''Legends of the Three Kingdoms'' (; literally Three Kingdoms Kill), or sometimes Sanguosha, LTK for short, is a Chinese

card game A card game is any game that uses playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, whether the cards are of a traditional design or specifically created for the game (proprietary). Countless card games exist, including famil ...

based on the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dyna ...

period of China and the semi-fictional 14th century novel ''

Romance of the Three Kingdoms ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' () is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 184 AD and ...

'' (ROTK) by

Luo Guanzhong Luo Ben (c. 1330–1400, or c.1280–1360), better known by his courtesy name Guanzhong (Mandarin pronunciation: ), was a Chinese novelist who lived during the Ming dynasty. He is also known by his pseudonym Huhai Sanren (). Luo Guanzhon ...

. The rules of the basic LTK are almost identical to the rules of the older Italian card game Bang!. LTK was released by YOKA games (游卡桌游) on January 1, 2008, and has been followed to date by a total of seven official expansion sets, an online version LTK Online, as well as a children's version LTK Q Version. There are self-created cards by players, but these are mostly unofficial. LTK initially began with a strong following in China since the entire game is in Chinese. Sales of LTK totaled 20 million yuan in 2009, and 100 million yuan in 2010. However the game has begun to reach an international audience after players began translating the game into the English language and posting these translations on blogs and forums. Site visit statistics from one of these blogs showed that readers outside of

Mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...

come primarily from

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

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, and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Relevance to history

The cards and characters of LTK are all related to the ancient history of China, the most telling of which are the characters and their abilities. Each character is given an ability in the game which usually mirrors the historical character's personality, actions, strength/weakness, cause of death, and historical events in which the character was involved, etc. For example,

Liu Bei Liu Bei (, ; ; 161 – 10 June 223), courtesy name Xuande (), was a China, Chinese warlord in the late Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty who later became the founding Emperor of China, emperor of Shu Han, one of the Three Kingdoms of ...

's ability Kindness (仁德) allows him to give away his cards to other players, mirroring the benevolent and kind nature of Liu Bei in ROTK.

Cao Cao Cao Cao (; ; ; 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde, was a Chinese statesman, warlord, and poet who rose to power during the end of the Han dynasty (), ultimately taking effective control of the Han central government. He laid the foundation f ...

, on the other hand, is given the ability Treachery (奸雄), which allows him to keep any card which causes him damage. This mirrors Cao Cao's style of coaxing able advisers of his enemies to defect and join him, then utilizing them for his cause. The relevance of these abilities to ROTK and the Three Kingdoms history is interesting enough to inspire players to discover more about ROTK and Three Kingdoms history for themselves. One blog author describes his knowledge of Three Kingdoms evolving from uninterested to semi-expert after immersing in the study of LTK abilities. In August 2012, UC Berkeley offered a course in LTK. The faculty sponsor of the course, Professor Robert Berring, wants to get undergrads "acquainted with essential philosophy dating back to China's ancient dynasties".

Basic rules of the standard mode

The standard mode of LTK can be played by 2 to 10 people. Each player plays one of these four roles: Monarch (主公), Minister (忠臣), Rebel (反贼) and Traitors (内奸). There can be only one monarch in the game at all times, but the number of ministers, rebels and traitors are determined by the total number of players, as shown in the table on the right. Each player may have 3 or 4 Health points (see below), depending on their character. *If there are 3 or more players playing, the player playing as the Monarch may increase his/her total Health points by 1. *At the beginning of the game, each player must draw one "Role Card" to determine his or her role. **The player who draws the card "Monarch" must immediately show his or her role card. Others must keep their role card hidden until they are killed in the game. *When the role card has been distributed and all players know their role, each player draws 4 cards. *The Monarch begins the first round. He will draw 2 cards from the deck and use the cards on hand appropriately. *When a rebel is killed, the killer draws three cards. *If the Monarch kills a Minister, the Monarch has to discard all of his cards including equipment cards.

