There are a lot of hidden depths in this game, but the game itself does not teach you anything other than showing you the tutorial. A pity, truly, since the game is so much fun when you successfully pull off great combos.

This guide will try to show you a bit of info and combos that will help you understand the mechanics of the game.

Disclaimer: This guide also contains my personal opinion of a card's strength. This is by no means a general tier list, and always remember that all cards have a time and a place to shine; a relatively powerful card will not always triumph over a weak one.

Use a bit of territory to gain coins, then use Contribution and banish Apprentice Maid
or
Banish farmland
or
Banish Curses


Apprentice Maids and Farmland often slow or restrict the deck once it enters midgame. Contribution can get rid of anything that stalls you with the cost of 1 coin. During games when curse can be inflicted, having Contribution can be life saving.

Draw 1 card, +1 link.
You can use this card to draw, then link up with cards that have no link.
Examples: Postal Horse + Trading Ship

Using postal horse can allow you to keep playing cards even if the last card you played has 0 links. Postal Horse + Trade Ship is the bread and butter of Bergamotte players. New players who want to understand her can start with this.


Use Wishing Well and discard all farmland and apprentice maid

Can quickly replace cards that are stalling your hands with cards from the deck; though be warned that everything is still random.


The card for people who did not manage to pick Bergamotte but still need to recycle action cards from the discard.
Not very effecient, but in some cases it's better than nothing.


The newb bait.
This is a pretty horrible card. You gain a curse and your farmland now yield 2 coins for that turn only. The coins might help you out in a pinch, but using this card only backs yourself into the corner, since you now have to deal with curse cards that are clogging your deck.


0 Links, should be played last unless you have cards with +1 link.
The poor man's alchemist.
Can also be used as a source of coins. The coins you gain from this card can also be used for Backing a princess without putting the ship out of commission like how you would lose access to the city/large city you used to acquire 6 coins.


Very niche.
In case your opponent tries to keep cards in their domain to use in the next turn, you can use the battering ram to get rid of it. However, because most people will try to rush to Back a princess, they will rarely have a dominion that isn't farmland or cities. Farmland cannot keep any card at all, and cities can only keep cost 2 and 3 cards at best, most of them aren't very threatening.
So, this card is pretty useless unless your opponent telegraphs their moves.
Do not buy this card when playing against AI, since they do not keep cards in domain.


0 links, should be played last unless you have +1 link.
Are you feeling lucky today? Best case scenario, using this card could potentially give you a Crown or Imperial Capital for free. Other lucky cards include Alchemist that have yet to hit the open market, Duchess, and other generally useful cards.
If you end up getting a card you don't like, you can banish it in order to prevent your opponent from getting it.
This card is useless once the card pile on the supply market dries up. Banish it with Contribution or Adventurer or Curse Witch for maximum efficiency.


Has +1 link.
Bergamotte's best friend, This card is terrifying in the hands of an experienced Bergamotte. But he is also an ally of justice to all other princesses that employs him.

You can copy the effect of any action card in your discard pile, which is always useful as long as you actually have good action cards. With this card, one can execute the "Pidgeon Loop" combo.


The archnemesis of all man-kind, but especially to newbies. Do not buy this card unless you've thought very far ahead and are confident that the loan will not drag you down. Though this card gives 3 coins on use, it will nullify 4 coins in the future. Depending on your luck, this can be crippling.


Very efficient action card recycler, much better than Draft Officer in my opinion. This card can be a life saver in offensive games where everyone keeps trying to cut down each other's action cards through things like Scout, Archer, Elven Sniper, Royal Guard and Evicted Monster. This card is vulnerable to Samurai and also cannot recycle cards that were affected by Samurai.


Very helpful in organizing decks during heavy action card gameplay.
Bergamotte's second best friend.
A Bergamotte with a stargazing witch is basically going to "cheat" for the entire game, Bergamotte can use at least 2 action cards each turn thanks to her special ability. Then they will arrange the order of every single card they have in deck just the way they like.
You have not seen a Master Bergamotte player until you've seen someone arrange an "Alchemist, Large City, Alchemist, Large City, Alchemist, Large City, Alchemist, Large City, Alchemist, Stargazing Witch" combo, then be able to repeat all of it again the next turn because Stargazing witch placed every card in just the right order.

You could potentially use this card to set up a play for the Twin princesses. Making certain that when you take your extra turn, you won't get walled by stuff like triple apprentice maid plus dual farmland.


The newb bait... sort of? Do not buy more than 2.
This card fills a good niche, where you can trade farmland for cities, and cities for large cities without suffering deck inflation (constantly adding cards into your deck, and ending up clogging the deck).
But at some point you will find that this card is very redundant. After this card has no use anymore, banish it with other special action cards for maximum efficiency.


