Why can't I find this game?

by Frances Moritz


Guillotine from Wizards of the Coast

Guillotine is a quick card game about the French Revolution that is near and dear to the hearts of several of the Lady Gamers. It's easy to teach to gamers and non-gamers alike. The game has a limit of three game days; each day is only as long as the amount of time it takes to chop the heads off of about a dozen nobles with the cardboard guillotine. ("About" because there are ways to extend or shorten the day, depending on your strategy and what cards you have.)

This is a great game for a lunch break at work; we typically play two or three games of it in an hour. It's a quick pick-up game at conventions (where I first played it), and easy to carry with you to the occasional party where gaming might break out.

But the game is out of print. And frankly, my copy's looking pretty grimy after playing it at lunch on and off for a couple years. (Not nearly as bad as my Fluxx deck though - some of those cards took headfirst dives into food.) And on some auction sites, it sells at almost double the original retail price.

I'm happy to say that on January 19th, in their 2005 product line-up, Avalon Hill announced that they would be reprinting Guillotine under the Wizards of the Coast label. Until then, I'll keep cleaning the food off my cards.


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