‘Dance of Cards’ Mixes Lethal Card Games With Mysteries

Dance of Cards seems playful at first, but soon you’re playing Poker to survive a deadly game with passengers on a ship.

Martin is a magician who’s bound for the New World on a ship, hoping to find success on bigger stages there. Also, things are getting a bit hot around town given Martin’s skills at Poker. So, great opportunities for success and to not get shot! Except shortly after Martin boards the boat, he finds that the crew is entirely made up of automatons who want the passengers to play lethal games each night. The winners at Poker get to live while the others die.

You need to figure out why you’ve all been chosen to take part in this cruel game, but you need to get good at Poker in order to do so. Standard Poker rules apply, but Martin (and all of the characters in the game) have special Talents that let them do unique actions during the game. Martin can swap one of his cards with a card of his opponent’s, letting you mess up their game plan or possibly grab yourself the card you need. Others can make players Fold the round, mess with their chips, unveil cards, and more, adding a lot of depth to each round.

Dance of Cards lets you play an additional game to try to save lives after a losing player or team is condemned to death. These are creative, often strategic, but also contain a great deal of randomness that makes them feel exceedingly dangerous and chaotic compared to the Poker games. They make an excellent companion to the strategic moments, and when paired with a surprisingly complex yet perfectly paced mystery, made for a game that was incredibly compelling even for someone who doesn’t have much interest in Poker or card games. This game really grabbed a hold of me and wouldn’t let go.

Dance of Cards will be made available today on the Nintendo eShop, Microsoft Store, GOG, and Steam.

About The Author

Joel Couture

Joel has been covering indie games for various sites including IndieGames.com, Siliconera, Gamasutra, Warp Door, CG Magazine, and more over the past seven years, and has written book-length studies on Undertale and P.T.. Joel is constantly on the lookout for digital experiences that push the boundaries of what games can be, and seeks to delve into the creative process, meanings, and emotion labor that goes into the work of artists worldwide.