Bottle Imp (2024)

• Designer: Gunter Cornett
• Publisher: Grail Games
• Players: 2-6
• Age: 14+
• Time: 30 minutes
• Played with copy provided by publisher

A classic of the trick taking-games makes its return! Bottle Imp is back in a new edition, adding team modes and a 5 to 6 player variant to the usual 2 to 4 players configuration of the title.

In this game inspired by the eponym novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, all players around the table want to acquire the cursed bottle that can grant all wishes… However, they need to get rid of it before the end! Score points by trying to take as many tricks as possible, but make sure to not finish the game with the bottle, or the Bottle Imp will take your points!

This new version of the game has a number of different modes which allows it to be played by a wider player count. I’ll start with a recap of the base game (for 3-4 players) and then go on to describe the new variant modes.

The basic deck in Bottle Imp is a deck of 36 cards, numbered 1 to 37 (19 not included) – and each card is one of the three suits (blue, green or red).  There are player aid cards available that show you the color of each of the cards.  There is also a special Hell card, black in color, numbered 19.

To start the game, the Hell card is placed on the table and the bottle is placed on top of it.  The deck is shuffled and dealt out evenly to the players. Each player looks at their hand and then discards one card face down under the Hell card to form the “Devil’s Trick”. Next, each player simultaneously passes one card to their left and one card to their right.

The player to the left of the dealer leads the first trick by playing any card from their hand. Play goes clockwise and players must follow suit of the lead card if possible.  If they cannot follow, they can play any card.  Once all players have played a card, it is resolved:

•         If all players have played cards higher than the current value of the Bottle Imp (the card it is sitting on), the player who played the highest card wins the trick – regardless of color.  The winner takes all the played cards and puts them face down in a score pile
•         If one or more players have played a card less than the current cost of the Bottle Imp, the highest card less than the Imp wins the trick.  That player gains ownership of the Bottle Imp; taking the bottle and placing it on top of the card he just played.  This card sets the new price for the Bottle Imp.  The person who previously owned the imp takes the old price card and adds it to their score pile.

The player that won the previous trick now leads the next trick. This continues until all the cards are played.  At the end of the round, players calculate their score.  The player who owns the Bottle Imp at the end of the round will only score negative points; they reveal the cards in the Devil’s Trick and score negative the point value of those cards.  All other players score positive points for the cards in their score pile.  After playing the designated number of rounds, the player with the highest score wins.

There are now a few variants included to shake things up.  They can involve higher players counts, and if so, there are extra cards included in the box for this.  There are 18 cards which are all (even # + 0.5) – these cards keep the same color as their even whole-numbered counterparts.  Shuffle these into the deck if necessary.

Team Mode:  In this version, there will be teams of 2 players (sitting across from each other or at least separated by a player) and possibly some individual players.  These roles will rotate around the table.  When you are on a team, at the end of the round, the teammates pool their cards and score the same (whether positive or negative).  i.e. if one teammate holds the bottle at the end, both players on the team take the negative score for the Devil’s Trick.  You can flip over the player aid cards to help you see which players are teammates as they are color coded.

Devil’s Eye – This is a special 2-player variant that uses a 10 card hidden hand as well as a 7 card “Devil’s Eye” hand which is face up on the table.  Players alternate playing cards to a trick, and each player will end up playing twice to each.  Players can choose whether to play from their face up hand on the table or their hidden hand (in their actual hand).   Interestingly, following suit only applies considering the cards in the hand that you choose to play from.

The Second Bottle – for 5 or 6 players – add a second bottle to the Hell card at the start of the game, and use the larger deck.  The first time someone buys a bottle for less than 19, they take ownership of one bottle, leaving the other on the Hell card.  From now on, only the higher valued bottle is for sale, and the rest of the rules remain the same.  At the end of the round, both players with bottles score negative for the Devil’s Trick.  If someone is unfortunate enough to own both bottles, they get the penalty twice!

My thoughts on the game

The Bottle Imp is one of my favorite trick taking games – perhaps one of the first non-traditional ones that I learned way-back-when I got into the hobby.  This game is filled with unpredictable fun, as it requires a very different approach to taking tricks.   While not winning tricks is certainly a way to do well, it’s not necessarily a trick-avoidance game, as it is really only important to avoid certain tricks.  It is definitely a bit of an art to figure out how to deal with your low cards.  Of course, the definition of a “low card” is a bit of a moving target as the cost of the bottle drops and drops over the game.

 This new version has much more flexibility in player count with the extra components included for all the different variants.  I have yet to play the two-player variant myself, but I have heard from other OG colleagues have said it is a nice two player implementation of the game.

Let me quickly comment on the components – wow!  The cards have a beautiful design to them, and the beautiful foil cards are always commented upon.  My pictures here don’t capture the fine shiny detail, but trust me, they look fantastic.  The acrylic bottles are also lovely.

 Bottle Imp is a trick taking game that I have always recommended people to play, and this new version opens it up to even more situations given the multiple different ways to play the game.  

Ratings from the Opinionated Gamers

• I love it! Dale Y
• I like it.
• Neutral.
• Not for me…