Card game
Love Letter
Hold one card, guess your rivals' cards, reach the princess
- Players
- 2–6
- Best with
- 3-5
- Play time
- 15–30 min
- Age
- 10+
- Rules
- Easy
- Language
- Little reading
Love Letter is a tiny card game of guessing and risk for 2 to 6 players aged 10 and up. You hold one card, draw one, play one, and try to be the last suitor left in the round or hold the highest card when the deck runs out. It suits families and friends who want a 20-minute game they can teach in five minutes. In India, Z-Man's current edition is mostly an expensive import on Amazon.in, priced above Indian stores, as of 5 October 2026, and the cheaper store listings were out of stock.
Is Love Letter right for your table?
A good pick for
- Groups of 3 to 5 who want a short game between bigger ones, or while dinner is being made
- Children of 10 and up playing with adults, since each card does one simple thing
- Travel and cafés, because it's only 21 cards, a few reference cards and some tokens
- Anyone who likes Cluedo-style guessing but wants it over in minutes
Skip it if
- You often have 7 or more players. It tops out at 6
- Your group dislikes luck. One unlucky draw can knock you out of a round
- You mainly want a game for two. It works, but it's at its best with three or more
How Love Letter plays
Shuffle the 21 character cards and put the top one aside face down without looking at it. In a two-player game, also put three more aside face up. Everyone gets one card. On your turn you draw a card, so you're holding two, then play one of them face up in front of you and do what it says. You always end your turn holding a single card.
Every card has a number from 0 to 9 and an effect. The six Guards let you name a character other than a Guard, and if the player you point at holds it, they're out of the round. The Priest lets you secretly look at someone's card. With the Baron, you and another player compare cards in secret, and the lower number is out. The Handmaid protects you until your next turn. The Prince makes any player, even you, discard their card and draw a new one. The Chancellor lets you draw two cards, keep one and put two back under the deck. The King swaps hands with another player.
The top three cards are risky to hold. The Countess must be played if you also hold the King or the Prince, which makes her a handy bluff. If you ever play or discard the Princess, you're out of the round. The two Spies score nothing on their own, but if you are the only player still in the round who has played or discarded a Spy, you get a bonus token.
A round ends when only one player is left or the deck runs out. The player still in with the highest card wins a favour token. Rounds take a few minutes, so eliminated players don't wait long. The first player to collect enough tokens wins: 6 with two players, 5 with three, 4 with four, and 3 with five or six.
Most of the game is working out who holds what from the cards already played, then deciding whether to take a chance. The rulebook also has a 'classic' setup using 16 cards for 2 to 4 players, for those who know the older edition.
Takes about 5 minutes to teach. Each card shows its name, a number and a line or two of English explaining what it does, and the reference cards repeat this. Once everyone knows the ten characters you mostly go by the numbers, so someone who doesn't read English well can play with a little help. The game needs very little table talk.
Buying Love Letter in India
Z-Man's edition is made abroad and imported. On 5 October 2026 Amazon.in had only imported copies of the eco box at more than twice the store price, far above its US list price of $15.99. Gameistry's ₹1,950 copy was out of stock. Bored Game Company lists its own-brand edition at ₹940, which would be much better value once it's back in stock, but we couldn't confirm that it has the same 21 cards and 2-6 player count. If you aren't in a hurry, join the waitlist at Bored Game Company or Gameistry instead of paying the import price.
This page recommends Z-Man Games' current English edition: 21 character cards numbered 0 to 9 (the 2019 edition added the Spy and the Chancellor), 6 reference cards and 13 favour tokens, for 2 to 6 players. Gameistry's listing is the 2019 printing. In 2025 Z-Man reissued the same game as 'Love Letter Classic' in an eco box without single-use plastics (barcode 841333130985), and that is the version on Amazon.in. The older AEG edition (2012-2018) has 16 cards and plays 2 to 4. Bored Game Company sells its own edition of Love Letter in India under its own brand at ₹940, but it was out of stock on 5 October 2026 (see unverified). Spin-offs are separate games with their own twists: Lovecraft Letter, Bridgerton Love Letter, Star Wars: Jabba's Palace and Renegade's Princess Princess Ever After were also on Amazon.in on 5 October 2026, plus Infinity Gauntlet: A Love Letter Game (Gameistry, ₹1,850, out of stock).
How to make sure you get a genuine copy
Clone risk: Medium- Look for the Z-Man Games logo on the box, or Bored Game Company branding for the Indian edition. A listing with no brand at all is a warning sign.
- Count the cards. The current edition has 21 character cards numbered 0 to 9: 2 Spies, 6 Guards, 2 each of Priest, Baron, Handmaid, Prince and Chancellor, and one each of King, Countess and Princess. It also has 6 reference cards and 13 tokens. The older AEG edition has 16 cards numbered 1 to 8.