Objectives

Different roles have different victory conditions: * Monarch: Death of all the rebels and traitors. * Minister: Protect the monarch no matter the cost (victory conditions are the same as the monarch). * Rebel: Death of the Monarch (without leaving one Traitor as the sole survivor). * Traitor (Secret Rebel): Death of every other player (including the other traitors), with the last death of the Monarch. The game ends immediately if: * The Monarch is killed, or * All the rebels and traitors are killed. As long as one of the scenarios listed above occur at the endgame, the associated roles can claim victory even if the character has already been killed. In general, the Monarch and his ministers must work together to kill the rebels and traitors, while the rebels can cooperate to kill off the ministers before attacking the Monarch. Meanwhile, the traitor(s) can pretend to be ministers and help to kill the rebels, before revolting against the real ministers and finally confronting the Monarch.

Types of cards

LTK consists of a few types of cards, which serve different purposes in the game. *ROLE card 角色牌 - These cards determine the individual player's role (Monarch/Ruler/Emperor, Minister/Loyalist, Rebel or Traitor/Turncoat) and his objectives. Aside from the Monarch, other players must keep their role cards secret throughout the game and reveal it when their character is killed in the game. *Blood card 体力牌 - These cards serve as an indication of units of health of a player. Players typically use their character cards to cover the health cards such that the remaining points of health are revealed. *General card 武将牌 - These cards determine the character that a player shall be using. The player assumes the allegiance and gender of the character selected, and also acquires the special abilities of that player. All characters in LTK are characters which appear in ROTK. The standard edition consists of 25 heroes: ( Wei)

Sima Yi Sima Yi (; ; 179 CE7 September 251 CE), courtesy name Zhongda, was a Chinese military general, politician, and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He formally began his political career in 208 under th ...

Xiahou Dun Xiahou Dun () (died 13 June 220), courtesy name Yuanrang, was a Chinese military general and politician serving under the warlord Cao Cao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China.''Sanguozhi'' vol.9. He served for a few months under Cao Cao ...

Zhang Liao Zhang Liao () (169 – late 222), courtesy name Wenyuan, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He served briefly in the state of Cao Wei, founded by Cao Cao's successor Cao P ...

Xu Chu Xu Chu () (died 230), courtesy name Zhongkang, was a Chinese military general who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period of China. He started his career as a bodyguard to the warlord Cao Cao and later became a ...

Guo Jia Guo Jia () (170– October 207), courtesy name Fengxiao, was a brilliant military adviser to the warlord Cao Cao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Throughout his 11 years of service, Guo Jia aided Cao Cao greatly with his brilliance ...

, and

Lady Zhen Lady Zhen (26 January 183 – 4 August 221), personal name unknown, was the first wife of Cao Pi, the first ruler of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period. In 226, she was posthumously honoured as Empress Wenzhao when her son Cao R ...

; ( Shu)

Guan Yu Guan Yu (; ), courtesy name Yunchang, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Along with Zhang Fei, he shared a brotherly relationship with Liu Bei and accompanied him on ...

Zhang Fei Zhang Fei () (; died July or August 221 AD), courtesy name Yide (益德), was a Chinese military general and politician serving under the warlord Liu Bei in the late Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period ...

Zhuge Liang Zhuge Liang () (181September or October 234), also commonly known by his courtesy name Kongming, was a Chinese statesman, strategist, and inventor who lived through the End of the Han dynasty, end of the Eastern Han dynasty ( 184–220) and t ...

Zhao Yun Zhao Yun ( ) (died 229), courtesy name Zilong (), was a military general who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of China. Originally a subordinate of the northern warlord Gongsun Zan, Zhao Yun later came ...

Ma Chao Ma Chao () (176–222), courtesy name Mengqi, was a Chinese military general and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of China. A descendant of the general Ma Yuan, Ma Chao was the eldest son of M ...

