And having spent a bit of time with it, it’s easy to see why.
It’s gorgeous, charming, and different.
Card Shark is a game about learning card tricks, or cons, in 18th Century France.
Mechanically, there’s a few things going on.
At the same time, you look away from the pouring to read the person’s hand.
Then, you signal to the Comte what you saw.
You do this by wiping the table in a certain way.
It’s not easy.
Pouring and card-reading at the same time is particularly tricky, and the gestures aren’t easy to recall.
It’s just enough of a challenge to instil a bit of panic and produce a smile.
Regardless of how well you do, the con doesn’t go to plan.
This is done in a kind of rhythm-action way.
Your decision will be based on what you know of your mark and how easy they are to fool.
Soon you’re card-counting and dropping extra packs of cards in pockets and folding the corners of aces.
That’s all very nice and quirky.
But what really lifts Card Shark to buzz-level is how it’s put together.
Characters are papery on top of warm, loose, pastelled backgrounds behind.
It’s very eye-catching, very effective.
There’s also a wonderful cheek and charm running through the game.
The expressions appear like pictorial dialogue choices and though they’re simple drawings, they’re immediately readable.
And there isn’t too long to wait to play it.