Has +1 link.
The slow man's Bergamotte.
Allows you to recycle an action card immediately and put it on the top of your draw pile, meaning you will be guaranteed to have the recycled card in hand once it's your turn again.


Master Player's Money Maker
Not recommended to newbies who often find themselves stuck with farmland.
Seriously, players who have mastered the game can potentially make more than 15 coins with this card. It's ridiculous.


Stargazing witch that only targets cards that you buy at that turn.
Very niche, often picked by people that hate RNG.
Does not work with Laolily's ability to get 5 maids. Does not work with Anastasia.



Apprentice Maid Dumpster A, and Farmland Dumpster
One of the quickest and most useful ways to get rid of an apprentice maid is to banish it with Adventurer, then take a card from the supply market. Same for farmland.
Other ways include banishing cards that are no longer useful to trade it for something better; but by the time that card actually become useless, the supply market should almost be dried up, or useful cards already taken by other players. Not a very useful card during lategame.
People who want to master Ohka can try to play with this card to familiarize themselves with the mechanics.

The true queen of this game. I have dubbed her as "Her Royal Saltiness".
Very expensive but very worth the price.
There isn't much to talk about when it comes to using this card since it is very straightforward and has zero downsides. This section will focus on countering instead.
Evict Monster is good at kicking her out of your opponent's hand, but Samurai is her biggest enemy because it temporarily banishes her. If Evict Monster hit the Alchemist, Bergamotte players can discard a junk card like apprentice maid or farmland to recycle the alchemist from the discard. But Samurai will shut the alchemist down completely until the whole deck is shuffled again.

Scout, Elven Sniper and Royal Guard could potentially be used to send the alchemist to the discard before it reaches the hand, but there are many risks. Bergamotte players can once again recycle it, and Shinobi can also copy the alchemist.

Clogging your opponent's deck with curses to decrease the alchemist's impact is also a viable strategy.


+1 link.
Useful in inflicting frustration during early game when every single coin generated from farmland counts.
You can send the farmland that was revealed by this card into the discard, or reveal an apprentice maid and keep it at the top of your opponent's deck.
In mid game, could be used to reveal your own card to set up.
Despite it's impact wearing off after midgame, this card is still useful due to it's +1 link that can richen your combo for the entire game.


0 links if I remember correctly.
The winner of the "Awesome but impractical" award.
Klam-Klam has the best synergy with this card.
Ohka also has potential synergy with this card.
You can buy a card from your opponent's discard, buy a card on the top of the deck that has been revealed, or buy a card that is kept in a domain. At the price of the original cost +1 coin.
Klam-Klam has the global -1 coin discount, and will neutralize the added cost.
Can be used as an advanced Battering Ram to not only get rid of a card in your opponent's domain but also keeping the card for yourself.
A very rich Ohka player can be very spiteful with this card if applied correctly. Buy a key card from your opponent, then banish it with something else to seize a bigger card in the supply market. But this is very impractical.


Also known as the killer of large cities and sucession staller
Large cities cost 6, therefore are vulnerable to this card.
The very useful succession cards like Emperor Crown, Imperial Capital, Duke, Duchess are all 5+ cost cards. A very unfortunate person will have to discard them.


0 link.
Useful in inflicting frustration during early game when every single coin generated from farmland counts.
If you want to annoy your friends by poking them, then this is your go-to card.
This card is useful in the early game and in the late-midgame. In the late-midgame where it's not quite late game yet, people are trying to save up money to buy a bunch of dukes, or potentially buy a crown or imperial capital. Using infantry battalion will knock a territory out of their hand.


Also known as Charm Witch or Lust Witch
Can seize an action card or succession card from the supply market when you force your opponent to discard.
Best case scenario is discarding an Alchemist while there is an available alchemist in the supply market. Or charming a duke or duchess.
Not a bad card per say, just a niche card that depends on luck and RNG to be useful.


0 link.
Advanced version of scout, without the added benefit of an additional link, or being able to scout yourself.
Can once again be used to stall enemies by forcing them to discard everything except apprentice maid.


Apprentice Maid Dumpster B
0 link.
Another very practical way to get rid of apprentice maids. You also force a curse card onto your opponent, clogging their decks.
Since there will always be 3 apprentice maids (unless shenanigens happen), you will have 3 chances to inflict curses.
Once you have decided that you do not need the curse witch anymore, either running out of apprentice maids to tribue, or don't have other cards to tribute, you can banish the curse witch herself to inflict a global curse that cannot be dodged or defended.


