Queen by Midnight
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Some build the perfect deck. Some bluff and betray. Some roll the dice in the Tower. And in the end, only one Princess emerges alive from the Midnight Court.
WHAT IT'S ABOUT
A fight to the death for the kingdom's most dangerous throne
The Midnight Queen is dead. Her final edict invoked the Midnight Rule: a secret tournament where the Princesses of the Twelve Lands battle each other in combat and deception. Designed by Kyle Shire and Alexandre Uboldi, with illustrations by Michal Ivan, Mike Pape, and Ameera Sheikh, Queen by Midnight is a deck-building battle royale published by Darrington Press. At the center of the table: a Clock Tower that marks the turns, offers cards, and rolls the dice.
Each player is a Princess with unique powers and a different starting deck. You buy cards from the shared Bazaar, attack your opponents, accumulate wound points, and dodge deadly blows. Time advances, the Tower turns, and each chime brings the tournament closer to its end. The last Princess standing claims the crown. The others are eliminated, betrayed, or crushed. There are no lasting alliances: only one can win.
What they say abroad
A party game that eliminates players? Bold, chaotic, and surprisingly tactical.
— FroGames
The Tower is spectacular. The pace is relentless. The Princesses are just asymmetric enough.
— FroGames
Queen by Midnight
FrogScore · FroGames editorial rating · based on rules, international reviews and game sessionsThe weapons of the tournament
What you'll find in the Bazaar and the Princesses' decks
Princess Cards
Each Princess has a unique starting deck and exclusive abilities. Some heal, others deal damage, others manipulate opponent's decks. Approximately 200 themed cards.
Bazaar Cards
75 shared cards you can buy during the tournament. Weapons, spells, strategies. They change each game and define the table's meta.
Dice and Tower
The Clock Tower rolls the dice for you. You don't touch them: you insert them into the Tower, it rolls them. The result determines damage and defenses.
Wound Tracker
Each Princess has limited hit points. When you reach zero, you are eliminated. No grace rounds: out of the tournament immediately.
Recommended Sleeves 279 cards in 3 sizes ▼
If you play often, we recommend protecting your cards with clear sleeves to make them last longer.
| Size | Quantity |
|---|---|
| 63 × 88 mm | 243 |
| 45 × 68 mm | 30 |
| 70 × 120 mm | 6 |
| Total cards | 279 |
In an hour, someone will be Queen. The others will just be a story told after midnight.
A game in five acts
What happens at the table
Not the rules. The experience.
Choosing your Princesses
Everyone reads their character sheet, shuffles their starting deck, envisions their build. Someone chooses the warrior Princess, someone else the manipulative one. The Tower turns to the first player. The tournament begins.
First hits and first cards
The first cards come out of the Bazaar. Someone buys weapons, someone defenses, someone bluffs. The first attacks are timid, then someone rolls a high die and deals 4 damage to an unprepared Princess. The table understands: this is serious business.
Ephemeral alliances
Two players agree to eliminate the strongest Princess. It works for two turns, then one betrays the other and buys the card their partner needed. No one trusts anyone anymore. The Tower keeps turning.
The first elimination
A Princess drops to 2 health points. Everyone watches her. The next turn she receives three consecutive attacks. High rolls, no defense. Eliminated. She gets up from the table, watches the game from the outside. She laughs, but burns inside.
Midnight
Two Princesses remain. Both with optimized decks, piles of cards, ready strategies. The Tower turns. One rolls the dice. Critical hit. The other falls. New Midnight Queen. Applause, curses, immediate rematch request.
How to play
The flow of each round
The Tower turns to you. It's your turn. You have a few seconds to decide everything.
Draw 5 cards from your deck. Play as many as you want: attacks, defenses, abilities. Each card has a cost and an effect. Resolve everything in the order you prefer.
The Bazaar cards are displayed in front of the Tower. You buy the ones you need using resources generated by your deck. Purchased cards go into your discard pile.
If you attack, insert the dice into the Clock Tower. It rolls them and shows the result. The damage is what it is. No re-rolls, no mercy.
The Tower turns to the next player. Time advances. When it completes a full turn, global events occur. When it reaches midnight, the tournament ends.
Why it's different from others
Six mechanics that make a difference
The Clock Tower is functional
It's not just scenic: the Tower tracks turns, displays Bazaar cards for sale, and rolls the dice for you. It's a 3D component that structures the entire game and creates physical suspense every time it turns.
Six asymmetrical Princesses
Each Princess has a different starting deck, unique abilities, and a preferred strategy. One is a tank, one is burst damage, one manipulates decks. Learning one is not enough: you need to understand what they all do to survive.
Player elimination
When you drop to zero health points, you're out. You don't come back, you don't recover, you watch from the outside. It's brutal but honest: the game doesn't pretend to be for everyone. If the group accepts elimination, it works great.
Shared Bazaar that changes every game
75 common cards available to everyone. Only a few are displayed each turn. Whoever buys first dictates the meta: if you take all the defenses, others must focus on attacks or bluffs.
Dice inserted into the Tower
You don't roll the dice by hand: you insert them into the Tower and it rolls them. The gesture is theatrical, the result is public, and the tension grows every time. Everyone watches what comes out, even those not involved.
Targeted attacks and petty politics
You choose who to attack. Every turn. Alliances form and break in seconds: "Let's attack her together" becomes "I just took 6 health points from you" without warning. It's controlled social chaos.
How it ends
How to win and how to lose
The last one standing when the Tower strikes midnight wins. Everyone else has been eliminated or defeated.
Victory
- You are the last Princess with health points above zero when the Tower reaches midnight
- You eliminate all other Princesses before time runs out
- You have more health points than anyone else when midnight strikes (suggested variant)
Elimination
- Your health points drop to zero: you are immediately eliminated from the tournament
- A card effect eliminates you directly (some Princesses have lethal abilities)
- The Tower reaches midnight and you have fewer health points than others (in points mode)
Queen by Midnight is ruthless, dramatic, and designed for groups who love direct interaction. If the table can handle elimination, evenings become legendary.
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ about Queen by Midnight
What happens if I'm eliminated early?
You leave the game and watch from the outside. It's the risk of battle royale: you can be out on turn 3 or last until the end. The game works if the group accepts this dynamic. If the table hates elimination, it's best to avoid Queen by Midnight.
Is the Clock Tower just aesthetic?
No. The Tower marks the turns, displays Bazaar cards for sale, and rolls the dice for you. It's a functional component that structures the rhythm of the game and creates physical suspense every turn.
Are the Princesses balanced?
They are asymmetrical, not identical. Some are more aggressive, others defensive, others manipulative. Balance emerges from social interaction: if one Princess dominates, the others attack her as a group. Table politics balance the game.
Can it be played with 2 players?
The game starts with 3 players. With 2, there's no politics, bluffing, or alliance dynamics. It's designed for groups of 3-6, and works best with 4-5 where alliances are unstable and chaos is controllable.
Is it available in Italian?
No. This is the English language edition published by Darrington Press. Cards, rulebook, and components are in English. The game is moderately language-dependent: you need to read cards and abilities every turn.
Queen by Midnight is a deck-building battle royale for 3-6 players, lasting 60-90 minutes, ages 12+. Designed by Kyle Shire and Alexandre Uboldi, published by Darrington Press, the game pits six asymmetrical Princesses against each other in a fight to the death to claim the throne. The central mechanic is deck-building with player elimination: you buy cards from the shared Bazaar, attack opponents, and roll dice in the 3D Clock Tower that marks the turns. The last Princess standing wins the crown. English language edition. Available on FroGames.it.
Queen by Midnight
Frequently Asked Questions
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