Queen's Necklace

Queen's Necklace is a new game from French game designers Bruno Faidutti and Bruno Cathala.

In Queen's Necklace, 2 to 4 players take on the roles of Royal Jewelers vying to sell rare jewels to the Queen and her court Paris before the French Revolution. The cards represent the jewels and various characters inhabiting the court. Each player must best decide how to spend their hard-earned ducats: on the acquisition of beautiful gems -- diamonds, emeralds, and rubies -- or to buy the favors of the various court characters.

After three years of craftsmanship, the jeweler who sells the most precious gems and builds the largest fortune will receive the coveted title of King's Jeweler and a place at the Court.

The game includes 110 large-format cards, 5 gold rings and an actual "Queen's Necklace" that is integrated into the game play. Games take 30 to 45 minutes to complete.

"Players will be excited by the quality of the card illustrations and the other game pieces of Queen's Necklace," said Eric Hautemont, president of Days of Wonder. "The game conveys a true sense of high fashion and style that is a perfect fit for members of a royal court."

Queen's Necklace is scheduled to be released in English, French and German editions in April 2003, according to a Days of Wonder press release. Suggested retail price is $24.95.

Days of Wonder is developing Queen's Necklace for online play, scheduled to be available in Spring 2003. Each copy of Queen's Necklace will include a Days of Wonder "Webcard" providing free access to Queen's Necklace Online.

Mystery of the Abbey

Mystery of the Abbey is a "whodunit" board game set in a medieval French Abbey, designed by French game designers Bruno Faidutti and Serge Laget.

Mystery of the Abbey is described by Days of Wonder as "the thinking person's Clue."

Brother Adelmo, one of the monks of the Abbey, has been killed, and the Abbot has called for an investigation of the murder. Players must solve the crime by moving through the beautifully illustrated Abbey board, searching for clues, questioning the other monks and using their intuition to uncover the truth.

"With Mystery of the Abbey, we wanted to completely immerse the player in the game," says Days of Wonder president Eric Hautemont. "The board, components and cards are all designed to give the impression that they are searching the abbey for clues to help them solve the crime."

The game's medieval abbey setting provides an evocative game theme. In addition to the large format abbey board, Mystery of the Abbey includes 90 cards, carved monk figures as playing tokens, a bell to call the monks to Chapel, and color suspect sheets for players' notes about their investigations.

This new edition of the game, released previously in French, includes some updates to the board to make gameplay easier to follow (such as the trips to Mass).

Mystery of the Abbey is for 3 to 6 players, ages 8 and older. Games typically last between 60 and 90 minutes. According to the Days of Wonder press release, Mystery of the Abbey is scheduled to be available in English, French and German editions in May of 2003. Suggested retail price is $44.95.