Clans of samurai cats are in a battle for dominance in this suitless trick-taking game from Shiny Pigeon Games. Be careful though, each season ends with a peace treaty, and showing too much force will bring disgrace to your clan. Let’s dig into this card game from designer Caner Cooperrider and see what sets it apart.
Managing Your Clan
Disgraced House feels familiar because it uses a standard trick-taking mechanic. What makes it unique is that there are no suits or trumps in the game and it’s solely based on numbers. Each envoy card, which makes up the majority of your hand, has two values on the card. The standard value is in black at the top of the card while the red value at the bottom of the card can be unlocked by using a fate token. With cards having two values, players have flexibility with each card as long as they have fate tokens that they can spend.
When a player leads, they can play a single card or pair with identical numbers. Followers have to play the same quantity of cards but there are rules on what numbers you can play. Followers have to play the same number or higher. If they cannot or choose not to beat the played cards, they have to play the lowest card(s) in their hand.
Playing a high card(s) means that followers are going to be forced to play their highest cards or flush away the low cards in their hand. The twist here is that players need low cards for the final trick of the round.
The Peace Treaty
The final trick of each round is a single card trick called the Peace Treaty. Players will play the final card left in their hand but there will only be one loser in this trick. The player who played the highest card has used too much force during the Peace Treaty and becomes the disgraced house. All other players score points based on half the value of the card they played during the Peace Treaty. The Disgraced House will miss out on this bonus but is given a +1/-1 modifier card that they can use in the next round of the game.
Players score a point for each trick they won during the round plus any bonus points they received during the Peace Treaty. This final trick of each round is really creative. Players who choose not to plan for the end of the round may miss out on a significant number of points.
You also don’t want to hang on to cards that that have too low of a value. By holding on to a 0 value card, you’re guaranteed not to be the disgraced house, but you also don’t score any bonus points during the end of the round.
Samurai Legends
Disgraced House has one more trick up its sleeve in the format of Ally and Advisor cards. At the start of each round, players get one of each. The Ally card will go into your hand and gives a unique ability you can play during the round. The Advisor gives you an additional ability or scoring opportunity and this card sits on the table in front of the player for everyone to see.
Either of these cards can be discarded before the round starts to take a fate token from the supply. These fate tokens allow you to flip your envoy card during the round to the red value at the bottom of the card. More fate tokens means more flexibility during the round. These tokens roll over to future rounds so saving up over a series of rounds isn’t a bad strategy.
Honor in Battle
Disgraced House has enough twists during a round to keep everyone engaged. Players are trying to be the first to earn thirteen points. There’s even a catch up mechanic that gives players a free fate token when they are more than three points behind the lead player.
I think the only thing that I’m lukewarm on is the cat theme of the game. The samurai cat artwork from Parker Simpson is gorgeous in every way. But, it’s not a theme that really drew me into the game. I’ve taught this game to dozens of people and the theme wasn’t a huge selling factor for them. Players really loved how rounds shifted as players utilize Ally and Advisor abilities and force cards from their opponents hands.
As each game advances, the hand sizes of the players decrease based on how close a player is to thirteen points. Rounds become faster with less cards in hand. Leading with a pair of cards will also limit the number of tricks that can be won which is another satisfying strategy.
My very first game was at just 2-players and my expectations were low. Trick-taking games at just two is usually a bust. Disgraced House played really well at 2-players and can be played with up to six.
At the five and six player counts, you play a variant of the game called “Crowded Court”. Players always receive six cards in the round and have a new option to “bow out” during the trick. The first player to do this can play any card(s) they want, intentionally losing the trick and playing their card(s) facedown, ignoring the high/low rules. Bowing out locks other players who play after you from doing this which can be really strategic. There’s even a team play variant in the game that we’ve not played yet, but I’m sure that we’ll dig into that one soon.
Final Thoughts
Disgraced House does just enough to set itself apart from other trick-taking games in our collection. With each card having two values, fate tokens are incredibly important if you want options in your card play. This makes for dynamic gameplay and fun surprises during the game. In a year that was filled with trick-taking games, this one has flown under the radar because of its small print run. Thankfully, Shiny Pigeon Games is bringing this game to a broader audience with a larger print run through Kickstarter.
I really enjoy Disgraced House and it’s a game that I love to teach. It hits the table more often because of how smooth it plays at just two players which has been a huge plus. Don’t miss out on this card game has it hits a broader audience in 2025!
Join the Kickstarter campaign for Disgraced House when it launches this spring.
This game was provided to us by the publisher for review. Read more about our review policies at One Board Family.
Highs
- Flexibility to play single or double card tricks
- Plays surprisingly well at just 2-players
- Peace Treaty phase in each round works really well
- Great variety of Ally and Advisor cards
Lows
- Games with six players can overstay its welcome
- Cat theme could be a hit or miss with players
Complexity
Time Commitment
Replayability
