Smitten – Stonemaier Games

Smitten

Smitten

  • Designer Jamey Stegmaier
  • Artist Vincent Dutrait

A cooperative micro-game for 1-2 players

Base Game
10 mins Game Length
1 mins Setup Time
2 Players
Light Game Weight
Stonemaier Champion

Become a Stonemaier Champion to save 20% on every webstore order.

Smitten is a cooperative micro-game for 1-2 players designed and published in celebration of Stonemaier Games’ 10th anniversary in 2022. In Smitten, players work cooperatively with limited information/communication to complete two identical 3×3 grids of cards, each inspired by a Stonemaier game and illustrated by Vincent Dutrait. There are multiple difficulty levels and separate modes for solo and 2-player games.

Smitten was inspired by comic book cards from Jamey’s youth, specifically a set where various cards formed a cohesive 9-card panorama image. In trying to complete two of these images in Smitten, there is no set turn order; rather, players indicate a preference to play or not play a card. The played card has instructions for the other player to place a card, which they must do or the game instantly ends.

Components

Smitten is packaged inside a paper envelope; it’s an entirely plastic-free, eco-friendly product.

Media

Product Details: Smitten is primarily available on the Stonemaier Games webstore.

Copyright 2022 Stonemaier LLC. Smitten is a trademark of Stonemaier LLC. All rights reserved. This content is not authorized for posting on Steam.

46 Comments on “Smitten

Leave a Comment

If you ask a question about a specific card or ability, please type the exact text in your comment to help facilitate a speedy and precise answer.

Your comment may take a few minutes to publish. Antagonistic, rude, or degrading comments will be removed. Thank you.

  1. Question about card 1: If you’re nearing the end of a game and the active player plays card 1 “Your partner must reveal 1 card from their hand, then place another card in either grid.”

    If they only have a 5 in their hand, then does that mean they cant follow the rules because they would have to reveal that 5, but couldn’t play another card. Would that be a loss?

    Also wondering if I’m interpreting the rule wrong all together. The rule states “You partner must reveal 1 card…” does that mean the partner specifically needs the card 1, or can any card be revealed?”

    If it’s the latter, I think the card should real Your partner must reveal /a/ card…”

    I love love love the game and am addicted to playing it solo and with friends. Please let me know the answer to my two questions, so that I can deal with these edge cases and start using consistent rules. Thanks for making this awesome game!

    1. That’s correct. If your partner can’t follow the instructions on the card, then you would lose instantly. And when it says “1 card” it means “a single card,” not “card number 1.” I’m glad you’re enjoying Smitten!

  2. I received Smitten with a recent order I made through SM website.I played it or the first time today and man for an 18 card game it is very thinky. It’ a nice quick game that makes you think as well.

    Even playing solo and being able to see cards it is not easy. I really had to talk through my moves and what could happen and determine which cards cannot be played in certain situations and which ones are best to get rid of early.

    Now I just have to get Libertalia, my 3 new Rolling Realms Realms (Rolling Realms, Libertalia, and Smitten), along with Viticulture: Essential Edition, which I had previously purchased to the table.

    1. Thanks Ian! I’m glad you’re enjoying the puzzle of Smitten. I appreciate you going so deep into the worlds of Stonemaier! :)

      1. Hi Jamey ! I received my French copy of Smitten yesterday so that’s that ! Thanx for the great games you give us. Incidentally I’m looking for the list of games illustrated in Smitten, where can I find it ? Bye, Caroline 🇫🇷💜

  3. For card number 5, I have a question: If I’m the active player, am I also the person who is meant with “choosing higher/lower” or do the roles instantly changes (I’m playing the card, my partner is now active player by choosing higher/lower, and than I’m again active player by placing the card)?

    1. Tobias: Card 5 says, “Choose higher or lower.” It’s the person who plays card 5 who chooses, and they remain the active player.

  4. The wife and I just played our first games of Smitten. What a cute, tight game! Definitely has a ButtonShy feel, which we love.

    Question though: if you PLAY a #8 card on your turn during a game on Hard, is that an automatic loss (since it will put that grid 2 cards above the other with its card text)? The card can safely be PLACED of course, but just wondering on the PLAY action! :)

    Thanks!

    1. Thanks Matt! Let’s see, card 8 says, “Your partner must place a card in this grid.” In hard mode, you can’t have more than a 1-card difference between the grids, so playing this card (unless it’s the 17th card) would result in a loss in every scenario I can think of.

      1. That’s what we figured! But we thought it safe to check! Thanks for the quick reply :) it’ll present an extra challenge!