Not very useful.
This is a card that defends against attack cards. Almost all attack cards will try to force you to discard from the hand, or reveal a card from the deck then sending it to the discard.
Whether you truly defend is beside the point. Because not defending means your hand is reduced to 4, and defending means you keep an additional farmland (rampart generate 1 coin).


Impractical.
Specifically defends against cards that will try to kick out the action card or successioncards in your hand..... without drawing them afterwards.
That's right. You basically lose an action card regardless whether you defend or not.


Niche defense cards during curse heavy gameplay.
Can be used as a money generating wishing well, turning curses or apprentice maids that were discarded into 1 coin.
Not useful during Early game, not powerful enough to defend the onslought of mid game, and completely useless late game.


The soul mate of Scrooge McDuck
In order for this card to be useful, you have to be stinking rich, which won't happen unless your deck is drowning in large cities or other coin generating cards.
Useless in ealy game, low priority in mid game, only useful in late game when all succession cards are out of stock. (Situations such as being behind on succession points, but only 1 duke is left in the market.)


The true princess of this game. I dub her "Duchess of Clutchsville"
Can kick one of the three standard succession cards out from behind the princesses. Usually used to kick the duke from someone who reached 20 VP, forcing them back into 14 VP.
Kind of expensive, but the usefulness of this card is indescribable.


Friend to the Twins.
Niche. Plays with counters.
Can potentially give the twins extra counters to repeatedly activate their abilities. But it is quite costly and difficult to set up.
Otherwise, this is a money generating card that is unaffected by conventional attacks and harrassments.


The poor man's Bergamotte
Very useful in recycling action cards and succession cards.


Taxation in any other name
Increases the cost of a card on the market by 1, which could potentially cripple your opponent.
Dukes that cost 9 coins or Large cities that cost 7 for example will leave your enemies very frustrated. Turning an alchemist into a 6 cost would be asking for you to be harrassed by others.
However, unless you backed Klam-Klam, you will also be affected by the increase in price. You can temporarily buy things at the original price if you played Levies on the same turn.

I have no idea why this card exists.
I have never bought this card, nor do I ever plan to.
The only possible way I can think of using this card, is when a Bergamotte player has 0 cards in the discard pile, and need to send a useable action card into the discard.


I call this card the Red Bank
Remember the Bank card from earlier? The archer is pretty much the same, but applies to the attack cards instead.
I have at one point generated 17 coins with multiple archers and other attack cards, spamming archer and scouts and adding other attack cards whenever there is a scout providing +1 link. It was really really fun.
Mostly because I did not have the coin to buy cities or large cities.
However, this card isn't a card suited for the mainstream gold rush and succession rush tactic.


The true boss of this game. The unassuming Demon Queen.
Able to place curses... for free!
A single apprentice witch can inflict around 5 curses on average throughout the entire game.
As long as no curse cards are revealed from hand or are present in the discard pile, you can curse anyone. Which means, if someone is unlucky, the apprentice witch can place curses from the beginning of the game, all the way to the end. I had experience being hit with 24 curses before, all from the apprentice witch.
But that's not all, this card also allows you to look at the top 2 cards of your deck, draw 1 and discard the other.
This card is ridiculously powerful.


The neutered version of Shinobi.
It is possible to make fancy plays with this card by placing an action card in the domain, use Kunoichi the next turn to copy the kept card, then take the kept card back into your hand again.
Personally, not a fan of this card.


I don't see the point of this card at all, other than keeping cards with higher cost in the domain.
A city can be bought with 3 coins and generate 2 coins as well, but one cannot place very useful cards such as Shinobi or Samurai in a city, only a port city.


0 link.
The Alchemist Slayer, savior of balance.
Not really; this card is still infuriating and very annoying even if it doesn't hit the alchemist.
Can banish a 5+ cost card from your opponent's hand, the banished card will be unavailable until their deck runs out of cards and reshuffle entirely.


Flamaria's best friend.
You can Back Flamaria, then seize two mine cities immediately, then use the 4 mine city counters to seize 4 more cards from the supply market if you wish.


The epitome of fun.
You can declare a card type, and every time you play a card of that type, you gain 1 VP.
The regular way I use it is to declare magic, then spam apprentice witch or stargazing witch. Or declare merchant and do something similar.
It's also really interesting during red card assault games, where no one has actual money to buy succession cards, and rely on confederation (declare military) to actually get anywhere.


0 link.
Apprentice Maid & Farmland Dumpster
Also a good way to get rid of curses, sadly you cannot get rid of 2 curses at once.
During games when there are no alchemists or trading ships, using talisman as substitute is viable too.


Has synergy with government contractor, who places the card you purchased into the bottom of the deck. Cait sith can fish the card out and put it on the top.
A simple and straightforward card that might help to filter your deck. Lacks the raw draw power of stuff like Alchemist or linked Trading Ship, or the general utility of Postal Horse or Supply Unit.
I simply use this card as a draw engine, not really caring for its effect.