, and Huang Yueying; ( Wu)

Sun Quan Sun Quan (; 182 – 21 May 252), courtesy name Zhongmou (), posthumous name, posthumously known as Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of Eastern Wu, one of the Three Kingdoms of China. He inherited control of the warlord regime established by hi ...

, Gan Ning,

Lü Meng Lü Meng () (178 – January or February 220), courtesy name Ziming, was a Chinese military general and politician who served under the warlord Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Early in his career, he fought in several ba ...

Huang Gai Huang Gai () ( 180s–210s), courtesy name Gongfu, was a military general who served under the warlord Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He previously served under Sun Quan's predecessors – Sun Jian (Sun Quan's father) and ...

Zhou Yu Zhou Yu (, ) (175–210), courtesy name Gongjin (), was a Chinese military general and strategist serving under the warlord Sun Ce in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. After Sun Ce died in the year 200, he continued serving under Sun Qua ...

, Elder Qiao,

Lu Xun Lu Xun ( zh, c=魯迅, p=Lǔ Xùn, ; 25 September 188119 October 1936), pen name of Zhou Shuren, born Zhou Zhangshou, was a Chinese writer. A leading figure of modern Chinese literature, he wrote in both vernacular and literary Chinese as a no ...

, and Sun Shangxiang; ( Qun/Neutral) Hua Tuo,

Lü Bu Lü Bu (; died 7 February 199), courtesy name Fengxian, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of Imperial China. Originally a subordinate of a minor warlord Ding Yuan, he betrayed a ...

, and

Diaochan Diaochan was one of the Four Beauties of ancient China. Although based on a minor historical personage, she is mostly a fictional character. She is best known for her role in the 14th-century historical novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', ...

. *BASIC cards 基本牌 - These are playable action cards which can be used on other players or themselves. Basic cards include Strike (杀), Dodge (闪), Peach (桃) and their variations, and can affect the health of a player. ''Strike'' is used to cause damage to other players, ''Dodge'' is used to deflect a ''Strike'' attack (or the player loses 1 point of Health), while ''Peach'' is used to recover 1 point of Health or save a dying character. Basic cards can be identified by a diamond logo behind Chinese characters in the twelve o'clock position of the card. *SCROLL cards 锦囊牌 - These cards are cards which perform strategic actions or can affect multiple players, and they can be neutralized by a Invulnerablty (无懈可击) strategy card. There are also Time-delayed scroll cards that only take effect during the target player's turn. *Equipment cards 装备牌 - These cards are placed in front of the player and serve to modify distance and range calculations, as well as contribute to attack or defense attributes.

Play

There are six main phases to playing when it comes to any player's turn. #Initial phase (beginning of the turn) #*Before the judgement phase, certain characters (such as

) may use their special abilities to manipulate their own statuses or the cards in the deck. #Judgement phase #*Players with time-delayed status cards directed at them must draw and reveal cards on the deck to judge if they pass or fail certain tests, starting from the last status card played. Failure will result in penalties such as unable to draw cards, unable to play cards, or lose 3 health points from a Lightning attack card. Before the judgement, however, players may reveal a Invulnerability (无懈可击) strategy card to cancel the status cards played on them, and skip the judgement phase. #Drawing phase #*The player draws two cards from the deck. Characters with special abilities (such as

) may use them to take more cards or draw cards from other players. #Action phase #*Any number of cards may be played, but generally, each player may only use the Kill card once, unless otherwise determined by their character or equipment. #Discard phase #*After playing, the player will have to discard cards in his hand such that the remaining number of cards is equal to his current Health points.（In some expansion packs, there are characters that can keep more cards.) #End phase (end of the turn) #*At the end of every turn, certain characters (such as Diao Chan or

Cao Ren Cao Ren () (168 – 6 May 223), courtesy name Zixiao, was a military general serving during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China under the warlord Cao Cao, who was also his older second cousin. He continued serving in the state of Cao Wei � ...

