
The real bread and butter of the game comes from the scoring system. If the following player had no Bell cards left, and had played a 7 Key, they would have won the round because it was the highest number in the trump suit.

Luckily for the leader, it was the 7 Treasure card, which means they got an extra point at the end of the round. According to its ability, the following player had to play their highest numbered card of the same suit. In the example of play pictured above the player with the 11 Monarch card was the leader. Whoever has the highest numbered card wins the trick, although a card from the trump suit will always beat cards from other suits. Trick-taking is a well worn game mechanism where one player (the leader) plays a single card and their opponent must respond with a card from the same suit. Each player is dealt 13 cards, the remainder becoming the draw deck with one card face-up as the trump card. The cards are numbered 1-11 in three suits and odd numbered cards have special abilities which can change the course of the round. The object of the game is to accumulate 21 points by playing cards to win tricks over multiple rounds. Originally published in 2017 by Renegade Games, The Fox in the Forest is a competitive trick-taking game.


Bask in the warm autumnal glory of The Fox in the Forest’s box art and some of the beautiful renditions of forest animals present in the game. The Fox in the Forest is no exception, using adorable forest animals in a fantasy setting to make a surprisingly tight and competitive game that’s pleasing to the eye. Games like Photosynthesis, Arboretum and, this year’s Diamond Climber winner for best light game Village Green all use nature to draw their players in. The theme of this game is what drew me to it many years ago, and the forest theme is extremely popular now (something something urbanization and isolation makes Jack a dull boy). The Fox in the Forest is close to the perfect card game, it contains all the elements ‘a keeper’ game should have easy set up, easy to teach, gorgeous art and surprising tension that makes groups feel like they could go for one more game.
