SNAP Review – Squire for Hire

Carry loot for your hero, and help them to keep the most important gear at hand. Squire for Hire is an 18 card game for 1-2 players, designed by Jon Merchant and published by Letiman Games.

We’ll tell you about it in six minutes. Listen in, or read on below.

Squire for Hire is a card-laying, inventory management game that uses bag building as the theme.

You are an apprentice (or squire) storing loot for your master. Pick your character randomly from the four available:

Each squire has a special ability regarding the value of “junk” items and making certain combinations of other items more valuable than usual.

How to Play

You start with one card representing the bag you set out with: your starting inventory. In the middle of the table, there is one story card (Quest, Dungeon, or Encounter), along with two more inventory cards.

Complete story cards by either achieving a threshold for a certain type of gear, or by covering up a specified type of item. As you complete a Quest (or Encounter or Dungeon), you pick up one of the two cards showing new loot.

Place the card so that at least one non-junk item is completely contained within your previous card area (your “bag”). If you cover up any items from your previous “bag” you must cover that item completely (no covering 2 squares of a 3 square item).

Scoring

When the deck runs out, the game ends. Score points for every “good” item, and subtract points for “junk”. Get bonus points for identical items that touch, and for other touching items based on your squire’s special ability.

In a two player game, the player with the higher score wins. In a solo game, you win if you score at least 25 points. You’ve passed your apprenticeship, and no longer have to be a squire. Now you can get items for yourself and make someone else carry them for you!

Impressions

We think Squire for Hire is a perfect date game. It’s in a cute little folded wallet case that looks like a bag, with all the rules printed right on it.

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At eighteen cards, it plays very quickly with two players (and still under 15 minutes for solo), and doesn’t take up a lot of table space.

The art is simple and straightforward. Each type of item has its own color outline, which helps them stand out on the inventory cards. Each inventory card is divided into twelve squares and it’s very clear which squares hold items.

Squire for Hire doesn’t require a lot of reading, since the iconography is so good. Kids much younger than the recommended age of 12+ can play, as long as they get a little help from someone who can read.

We rate Squire for Hire 4 squires out of 5.

Find it on Amazon, directly from Letiman Games, or support the Kickstarter for “Core Set 2”.

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SNAP review music is Avalanche, provided courtesy of You Bred Raptors?