The best curse lifter, and generally a useful card.
Can grant 1 coin, or be used to draw 1 card.


Apprentice Maid Dumpster C...?
This card is very slow. Use it with care, otherwise your opponents might out pace you in the game.
Can convert apprentice maids into VP. Or other cards that are no longer useful.
Can also lift curses, but the curses have to be in the discard pile. Meaning that you had to have already been clogged by a curse in the previous turn, you use this card to lift the curse in the current turn.


Hot potato made into a doll.
Currently the only curse that can be purchased. Very useful when playing against AI.
This is useful in clogging the opponent on your left side (the person that will have their turn after you).
Becareful in buying these when playing against real players. When there are cursed dolls on the supply market, almost everyone will be nice enough to not buy it and leave them be. But once someone starts buying, then the kiddy gloves are off and the cursed dolls will be passed around like crazy.


+1 link.
Look at my horse, my horse is amazing.
Really straight forward. Can also be used to discard a junk card to trade for a chance to draw better cards.


More expensive version of scout. It allows you to draw 1 card as well after you've looked at your top card.

Killer of Newbs.
0 link.
This is a devastating card that can squash the hopes of newbies. It will force opponents to discard 2 cards if they have negative VP (which is very likely because people tend to rush to Back a princess and use farmland to do so, or get rid of -2 VP apprentice maids by stuffing them behind the princesses when banishing is not an option).
This is a very deadly card in the early game. But not so threatening in the late game.


0 link.
Advanced Trading Ship, with added function of granting 2 VP.
The extra VP is often neglectable though.
Personally, I've only successfully utilized this card to it's fullest potential with Bergamotte, who can spam all kinds of action cards in a single turn. I've gained 8 VP from the Dwarf before. And then the next turn with Bergamotte it can be repeated again for another whooping 8 VP.


The Incorruptable.
The only way to acquire her is to buy her. But she isn't very special otherwise.
She is a chancellor that grants two extra VP (chancellor cost 5 but only give 3)
She is also a 5+ cost card, which means she is liable to become a target to Evicted Monster and Samurai. Use this card with care.


0 link.
The culprit of inflation
It is recommended that you to not buy more than 2, and to banish this guy immediately once you've had enough from him.
Otherwise you will be continuously tempted to gain more and more large cities.


Instant source of multiple Chancellors. But very costly since it will banish a good utility card on the way.
Can be used to turn the tables when you are behind on VP.


Actually very useful. Much better than port city for sure.
If you have these as your domains, it allows you to keep alchemists and other powerful cards when you need them.
If you didn't use this card as a domain, it's still a solid card that generates 2 coins and draws 1.


Overcomplicated version of Bribery.
This card has the potential to allow you buy more than one copy of the desired card you want to bribe. However, this card is a cost 6, very costly.

(WIP)



(And no, bribing me won't be able to make me add more stuff when I'm having writer's block!)




The Pidgeon Loop:

How~
Requires Carrier Pidgeon, Shinobi, and Confederation.
Use confederation and declare "strategy". Then use Carrier Pidgeon to recycle another Carrier Pidgeon in the discard.
It is recommended to have at least 2 carrier pidgeon and 2 shinobi. Players should try and keep the number of Confederation under 3, as buying more might clog the deck.
It is possible to substitute everything with Shinobi, as long as at least one Carrier Pidgeon is in the disacrd.
Other than starting the combo with Confederation, the combo does not follow strict order, seeing as it is possible to just use Carrier Pidgeon and recycle Shinobi, or Shinobi to copy Carrier Pidgeon then recycle Carrier Pidgeon. If there is a confederation in discard and you have shinobi in hand, you can copy Confederation and use that as your combo starter instead.
When played correctly, it is possible to gain at least 5 VP each turn.

When~
If you are behind on coins and cannot contest with other rich players who are beefing up their VP with dukes, it is possible to use this combo to snatch the victory away from their hands. I have seen a Japanese player with Twin Princesses use this combo, and get 12 VP. While everyone else was trying to gather enough money to buy a duke, that player was just calmly executing the pidgeon loop. If they see pidgeon or shinobi or confederation in the supply, then they buy it. They bought nothing and still won despite another player having bought the crown and imperial city.

Where~
The supply set "Noble Tactics" has all three required cards... and a freaking Alchemist.
It is also possible to execute this combo in the "Kunoichi Ninja Scrolls" supply set, but with Kunoichi instead. One will have to keep at least one Carrier Pidgeon in the domain (don't back a princess with only farmland! At least 1 city!) to pull it off.