) may use their special abilities.

Death

When a player's Health points is reduced to 0, he faces imminent death and must instantly take action: he may request to be saved by a ''Peach'' card (thus letting other players play the card), or may use one immediately if he has it. If he is successful, his health will recover to 1 point. Otherwise, he dies (except for some special characters like Zhou Tai), and must reveal his role card and discard all other cards. If he is a Rebel and was killed by a card from another player, that player may draw 3 cards. It is possible for a player's health to have a negative value (such as suffering from a Lightning attack). In this case, the player will need as many ''Peach'' cards as he requires to raise his health back to 1 point in orderto continue the game (for example, a Health point of -1 requires 2 ''Peach'' cards). The abilities of certain cards or characters may involve healing more than 1 points of health, or even prolonged living below 1 Health point.

Point duels

Certain special characters (such as

Xun Yu Xun Yu (163–212), courtesy name Wenruo, was a Chinese military official and politician who served as an adviser to the warlord Cao Cao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Early life Xun Yu was from Yingchuan Commandery (around ...

) may initiate point duels with another player to unleash their special abilities. This is done when the initiator plays a card, the other player does the same, and both players compare the number printed on the upper left corner. The player with the larger number wins, with "Ace" as the smallest value and "King" as the largest value. In the case of ties, the initiator of the duel is considered to have "lost" the duel. Suits such as diamonds, hearts, etc. do not matter. Both cards are discarded into the discard deck; players cannot retrieve back the cards into their hands.

Character allegiance

All LTK characters are separated into five historically-relevant allegiances: the Shu Kingdom, Wei Kingdom, Wu Kingdom, Jin Kingdom, and Neutral Heroes. In the original LTK, every character has only one allegiance, but later expansions introduced more allegiances for some characters. This is because of the complex changes of each historical figure. Some characters, such as

Jia Xu Jia Xu (147 – 11 August 223), courtesy name Wenhe, was an official of the state of Cao Wei during the early Three Kingdoms period of China. He started his career in the late Eastern Han dynasty as a minor official. In 189, when the warlord Don ...

, were allied to different kingdoms through the course of their lives, and is therefore represented by different cards for each allegiance. With the introduction of the first LTK expansion pack, a new fictional allegiance known as the Demi-Gods was introduced. Demi-God characters are typically very significant characters in ROTK and Three Kingdoms history, and these characters are given abilities that are much more powerful than regular characters. The presence of Demi-God characters can severely imbalance a regular game, and thus most players choose not to include Demi-God characters into gameplay. Since Demi-God characters are obtained by chance in expansion packs, Demi-God character cards have become collectible pieces. Prices of single Demi-God cards have been known to equal, or exceed, the price of the whole expansion pack. In 2011, YOKA released collectible SP cards that comes with every purchase of Zhuoyou Zhi (桌游志) magazine, a monthly magazine discussing board and card-games in China. Many SP cards are remakes of existing LTK characters with different allegiances, representing that character from a different time period in his or her career.

Expansion packs and collectibles

As of October 2012, seven different official LTK expansion packs have been released. Two different Collector's Editions have also been released. Beginning January 2011, ultra-collectible SP cards were released monthly with every purchase of Zhuoyou Zhi magazine. As of October 2012, the SP Yang Xiu character released with the inaugural issue of Zhuoyouzhi magazine has been seen to sell for 500 yuan, which is over forty times the original price of the magazine.

Playing card expansion

* Battle Expansion Pack 军争篇 - A playing card expansion that includes elemental attribute Basic cards and new Tool cards. * Kingdoms Wars 国战 Military Equipment Expansion Pack 势备篇 - A playing card expansion that includes elemental attribute Basic cards and new Tool cards. Available only in Kingdoms Wars.