- Make sure you're buying the card game. A search for 'Love Letter' on Amazon.in mostly shows greeting cards and stationery, so check that the listing says 2-6 players and ages 10+.
- Be careful with spin-offs. An unbranded 'Love Craft Letter Card Game' also appeared on Amazon.in as a much cheaper look-alike (5 October 2026). Check the Z-Man Games name, the seller, and that the price is in line with Indian store prices.
- Check the price. Genuine copies were ₹940 (Bored Game Company) and ₹1,950 (Gameistry) on 5 October 2026, and Amazon.in had only an expensive import, so a much cheaper unbranded copy is suspect.
We didn't see cheap copies of the base game on Amazon.in on 5 October 2026, but the game is only a small deck of cards and easy to copy, and an unbranded look-alike of the Lovecraft Letter spin-off was listed. Stick to Z-Man or Bored Game Company branding.
If Love Letter isn't quite right
Coup
Another tiny card game of hidden cards and bluffing, with more lying and less luck
The Mind
Another 20-minute small-box card game, but cooperative and played in silence
Cluedo
A longer family deduction game if you enjoy working out who holds which card
Also worth a look (not in our catalogue yet): Lovecraft Letter – Z-Man's horror-themed spin-off of the same game.
Questions people ask about Love Letter
Is Love Letter available in India?
Yes, but stock is patchy. On 5 October 2026 Amazon.in had only imported copies at more than twice the store price. Gameistry listed it at ₹1,950 and Bored Game Company listed its own edition at ₹940, but both were out of stock.
Can you play Love Letter with 2 players?
Yes. In a two-player game you set aside three extra cards face up at the start of each round, and the first player to 6 tokens wins. It works, but with only two people there's less to deduce and more luck, so it's better with 3 to 5.
Is Love Letter a romantic game for couples?
No. Despite the name, it's a deduction card game in which suitors try to get their letter to a princess through her courtiers. There's nothing romantic or adult in it, and it's rated for ages 10 and up. Online searches for 'Love Letter' mostly show greeting cards, so add 'card game' or 'Z-Man' to your search.
What's the difference between the old and new Love Letter?
The original English edition (AEG, 2012-2018) had 16 cards for 2 to 4 players. Z-Man's 2019 edition has 21 cards, adds the Spy and the Chancellor, raises the King, Countess and Princess by one point each, and takes up to 6 players. Its rulebook still includes the classic 16-card setup.
Sources
Facts on this page come from the publisher, Indian distributors and the store listings below. Prices were checked on 5 October 2026.
Prototype notes for review (won't appear on the live site)
- Amazon match: exact link, medium confidence. Listing title seen: "Love Letter Classic ECO Box EN".
- How it was found: COMPOSIO_SEARCH_AMAZON on amazon.in, 5 October 2026, queries 'Love Letter card game Z-Man', 'Love Letter', 'Love Letter board game Seiji Kanai', 'Z-Man Games Love Letter card game 2-6 players', 'Bored Game Company Love Letter' and 'Love Letter card game princess deduction'. B0F2J8DVHH was the only base-game listing and showed ₹5,040 (strike-through ₹10,886) with 299 ratings (4.8). A web search for the ASIN matched Z-Man's Love Letter 2025 Refresh / Eco edition on other Amazon sites. The plain 'Love Letter' search returned mostly greeting cards and stationery. Confidence is medium because the Amazon.in title shows no brand and the price is far above Z-Man's US list price of $15.99.
- Seller, stock and import status of Amazon.in listing B0F2J8DVHH. The ₹5,040 price and 299 ratings come from search results, and Amazon pages were not opened, per policy. The Amazon.in title shows no brand. The ASIN was matched to Z-Man's edition through a web search of other Amazon sites.
- Bored Game Company's edition: its page shows 2-4 players and a description of the older 16-card game, while other Indian resellers list it as 2-6 players, 20 minutes, ages 10+ and country of origin India. Its SKU (ZMGLL01ENHI) suggests a Z-Man-based edition, but the licence, contents, language and place of manufacture were not confirmed. A web search also found an Amazon.in listing (B0BPYVL1GD) that may be this edition, but it did not appear in Amazon.in search results on 5 October 2026.
- Play time: Z-Man says 20 minutes, Asmodee UK says 15 minutes, and Asmodee's Amazon listing elsewhere says 15-30 minutes.
- Retailers describe the 2025 eco box contents differently (some mention acrylic tokens and a velvet bag). The 21 cards, 6 reference cards and 13 tokens match Z-Man's own list.
- The image is from Z-Man's product page (file name 'LLFront30'). It was not visually checked and may show the 2019 packaging rather than the 2025 eco box.
- Board Games India was not checked because its bot check blocked access.
- Whether Gameistry will restock the 2019 printing or the 2025 eco box is not known.