense, exciting and hilarious 20 minutes.

Rating: First Pick

Our copy of HMS Dolores was provided for review by Esdevium Games. You can pick it up for £13.99 from your local gaming store.