Character card expansions

# Wind Expansion Pack 风扩展包 (including

Xiahou Yuan Xiahou Yuan () (died February 219), courtesy name Miaocai, was a Chinese military general and politician serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He is known for his exploits in western China (in parts of prese ...

Huang Zhong Huang Zhong (, ) (died 220), courtesy name Hansheng, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He is best known for his victory at the Battle of Mount Dingjun in 219, in which ...

Wei Yan Wei Yan () (died October 234), courtesy name Wenchang, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Originally a subordinate of the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han ...

, Zhou Tai, Xiaoqiao,

Zhang Jiao Zhang Jue (; died October 184) was a religious leader in ancient China who became a military general and led the Yellow Turban Rebellion during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He had a reputation as a Taoist sorcerer capable of performin ...

, and Yu Ji) # Fire Expansion Pack 火扩展包 (including

, Dian Wei,

Pang Tong Pang Tong () (179–214), courtesy name Shiyuan, was a Chinese politician who served as a key adviser to the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. In his youth, Pang Tong was disregarded because he was plain-looking. The herm ...

, "Wolong"

Taishi Ci Taishi Ci () (166–206), courtesy name Ziyi, was a Chinese military general who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He had served as a minor Han official, before eventually coming to serve warlords Liu Yao, Sun Ce, and Sun Ce' ...

Pang De Pang De () (died 219), courtesy name Lingming, was a Chinese military general who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. He started his career under the warlord Ma Teng, who was based in Liang Province. In 211, Ma Teng's son Ma Chao, along w ...

Yan Liang Yan Liang () (died 200) was a military general serving under the warlord Yuan Shao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was slain by Guan Yu at the Battle of Boma. Life Little is known about Yan Liang's life. The only histo ...

Wen Chou Wen Chou () (died 200) was a military general serving under the warlord Yuan Shao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. His force was defeated by that of rival warlord Cao Cao in the Battle of Yan Ford and he was killed in the midst of ...

, and

Yuan Shao Yuan Shao (, ; died 28 June 202), courtesy name Benchu (), was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. He occupied the northern territories of China during the civil wars that occurred tow ...

) # Woods Expansion Pack 林扩展包 (including Xu Huang,

Cao Pi Cao Pi () (late 187 – 29 June 226), courtesy name Zihuan, was the first emperor of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the second son of Cao Cao, a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty, but the ...

Zhurong Zhurong (), also known as Chongli (), is an important personage in Chinese mythology and Chinese folk religion. According to the ''Huainanzi'' and the philosophical texts of Mozi and his followers, Zhurong is a god of fire and of the south. The ...

Meng Huo Meng Huo ( 210s–220s) was a local leader in the Nanzhong region in the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was popularly depicted as a local leader representing the gentries of the Nanzhong region, but some historia ...

Sun Jian Sun Jian () () (155–191?), courtesy name Wentai, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He allied himself with Yuan Shu in 190 when warlords from eastern China formed a ...

Lu Su Lu Su (172–217), courtesy name Zijing, was a Chinese military general and politician serving under the warlord Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty. In the year 200, when Sun Quan had just taken over the reins of power, his adviser Z ...

Dong Zhuo Dong Zhuo () (c. 140s – 22 May 192), courtesy name Zhongying, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. At the end of the reign of the Eastern Han, Dong Zhuo was a general and powerful ...

, and

) # Hills Expansion Pack 山扩展包 (including

Zhang He Zhang He () (died July or August 231), courtesy name Junyi, was a military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He continued serving in the state of Cao Wei under its first two rulers, Cao Pi and ...

Deng Ai Deng Ai (197 – late March 264Vol.04 of ''Sanguozhi'' and vol.02 of ''Jin Shu'' both indicated that Deng Ai was arrested in the 1st month of the 1st year of the ''Xianxi'' era. The month corresponds to 15 Feb to 14 Mar 264 in the Julian calendar ...

