Have fun storming the castle! – A Preview of The Princess Bride: Prepare to Die

Growing up, I absolutely loved the movie The Princess Bride. There was the right kind of humor in the movie that I could watch it again and again and catch different jokes each time. Now GameSalute has the rights to make official games, and they sent me a preview copy of Prepare to Die, their Princess Bride inspired party game.

Much like Apples to Apples or Cards Against Humanity, Prepare to Die is a game where the judge determines who wins each round based on the cards played. What makes Prepare to Die different is the three modes of play. In the preview set, there are two decks of cards. One is the “My Name Is” deck, and it consists of different people. Examples include Mandy Patinkin (The actor who played Inigo Montoya), Princess Peach, or Julia Child. The second deck is the “Prepare to Die” deck, and gives the reason that someone would be after vengeance, such as “You branded my stallion,” “You sank my battleship,” and “You cultivated my cumquat.”

The first and second ways to play are very similar to the other games. The judge will randomly select a card from one of the two decks, reads it aloud, and the players select cards from their hands to complete the phrase. The judge shuffles all of the played cards and selects the one that is best in their eyes. Of course, what one judge considers to be best may not match how the next judge feels, so playing to the judge is important. Following the “Hello” rules, the judge flips a “My Name Is” card and the players select their best “Prepare to Die” cards. The “You…” rules do the opposite, with the judge flipping a “Prepare to Die” card and the players selecting the best “My Name Is” card to pair with it.

The third method, referred to as “The Full Montoya,” is where the judge declares a personal preference, such as funniest or most evil, and each player plays one of each kind of card from their hand. The judge shuffles all of the cards and lays them out, selecting the two cards that best make a combination. Usually this will be two different players, but having the right cards will sometimes score a player two points.

In my plays of this preview pack, we found the “Hello” version the most fun. The Judge draws a character and each player has to supply a reason that the character would be seeking revenge. Silly voices and bad accents aside, it really showed off the potential to my group.

Overall, I see the idea that GameSalute is going for. I don’t know that it’s my kind of game in the long run, as many party style games are not my thing, but I see the potential it will have with other gamers. The game is up on Kickstarter now.