Keeps 2026

The year is 1345. You and three other peasants are in a struggle for safety in the trying times. Four old friends offer gestures of favor, intricate and purposeful and unique. Whoever can best utilize these favors will shore up their keep, safe and sound for the days to come...

Keeps is an elegant 36-card microstrategy game that takes place over any number of 15-25 minute rounds, where two to four players maneuver to have the most coinage at the end of the round.

Each player has a draw pile which hides either one of three characters (the Count, the Fool, and the Friar) or an even mix of them (the Mask). The piles move during the game, so players should track and anticipate which cards might be where. As no two cards are the same, the best players will grow to know each card and when it might be more or less useful.

"Keep" cards can be played in front of any player for extra effects, such as the ability to draw from any pile, or to take an extra action at the end of the round. Some Keep cards are worth coins, and the player with the most coins in their keep when the round ends gets a Victory Mark. First to three Marks wins the game!

—description from the designer