Liu Shan Liu Shan (, 207–271), courtesy name Gongsi, was the second and last emperor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. As he ascended the throne at the age of 16, Liu Shan was entrusted to the care of the Chancellor Zhuge Liang ...

Jiang Wei Jiang Wei (202 – 3 March 264), courtesy name Boyue, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Born in Ji County (present-day Gangu County, Gansu), Jiang Wei started his ...

Sun Ce Sun Ce () () (175 – 5 May 200), courtesy name Bofu, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was the eldest child of Sun Jian, who was killed during the Battle of Xian ...

, Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong, Zuo Ci, and Cai Wenji) # OverKnight Fame 2011 一将成名 2011 (including

Cao Zhi Cao Zhi (; ; 192 – 27 December 232), courtesy name Zijian (), posthumously known as Prince Si of Chen (陈思王), was a prince of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China, and an accomplished poet in his time. His style o ...

Yu Jin Yu Jin (died September 221), courtesy name Wenze, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He joined Cao Cao in 192 around the start of the civil wars leading to the collapse o ...

, Zhang Chunhua,

Ma Su Ma Su (190–228), courtesy name Youchang, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period of China. Ma Su had conspicuous talent in military theories and was admired by the Shu chancellor Zhuge ...

Fa Zheng Fa Zheng (176–220), courtesy name Xiaozhi, was a key adviser to the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dynasty. Born in a family of high social status and of noble descent, Fa Zheng travelled to Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan ...

, Xu Shu, Wuguotai,

Ling Tong Ling Tong () (189–217), courtesy name Gongji, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He started his service under Sun Quan when he was still a teenager and, throughout his ...

Xu Sheng Xu Sheng (died 224–229), courtesy name Wenxiang, was a military general serving under the warlord Sun Quan in the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of China. Early life and career Xu Sheng was from Ju County (), Lang ...

Gao Shun Gao Shun () (died 7 February 199) was a military officer serving the warlord Lü Bu during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Although he only had 700 men under his command, his unit was nicknamed as the "camp crusher (or formation breaker ...

, and

Chen Gong Chen Gong () (died 7 February 199), courtesy name Gongtai, was an adviser to the warlord Lü Bu in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. However, he had started his career under another warlord, Cao Cao, before defecting to Lü Bu. He was ex ...

) # OverKnight Fame 2012 一将成名 2012 (including

Cao Zhang Cao Zhang () (189? – 1 August 223), courtesy name Ziwen, nickname "The Yellow Goatee" (黃鬚兒), was a prince of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was a son of Cao Cao, a warlord who rose to power towards the ...

Xun You Xun You (157–September 214), courtesy name Gongda, was a statesman who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China and served as an adviser to the warlord Cao Cao. Born in the influential Xun family of Yingchuan Commandery (arou ...

Zhong Hui Zhong Hui (225 – 3 March 264), courtesy name Shiji, was a Chinese calligrapher, essayist, military general, and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the younger son of Zhang Changpu with Zhong Ya ...

, Wang Yi, Liao Hua, Guan Xing & Zhang Bao,

Ma Dai Ma Dai () ( 222–235) was a Chinese military general of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He previously served under his uncle Ma Teng, a warlord in northwestern China, during the late Eastern Han dynasty. After Ma ...

, Bu Lianshi,

Cheng Pu Cheng Pu () (170-210), courtesy name Demou, was a Chinese military general and politician serving under the warlord Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He previously served under Sun Quan's predecessors: Sun Jian (Sun Quan's f ...

, Han Dang,

Liu Biao Liu Biao () () ( 151 – September 208), courtesy name Jingsheng, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He is best known for serving as the governor of Jing Province (coveri ...

, and

Hua Xiong Hua Xiong () (died 191), also recorded in the annotated version of Zizhi Tongjian as Ye Xiong (葉雄),《资治通鉴音注·卷第二百八·唐纪二十四》：叶，旧音摄，后音木叶之叶。吴志孙晧传有都尉叶雄。 was ...

