Overview:
Bloody Legacy is a card game for 2-8 players, ages 8 and up.. The quote on the box sums it up really well: "An unnecessarily violent and offensive card game for all the family". Players take on the role of relatives of Great-Uncle Sir Hesketh Goodbody Three-Choirs Overcoat (Deceased). Uncle Hesketh has recently died and left a fortune to his sole surviving relative. You have to make sure that the sole survivor is you!

The game is rare in that the suggested playing time of 30 minutes is on the long side. Frequently four player games will end inside 15 minutes. That said, this is a game you have to play again immediately - so perhaps the half-hour suggestion is justified!

(I was in my FLGS a while ago when a cusomer came in, clearly upset. "I'm disgusted at the game you sold my son!", she screamed at the manager. It turned out that her 10 year old son had bought a copy. Despite her upset at the artwork and theme, she bought several copies as presents for her son's friends!)

What you need to play:
The Bloody Legacy deck - this has 52 cards
Three "Life tokens" per player - yet another fine use for Euro-game cubes!
A sense of humour - Essential!

The cards all depict humourously gruesome artwork, titled in English and German. There are two types:

Traps: You use these to try and injure, or disadvantage other players.
Tricks: These help you avoid traps which other players send your way.

Set-up:
1) Each player is given three life-tokens.
2) Determine the starting player - the game suggests holding a pie eating contest to decide this! The starting player is given the deck box to show their position (I'm sure a kumquat would be a suitable alternative!)
3) Each player is dealt three cards.

Gameplay:
The player with the deck box passes it to the left and plays a trap card against one of their opponents. If they have no traps, they must pass instead. Once the trap has been dealt with (see below), play passes to the new holder of the deck box. If nobody has a trap card (very rare) then all the cards are shuffled and new hands are dealt.

Any player targeted by a trap, can use a trick card to try and avoid it. Trick cards will either negate the trap or move it to another player. If they don't play a trick, then they will either take damage or lose a card (depending on the trap). The trap remains in front of the player to show the amount of damage taken.

Whenever a card of any type is played, a replacement is drawn.

The amount of damage varies from 1 to 5 points per card. As soon as a player has taken 5 points of damage in total, they lose a life token and sit out for the rest of the round. When only one player remains, they take the deck box and all the cards are shuffled and dealt out again to anyone who still has a life token.

The player with the last remaining life token wins.

Let's look at the types of card involved:


This is a Deadly Trap. As it deals 5 damage, shown by the number of skulls, if you can't avoid this you lose a life.



This is a Slippery Trap (indicated by the banana skin). If you can not get rid of this you will lose a card. The lost cards are not replaced. Lose your hand completely and you lose a life!



An ordinary Trap. This one does 3 damage.



A Special Trap. If this trap goes off, the card is dropped from a height. If it lands face up, the smaller amount of damage is taken. If it lands face down, you take more damage.



A Pass Trick. This trick allows you to move a trap to the player next to you (in the direction of the arrow). Some of these cards give you the choice of which direction.



A Negate Trick. These stop traps from happening (the trap gets discarded).


Conclusion:
This is a fantastic game, easy to learn, quick to play and good for laughs. When you need a breather between serious games, this is perfect. The box says it is suitable for ages 8 and above. I think this is accurate. Younger children may find the game disturbing, but it definately appeals to older children's idea that disgusting=good!

If you haven't tried this game yet, buy a copy - you won't regret it.