Masquerade (2003)

Overview

This Japanese fantasy card game (with English rules and translation on the cards) has each player take control of a powerful entity that tries to take over a fantasy/manga-themed world. Each player assumes a secret mask with hidden VP-bonus and sends out a "dancer" to fulfill various functions at 6 different "stages" (or rather "adventure places"). Players can try to accumulate spell cards, heal, trigger events, fight monsters for treasure, or fight other players for VP's. The spell cards are musically themed with names like "Nocturne" or "Fugue". The game uses a small deck of (very sturdy) cards, and the assortment of game elements allows for a variety of strategies. Although the game utilizes relatively few luck elements, it becomes chaotic through the many different effects of the cards and the variable dancer powers.