Royal Whispers Figure Guide: 19 Cards, 4 Courts | Playgridia

2026-07-30

Royal Whispers has 19 figures in total, but no single match uses them all: the mode you pick in the room builds the deck. More importantly, a figure's value depends on the mode — the Chancellor is 6 in Classic and 7 in the Grand Court. That is why the game never says "play the 5", and why an accusation always names a figure, not a number.

Royal Whispers figure guide — official game poster: a court-intrigue card game — The same figure sits on a different rung in a different court.

Classic Court — 16 cards (default)

1 · Spy ×5 — name a figure other than the Spy; a rival holding it is out.
2 · Informant ×2 — privately view a rival's figure.
3 · Duelist ×2 — secretly compare hands; the lower figure is out.
4 · Sentinel ×2 — you cannot be targeted until your next turn.
5 · Inquisitor ×2 — a chosen player (you included) discards and draws anew; discarding the Queen knocks them out.
6 · Chancellor — trade hands with a rival; both learn what they handed over.
7 · Duchess — no effect; forced when held with the Chancellor or Inquisitor.
8 · Queen — no effect; discarding her knocks you out of the round.

Grand Court — 21 cards

Two figures join the classic deck and the top rungs shift up one: Chancellor becomes 7, Duchess 8, Queen 9, and the Spy goes to six copies.

0 · Shadow ×2 — no effect now. At round end, if you are the sole surviving Shadow player you gain a Favor.
6 · Steward ×2 — draw 2, keep 1, bury the rest (it opens its own decision step).

Masquerade — 22 cards

Every variant figure at once, with two different figures on almost every rung. Knowing a value no longer tells you the figure:

0 · Assassin + Jester
1 · Spy ×5
2 · Informant + Cardinal
3 · Duelist + Baroness
4 · Sentinel + Sycophant
5 · Inquisitor + Count
6 · Steward + Constable
7 · Chancellor + Dowager
8 · Duchess · 9 · Bishop · 10 · Queen

Blitz — 12 cards

A tight deck: no Duchess, the Queen drops to 7, the Favor target is 3/2/2 and the clock is short. An average match is 3 rounds — two to three minutes. Because the numeric spread narrows, a high card matters less and aggressive accusation pays.

The variant figures' schemes

Assassin (0) — a passive trap: a Spy who accuses you is out instead; you burn the card and redraw.
Jester (0) — bet on a rival. If they win the round you take a Favor — even if you were knocked out.
Cardinal (2) — two courtiers swap hands, then you privately read one of them.
Baroness (3) — read one or two rivals' hands.
Sycophant (4) — the next targeting figure MUST target the player you pick, if that is legal.
Count (5) — a quiet power: in a showdown, add +1 to your figure for each Count in your own played pile.
Steward (6) — draw 2, keep 1, bury the rest.
Constable (6) — no effect now; if you are knocked out while it lies in your pile, you gain a Favor.
Dowager (7) — secretly compare hands; this time the higher figure is out (the Duelist's mirror).
Bishop (9) — name a figure and a rival; if right you gain a Favor and they redraw. It never eliminates.

Why memorising numbers doesn't work

Three reasons: (1) values shift with the mode; (2) in the Masquerade two figures share a rung; (3) figures like the Count change your effective value in a showdown. The right habit is to open the figure reference panel at the table and read the accusation grid's unseen-copy counts — the game already hands you both.

For the rules see the how-to-play guide; to win, the tactics. Then take a seat: play Royal Whispers free.

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