Tabletop · Family & Experts

Frontstabbing

It's play time. Or, should we better say, war time. All the kids get together and compete — only the one who amasses the most coins gets to be king of the neighborhood.

3–6 players 20–30 min Ages 12+ Bluffing + Strategy
Hand-drawn Frontstabbing cover illustration of children with a mailbox in the woods

What's the better way to deal with your neighbors?

Steal their coins, establish a trading alliance, or improve your defenses and counter their attacks. Frontstabbing is a 3–6 player simultaneous-action card game — everyone reveals their move at once, so reading the table matters more than reading the rules. It can be learned in under five minutes and still produces genuinely mind-bending dilemmas.

How a round works

1
Choose an action

Every player secretly picks one of six actions, then everyone lays their card down at the same time.

2
Read the result

Steal, ally, or stay neutral — each combination of cards pays out differently, and a false rumor can cost you reputation.

3
Bid for Trader Tracy

She stays neutral and boosts whoever pays her the most in secret gold — bid too little and someone else gets the edge.

Who is this for

Talkers negotiate their way to victory. Liars cheat and get caught — and don't care. Competitive players calculate every rival's next move. Chaotic players have no strategy against chaos, and sometimes that's exactly how they win.

At a glance

  • Players3–6
  • Playtime20–30 min
  • Age12+
  • Learn timeUnder 5 min
  • TypeBluffing + Strategy

Key concepts

Simultaneous play Bidding system Psychological No language dependency Symmetric & asymmetric High replayability

Components

  • Action cards45
  • Partner cards18
  • Player screens6
  • Round tracker1

Credits

Game designFrancisco Chaves
IllustrationMafalda Maia
ReleasedSept 2022

Five minutes to learn. Years to master.

Frontstabbing's bluffing-and-bidding system is already live and being played on Tabletop Simulator. Low production complexity, high table energy, zero language dependency — the sell sheet and rulebook are ready to send.

Talk publishing