Turkey legs, mock combat, and anachronistic clothing. These are the things renaissance fairs are made of. You and your friends, new to the scene, try to blend in by adorning yourself with hats and tunics. A good costume is expensive though, and earning coin in a place like this requires some skill… Or daring.

In Ren Faire by Atlas Games, players put on performances, ranging from accents and puppet shows to arm wrestling and balancing acts for the audience to fund their costume building. The first to complete their outfit wins.

In our play through, the competition was tough. Each player chose to focus more on ruining each other’s outfits by buying t-shirts and other modern clothing, and stealing gold than on procuring their own costume. When challenges were made, such as the arm wrestling contest in the photo above, each pushed themselves to the limit to win. By the time our winning Ren Faire attendee, now a Scottish fairy jester, had purchased their last clothing card, our four player game stayed within the listed hour of gameplay, and tons of fun and hilarity had ensued.

This compact card game uses party game mechanics to bring new life to the simple act of piecing outfits together. In addition, the costume stacking element with transparent cards really works well, and capitalizes on a game element rarely seen.

In all, Ren Faire was a blast to play!

We would like to thank Atlas Games for this great donation, as well as their donation of Once Upon a Time, Murder of Crows, Gloom, and Lunch Money.

If you would like to give Ren Faire a try, or another selection from Atlas Games, they are available for check out here, at the UNT Media Library.