Bequest Review

boardgamequest.com:

We review Bequest, an "I split you choose" board game published by WizKids. In Bequest, players are trying to split up the goods of a dearly departed mad scientist. You'll be collecting cards and trying to score points.

In Bequest, you are all underlings of the late Dr. Schism, looking to split his empire. He was even kind enough to leave a will

“I, Dr. Schism, being of sinister mind and not-bad body, leave one bequest to my underlings. The gift of petty conflict! My minions must squabble amongst themselves to take control of my supervillainous empire! Whoever can cut the best deals, deviously split my treasure, and scheme their way to the top is the true worthy heir to my legacy!”

In practical terms, Bequest is an “I split, you choose” set collection game for 3-6 players that takes about 20-30 minutes to play.

Bequest is played over five rounds, and in each round, you’ll be splitting and choosing cards to draft. At the start of each round, you’ll be dealt out five cards, and you must split them into two piles: either 4-and-1 or 3-and-2. Then, the player on your left (or right in alternate rounds) will choose which of the two piles they want, leaving you with the unchosen stack. You’ll also get the same choice from your neighbor on the other side. At the end of the round, you’ll have added anywhere from 2 to 8 cards to your collection.

The goal is to collect sets of cards. There are a few different scoring categories, but most types you’ve seen before: majorities, exponentially increasing sets, static values, etc… All told there are about 5-6 different categories of cards that will score you positive or negative points in some way.

Also claimed during the round are key cards that let players draft special cards from the