Brotherwise Games has released Shards of Creation, a trick-taking card game set in Brandon Sanderson's sprawling fictional universe. The game pulls directly from Cosmere lore, specifically the Shattering of Adonalsium, a foundational event in which a god-like being was fractured into 16 distinct pieces, each representing a different cosmic intent.
Designer Hayden Dillard has created something that feels familiar at first glance but quickly reveals layers. The core mechanic follows standard trick-taking rules: one player leads with a card in a particular suit, others follow suit if they can, and the highest card in the led suit wins the hand. A trump suit beats all others. But that's where the resemblance to basic card games ends.
Before play begins, players select four or five Shards from a pool of eight to serve as the available suits. These are Autonomy, Cultivation, Devotion, Dominion, Honor, Odium, Preservation, and Ruin. Each Shard carries its own mechanics. When a Shard becomes trump for a round, its special ability activates. Cultivation, for instance, lets players draw extra cards and swap them with cards already in hand. Additionally, the cards themselves have unique abilities tied to their Shard, creating meaningful strategic choices beyond simply playing the highest number.
What sets Shards apart from typical trick-takers is its objective. Winning tricks doesn't determine the victor. Instead, the game functions as a set-collection exercise draped over a trick-taking framework. When you win a trick, you claim one card from that hand and place it in your collection. Victory goes to whoever accumulates the most points from their gathered cards, earned through matching Shards and completing full sets. Ruin cards carry negative point values, forcing players to calculate risk carefully when pursuing cards.
The strategic layer runs deeper than it initially appears. Players must balance what they play each hand against what they might gain if they win, all while tracking what their opponents are collecting. A complete game spans three rounds with ten hands each, yet takes roughly thirty minutes. That brevity makes it versatile: lunch break fodder, casual bar game, or evening diversion.
Artist Medusa Dollmaker deserves particular credit. The card illustrations depict the vessels, individuals who historically possessed each Shard. These are the predecessors shown in Sanderson's published works: Rayse for Odium, Tanavast for Honor, their forms rendered in a distinctive stained-glass aesthetic with rich color work. For devoted Cosmere readers, the game marks the first official visual of Dominion and Devotion's vessels, a detail that justifies the box art alone.
The game doesn't require deep Cosmere knowledge to enjoy. Casual players can appreciate the mechanics on their own terms without feeling lost. That accessibility is a strength, though longtime Sanderson fans will find additional resonance in the worldbuilding details woven throughout.
Two elements disappointed. Honor, one of the selectable Shards, lacks any special abilities or trump powers, making it feel inert compared to its counterparts. When Honor flips as trump, nothing happens. It's the equivalent of a blank card in a vibrant deck, and its presence creates a noticeable flat spot in otherwise consistent design. Many players may simply exclude it from their Shard selection.
The rulebook also omits team-based variants. For players raised on Euchre and similar communal trick-taking traditions, the lack of an official cooperative format is a missed opportunity, even if house-ruling one isn't difficult.
The expansion potential is obvious. With eight Shards currently available and eight more existing in Sanderson's cosmology, future releases could significantly expand the game's variety. That roadmap suggests Brotherwise Games views this as a long-term property, not a novelty tie-in.
Author Emily Chen: "Shards of Creation transforms a familiar card game format into something genuinely engaging, and Dollmaker's artwork alone makes it worth owning."
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