Scoring and victory
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2021
BGG rank #4253
Fairy Tale Inn
2 players
15–20 min
Ages 8+
1.3/5 complexity
5.9/10 rating
About this game
The Fantasy Fair is about to begin, and storybook characters from all over the realm are coming to town for the show. Everyone knows there's only one place the visitors all want to stay: The Fairy Tale Inn! It's everyone's favorite home away from home, and like always, the place is going to be fully booked. Each of the Inn's two owners compete to be the one who takes the best care of the guests. They take turns ushering guests into enchanted rooms, gaining gold for strategic placement, and successfully keeping the guests from fighting. (Note to self: NEVER put Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf in adjoining rooms!) In Fairy Tale Inn, two players try to earn the most gold coins by the end of the game. To set up, players select the character cards of guests who will be present during that game, then take the corresponding character tokens and toss them into the mixing bag. Next, players randomly draw those tokens to fill up the guest list board. After randomly choosing who goes first, the first player gets a gold coin, while the other player gets two. Now the game begins! On a player's turn, they pick a character token from the guest list board, paying the cost indicated on the board, then they place that guest in the inn, sliding the token into the vertical game board with the colored side facing themselves (while the monochrome-colored side faces their opponent). After the token slides into the slot, the player may score points based on the room the guest ended up in, as well as any other guests that might be around. Each character has different abilities that say how they give gold to their corresponding innkeeper. For example, the Little Pigs like to be close to one another; they automatically give the player who placed them 1 gold coin and an extra gold coin for each other Little Pig token connected to them. The Big Bad Wolf, on the other hand, gives their player three gold coins for each row where their innkeeper played more Big Bad Wolf tokens than their opponent at the end of the game. (In case of a tie, neither player gets gold.) There's an art to placing guests as several rooms of the Inn are enchanted and will give a bonus or penalty to the player that places a guest there. The game continues with players picking and placing guests until three columns in the inn have been completely filled. When that happens, players gain gold from characters with end of game abilities, then the player who has gained the most gold wins.
What it feels like
Chaining
Victory Points as a Resource
Enclosure
Square Grid
Abstract Strategy
Game intelligence
Learn the game
Source: Rulebook
Rules to know
The most useful rules for getting a first game right.
Card play
When the Evil Queen card is played, the opponent must pick the token at the bottom of the Guest List on their next turn.
When the Evil Queen card is played, it immediately triggers an effect on the opponent. Specifically, on the opponent's very next turn, they are forced to pick the token located at the bottom of the Guest List, removing their normal freedom of choice when selecting a Guest List token.
Strategy briefing
Timing the Evil Queen
Play the Evil Queen card just before your opponent's turn to maximize disruption. Since the effect locks them into the bottom-of-the-Guest-List token on their very next turn (evil_queen_when_played_effect), playing it at the end of your own turn gives them no opportunity to react before the forced pick occurs.
Managing the Guest List Order
Because the Evil Queen forces the opponent to take the bottom token of the Guest List (evil_queen_when_played_effect), understanding and influencing the order of the Guest List is critical. If you can manipulate the Guest List so the bottom token is the least valuable, the Evil Queen's impact is maximized.
Common questions and edge cases
A player normally has free choice of which token to pick from the Guest List. What happens when the Evil Queen was played against them last turn?
The player loses their free choice entirely for that turn. They MUST pick the token at the bottom of the Guest List — no other token may be selected.
When exactly does the Evil Queen's effect take hold — immediately, or on a delayed turn?
The Evil Queen's effect is not immediate for the opponent. It applies specifically to the opponent's NEXT turn after the card is played. If it is currently the opponent's turn, the effect does not apply until their following turn.
