I recently picked this card-game up almost at random from my local game-shop. It was inexpensive, with a nicely designed box, and, as I've always loved fencing and swashbuckling movies and books, I couldn't resist. It was a good purchase, as it turned out, unlike many of my blind game-buys (I'm talking to you, Emira!).

En Garde! plays from 2-6 players, and, as of this writing, I have played it at both extremes but not with the in-between numbers of players. The game itself is a "cinematic" fencing simulation (as opposed to simulating actual fencing), and the cards represent various maneuvers one might take in a fight of that sort. (By "cinematic," I mean that the sort of sword-fight En Garde! seeks to represent is the type you'd see in, say, one of Dick Lester's classic Three Musketeers movies [the ones with Michael York & Oliver Reed], as opposed to a much more dry Olympic-type sporting fencing match.)

There are various types of cards in the game: Attack, Parry, Parry Riposte (a parry with a counter-attack), Attack Enhancement, Press Attack, Fancy Move, "Poise Restoration," and Items. In any one turn, a player opens an "Engagement" (an attack) and may also play an Item and/or a Poise Restoration card ("Poise" is what stands for Hit Points in the game; when you take "damage," you lose Poise, and you are out of the game if, after reaching 0 Poise, you take any further damage). A player may only open one Engagement per turn (by playing an Attack card). Defending players throw down Parry or Fancy Move cards in response to the Attack card thrown by the attacking player, and the attacking player, depending on the card presented by the defending player, may then have options in further response. Whichever player ends up coming short takes some damage (Poise-loss). As stated, a player who takes damage after reaching 0 Poise is out of the game. All the while, players restore their Poise with certain cards and use items like bucklers and capes to great effect.

The game is, in that way, a back-and-forth of maneuvers, including some hilarious ones (such as the production of a monster 5 Poise-reducing Pistol--that's where the "cinematic" comes in!). The variety of maneuvers available is wide, and the back-and-forth action can become pretty intense. When opening an Engagement as an attacking player, there is always a possibility that YOU will be the one taking damage at the end of the turn rather than the defending player! Even at 0 Poise against an opponent with 7 or 8 Poise (out of the starting total of 10), there is still a decent possibility of victory.

I fenced in college and, more importantly, have seen every sword-fighting/fencing movie ever made, and, in my opinion, En Garde! simulates the experience as well as anything that involves sitting on the living-room floor could. At least in the 2-player game, it moves quickly and the fun doesn't stop (more on multi-player games below).

The game doesn't work quite as well with a full boat of 6 players, however. It tends to move slowly, and the possibility of hanging on for dear life at 0 Poise is considerably reduced with 5 extra swords pointed at your throat. Thus, as an elimination game, it can make for a long 30 or 40 minutes for the first few players to be eliminated, particularly if, as in my 6-player game, the last two players (myself and another) happen to be those who, for whatever reason, simply weren't attacked earlier in the game and basically face off at full Poise for what is effectively a full 2-player game while 4 other players sit on watching, bored.

The quality of the cards is very high, though--almost too high, in fact, as they are impossible to shuffle in the traditional manner without simply creasing them. The artwork and overall design is very well done, with humorous illustrations of each maneuver and item on the cards. However, the rulebook is vague on various points, and I did several things wrong before reading some of the clarifications here on BGG. A rewrite, particularly concerning the number of cards players may play in response to one another within a single Engagment, is definitely in order.

On the whole, I really enjoyed En Garde! My girlfriend and I took it with us on a trip overseas and played it many times over the course of 10 or so days abroad, and it never got boring (at least for me). With 2 players, it seems to last just the right amount of time and contains just the right amount of excitement and tension. With more players, it is a lesser game, dragging and containing tons of downtime for the majority of the players. Thus, I rate it a 6.5 for its lightness (nothing else was intended, of course) and for its weakness as a multi-player game.

However, for 2 players, or even 3, I recommend it highly.

Fun game, but we found it to have a short lifespan--or should I say it wore out its poise rather quickly. I won it at a game convention a couple years ago, and we initially played it quite a bit--mostly with 2 or 3. But then after a short while, it went on the shelf, never to be brought up again. After a year of it never getting a request, I traded it away. Now, keep in mind, it is a light game, and has a heavy luck factor--both of which will mean it won't last with us, and not rather, that it is a poor game (because for what it is, it is quite entertaining).

I agree, that this is a light game with some interesting decisions about card play/cycling. That said, the counterattacks (parry riposte etc.) mean that there are more cards to cancel/keep track of. As such, we find it a bit fiddly and a bit of work for what you get out of it.

Contrast this with the earlier Kung Fu Fighting. While simpler, the relative rarity of counterattacks mean that KFF you set up a combo and it is either blocked or not. Next person steps up, etc. Again, this captures the 'ritualized fighting' of Hong Kong Chop Socky flicks, but now the mechanics are cleaner, and the game moves faster-e.g. just the right amount of decision vs. ease of play for a fun, quick filler.

En Garde! is good, and I'm not planning on trading it, but KFF hits the spot more often than its more complex younger sib.

Then again, am I the only one that has noticed that the stunningly beautiful Blue Moon is basically a very much overdressed KFF or EG! (and I'm a BM fan/convert).

Nice review. I agree with all your main points. It's a fun game and I bust it out every now and then.

However, I feel it's a bit overpriced. $20 for a deck of cards and a few counters? Even though I do find entertainment from this game, and the card quality is above average, I can't help but feel a little... I dunno... taken advantage of by the price.

A side note (err... "bottom note"?), I plan on modifying this game so that it has a Star Wars theme to it. I created an Excel file that keeps track of all the math and probabilities in the original version. All I need to do is rename each card and print out a new deck. Also considering bonuses for specific characters. Obi Wan might have more Force (poise), for instance, while Anakin might get an extra bonus for wielding two sabers. Stuff like that.

So maybe in the long run I'll feel as though my investment has paid off. We'll see.

G