A Very Civil Whist is a unique game that combines aspects of trick-taking and area control in the historical setting of the English Civil War.

Gameplay involves the Royalist and Parliament players engaging in a tug of war over different tracks linked to card suits. Win a trick in the connected suit, and make a territorial gain in the targeted region of England. You can use famous Generals and personalities from the English Civil War to boost your chance of winning a trick. Lose the trick though and the General may meet a grisly end. Random events at the start of the each round provide further flavour and variability.

Inspired by the mechanics of German Whist, each of the game’s four rounds is split into two core phases: Planning and Action. In the Planning phase you play tricks to build your Action hand. In the Action Phase you play tricks to make progress on the board. The key to success is to win the tricks in the first phase that give you the cards needed execute against your goals on the board.