) # OverKnight Fame 2013 一将成名 2013 (including

Cao Chong Cao Chong (196–208), courtesy name Cangshu, was a son of Cao Cao, a warlord who rose to power towards the end of the Han dynasty and laid the foundation of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. A child prodigy, Cao C ...

Guo Huai Guo Huai (died 23 February 255), courtesy name Boji, was a Chinese military general of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He started his career towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty under the warlord Cao Cao a ...

, Man Chong, Guan Ping,

Liu Feng Liu Feng (died 220) was an adopted son of Liu Bei, a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty and founded the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He traced his lineage to a certain marquis whose family name was "Kou ...

, Jian Yong,

Pan Zhang Pan Zhang (died 234), courtesy name Wengui, was a military general serving under the warlord Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He continued serving in the state of Eastern Wu (founded by Sun Quan) during the Three Kingdoms ...

& Ma Zhong,

Yu Fan Yu Fan ( zh, t= , , ; 164–233), courtesy name Zhongxiang, was a Chinese essayist, politician, and writer of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Initially a minor officer under Wang Lang, the Administrator of ...

Zhu Ran Zhu Ran (182 – March or April 249), born Shi Ran, courtesy name Yifeng, was a Chinese military general of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Despite being a childhood friend of Wu's founding emperor, Sun Quan, h ...

, Empress Fu, and Li Ru) # OverKnight Fame 2014 一将成名 2014 (including

Cao Zhen Cao Zhen (died April or May 231), courtesy name Zidan, was a military general of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was an adopted son of Cao Cao, a warlord who rose to power in the late Eastern Han dynasty and l ...

, Chen Qun, Han Hao & Shi Huan, Wu Yi, Zhou Cang, Zhang Song,

Sun Luban Sun Luban ( 229–258), courtesy name Dahu, was an imperial princess of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. She was the elder daughter of Sun Quan, the founding emperor of Wu, and his concubine Bu Lianshi. She is ...

Zhu Huan Zhu Huan (177–238), courtesy name Xiumu, was a military general of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Although he started his career early under the warlord Sun Quan, he did not receive any important responsibil ...

Gu Yong Gu Yong (168 – November or December 243), courtesy name Yuantan, was a Chinese calligrapher, musician, and politician. He served as a minister and the second Imperial Chancellor of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period o ...

Ju Shou Ju Shou (died November 200Ju Shou died soon after the Battle of Guandu ended, which was in Nov 200. Thus, he likely died in late Nov or early Dec 200) was an adviser serving under the warlord Yuan Shao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of Chin ...

, and Lady Cai) # OverKnight Fame 2015 一将成名 2015 (including

Cao Rui Cao Rui () (204 or 205 – 22 January 239), courtesy name Yuanzhong, was the second emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. His parentage is in dispute: his mother, Lady Zhen, was Yuan Xi's wife, but she later remarr ...

Cao Xiu Cao Xiu (died 28 November 228), courtesy name Wenlie, was a Chinese military general of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. A distant younger relative of the warlord Cao Cao, Cao Xiu started his career in the late Easter ...

Zhong Yao Zhong Yao (鍾繇, 151 – April or May 230), also referred to as Zhong You, courtesy name Yuanchang (元常), was a Chinese calligrapher and politician who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and Three Kingdoms period of China. He serv ...

, Liu Chen, Lady Xiahou,

Zhang Ni Zhang Ni (190s - 254), courtesy name Boqi, rendered also as Zhang Yi, was a military general of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Famous for his courage and generosity, Zhang Ni made his name known while rescuing a ...

Sun Xiu Sun Xiu (235 – 3 September 264), courtesy name Zilie, formally known as Emperor Jing of Wu, was the third emperor of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Early life Sun Xiu was born in 235 to Wu's founding emper ...

Zhu Zhi Zhu Zhi (156–224), courtesy name Junli, was a Chinese military general and politician serving under the warlord Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of China. He was from Guzhang County (), Danyang Com ...