      2. Jamey, correct me if I am wrong, but if you play card 2, then there will be an odd number of cards in play. So one grid will have 1 card less than the other. So you then can play card 8 in that grid, because at the end of the turn, that grid will now have only 1 card more than the other.

  5. I just emailed support. I haven’t received the Champion newsletter since I renewed in June. I hope I didn’t miss any cool opportunities!

  6. Good evening,

    First of all, congrats on 10 years and thank you for offering a discount and Smitten as a freebie.

    I just placed some items in my cart (puzzles and Rhine Valley) but Smitten is not in my cart when I go to check out. I thought it was available. Did I do something wrong preventing it from being added?

    Thanks!
    -Mike

      1. Jamey: Thanks for the quick reply! I gave it one last try before I completed the order (totally emptied my cart and put everything back in) and Smitten appeared! So all is well!

    1. Thanks for your question, Tom. We want to avoid confusion during the free period (i.e., we don’t want to offer the game for $10 and people add it to their cart thinking it will be free; rather, it will automatically be added to your cart for free), so it won’t be until after the free period that we’ll start selling it.

  7. Very excited about this little game! And the art direction looks superb on top of the game design. I’m hoping it sets a trend of maybe some more micro games from Stonemaier Games in the future.

  8. Was looking to place an order today for another game and Smitten is not appearing in the cart. I know it was said it would be available mid September. I guess I will hold off on my order. Any idea exactly what day it will be available?

    1. That’s correct, Smitten has not arrived yet. We’re hoping for next week, but we really won’t know until it actually arrives. We’ll notify people via our newsletter when it does. :)

  9. Hello, first of all congratulations on the 10th anniversary of stonemaier games! I have a question about smitten, is this game going to be available in the european store? I am from the Netherlands and I would really like to buy a copy. With kind regards, Inka vd Bogaart

    1. Thanks Inka! Indeed, Smitten will be in each of our webstores (in fact, it’s already arrived at some of them–we’re just waiting for 2 of them). :)

  10. Congratulations on the 10th anniversary. You have great games, I wish that their number will only grow.

    I have questions about the rules of Smitten.

    1. After the active player has played a card, should he immediately draw a card from the deck or after his partner places a card?

    2. Should the player always have 3 cards in his hand after the end of the turn (as long as there are cards in the deck and this is an average difficulty level).

    1. Thanks for these questions!

      1. “At the end of each turn, both players draw back up to a full hand if possible (the active player draws their card(s) first).” So it happens at the end of the turn, after a player has played a card and their partner has followed the instructions on the played card.

      2. Players always draw up to a full hand if possible. That hand size depends on the difficulty level, but it’s usually 3.

  11. 1. Congrats on the new game :) I’m definitely going to pick up a copy. Was this game on your monthly newsletter’s status-tracker of Products and Projects? I’m having trouble figuring out what code name / row corresponded to Smitten.

    2. I see you opted for the new infographic layout above (with a how-to-play walkthrough). Have you decided to retire the old layout permanently, or are you going with the new layout here because there’s not a whole lot to say about this particular game’s components — and maybe you’ll go back to the old layout sometimes?

    3. It’s great that this game comes in an envelope! Is the paper envelope also the shipping envelope? Or does the game come inside an envelope that comes inside a shipping envelope? I see pros and cons to each possibility.

    BTW, in the past month, I’ve seen quite a few discussions in the designer & publisher FB forums about reducing cost by omitting unnecessary components and/or reducing ecological & financial impacts. For example, there was a discussion recently about a game that literally omitted all the D6’s (18 of them IIRC), and the creators invited buyers either to supply their own dice or purchase them separately. It’s definitely a subject resonating with industry folks, as well as some interest among gamers on BGG or Reddit.

    1. 1. Smitten was a surprise–it’s not on the progress chart. :)

      2. Based on the feedback I received about the new infographic, I have a revised version I’ll debut with Wingspan Asia that shows some key stats.

      3. Smitten isn’t designed to be ordered on its own–it’s designed to be put into a package containing other products. Though we will sell it post-September for those who just want it for $10, in which case it will be sent in a paper envelope.

    1. I appreciate you asking, but no, that isn’t how we’d like people to experience this game. It may be free with any webstore purchase ($10 afterwards), but we put a lot of care into the design and components.

  12. This looks cool! My favorite thing so far is that the bird representing Wingspan is the Roseate Spoonbill, the bird Elizabeth has said is her favorite.

    Also I think it is incredibly generous that you are including this for free on orders when it first comes out. That is an awesome gesture to fans.

    Can’t wait to see what the Rolling Realms promo card is that goes with this.

See All Comments