Sheriff of Nottingham
$24.99
Sheriff of Nottingham at a Glance
| Game Type Medieval Theme Humor, Card Game Bluffing, Card Drafting, Negotiation | Play Time 60 mins | Skill/Complexity (2 - 5) Light |
| Age 14+ | Publisher(s) Arcane Wonders | Published 2014 |
| Categories Kids Game / Family Party | Players 3 - 5 | Rules Manual Official Rules PDF |
| Our Rating 9/10 | Cost $24.99 approx |
About – Description
The Sheriff of Nottingham is a family/party game that incorporates a number of mechanisms that makes it an intriguing game for players aged 14 and over.
It was created in 2014 by Sergio Halaban and David Sladek and is suitable for up to five players while it has a playing time of 60 minutes.
Over the last few years, it is has been recognized through a number of awards.
Who’s it best suited for?
The game is based around bluffing, guessing and bribery and so, it is a great game of fun and excitement for families and parties.
It’s based around intrigue and thrill where players have to work to get past the Sheriff.
Children love the excitement that comes with being the sheriff and trying to avoid him at the same time.
Skill – Complexity
The Sheriff of Nottingham is a relatively simple game to play where players only need to call on skills required to bluff and blag their way through the game.
There is no prior knowledge required to play the game so it is a game based around being able to trick the Sheriff into believing you.
Set Up – Playing Rules & Instructions
The game consists of 216 Goods Cards, 110 Gold Coins, 1 Sheriff Marker, 5 Merchant Stands and 5 Merchant Bags.
Each player takes a merchant stand with the matching merchant bag while one player is chosen as the banker. Players are given gold coins and six goods cards. There are four types of legal goods and four kinds of contraband as well as royal goods.
The market phase of the game allows players to discard cards and pick new cards from the two discard piles or the deck that they are allowed to draw from. Players then have to put their five goods into the merchant bag and then declare to the sheriff what is in the bag. It’s only possible for players to declare one type of legal good and the number of cards, although players are not allowed to lie about the number of cards they have……………..
The Sheriff then decides whether they want to inspect the bag. It’s possible for players to bribe the sheriff or to let them check it. If you are telling the truth and he checks, you get paid by the Sheriff and the goods can be placed in your market.
All undeclared goods are placed in a discard pile. If the Sheriff opens your bag and you have lied, there is a penalty to pay while the legal goods are placed in your market. Should the Sheriff not check the bag and has accepted the bribe, all legal goods are placed face up in the market and any contraband is placed face down.
Once each player has seen the Sheriff twice, the value of legal goods, contraband and gold coins are tallied up. The player with the most wins the game.
Versions – Editions
Sheriff of Nottingham has been released in many different countries and a number of expansions have been released including Sheriff of Nottingham: Merry Men, Sheriff of Nottingham: Prince of Thieves and Sheriff of Nottingham Arcane Scrolls.
The second edition was released in 2020.
Likes & Dislikes
- Great theme.
- Good use of mechanics for a family game.
- Nicely paced and fun.
- Interactive.
- The bluffing element makes it a lot of fun.
- You will need the right group of players to make it a lot of fun.
It seems as though the main thing that people enjoy about this game is the ease of fun element……
Players love the idea of having to bribe and act their way past the Sheriff in order to deceive him is what makes the game so exciting.
There are not many mechanisms (enough though) or components involved in the game and players enjoy that also.
Some players found the game difficult to relate to and they found that as the game went on, they had no idea who was winning.
Final Thoughts
Overall, this is a great game to bring people together where they have to lie, deceive and act their way through the game.
The idea is simple and the gameplay is just as easy and that makes it appealing to children who love the idea of having to cheat to get past a player.
Easy to play, quick to learn, it’s the perfect family or party game.