Quan Cong Quan Cong (196–247 or 198–249), courtesy name Zihuang, was a Chinese military general of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Born in present-day Hangzhou towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty, Quan Co ...

Gongsun Yuan Gongsun Yuan () (died September 238Cao Rui's biography in ''Sanguozhi'' indicated that Sima Yi laid siege to Xiangping on the ''bingyin'' day of the 8th month of the 2nd year of the ''Jing'chu'' era. However, there is no ''bingyin'' day in that ...

, and

Guo Tu Guo Tu (died 205), courtesy name Gongze, was an official and adviser serving under the warlords Yuan Shao and Yuan Tan during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Life Guo Tu was from Yingchuan Commandery (潁川郡), which is around presen ...

& Pang Ji) # Soul of Original Design 2016 原创之魂 2016 (including Empress Guo, Sun Zi & Liu Fang, Li Yan,

Huang Hao Huang Hao ( 220s–263) was a Chinese eunuch and politician serving under Liu Shan (), the second and last emperor of the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period (220–280) of China. He gained the favour of Liu Shan and became highly inf ...

, Sun Deng, Cen Hun, Liu Yu, and Zhang Rang) # Soul of Original Design 2017 原创之魂 2017 (including

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Ji Kang Ji Kang (, 223–262), sometimes referred to as Xi Kang, courtesy name Shuye (), was a Chinese composer, essayist, philosopher, and poet of the Three Kingdoms period. He was one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove who held aloof from the dan ...

, Wu Xian, Qin Mi, Lady Xu, Xue Zong, Cao Jie, and

Cai Yong Cai Yong (132/133 – ), courtesy name Bojie, was a Chinese astronomer, calligrapher, historian, mathematician, musician, politician, and writer of the Eastern Han dynasty. He was well-versed in calligraphy, music, mathematics and astronomy. On ...

) # Shadow Expansion Pack 阴扩展包 (including Wang Ji, Kuai Liang & Kuai Yue, Yan Yan, Wang Ping, Lu Ji,

Sun Liang Sun Liang (243 – 260), courtesy name Ziming, was the second emperor of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the youngest son and heir of Sun Quan, the founding emperor of Wu. He is also known as the Prince o ...

, Xu You, and Lu Zhi) # Thunder Expansion Pack 雷扩展包 (including Guanqiu Jian, Hao Zhao, Chen Dao, Zhuge Zhan, Lu Kang, Consort Zhou,

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, and Zhang Xiu） # Kingdoms Wars 国战 Order Expansion Pack 阵扩展包 (newly introduced heroes including Cao Hong,

Jiang Wan Jiang Wan (died November or December 246), courtesy name Gongyan, was a Chinese military general, politician, and regent of the state of Shu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Born in the late Eastern Han dynasty, Jiang Wan initially se ...

& Fei Yi,

Jiang Qin Jiang Qin (died late 219/early 220), courtesy name Gongyi, was a military general and naval specialist serving under the warlord Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He previously served under Sun Quan's elder brother and prede ...

, and Empress He) # Kingdoms Wars 国战 Situation Expansion Pack 势扩展包 (newly introduced heroes including Li Dian, Zang Ba, Lady Mi, Chen Wu &

Dong Xi Dong Xi (died 217), courtesy name Yuanshi, was a military general serving under the warlords Sun Ce and Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Service under Sun Ce Dong Xi was from Yuyao County (餘姚縣), Kuaiji Commandery, ...

, and

Zhang Ren Zhang Ren () (died 213) was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Liu Zhang during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Life Zhang Ren was from Shu Commandery (蜀郡), Yi Province, which is around present-day Chengdu, Sichuan ...

) #LTK "1v1" Edition 一战到底 Expansion Pack (2014) (newly introduced heroes including

He Jin He Jin () (died 22 September 189), courtesy name Suigao, was a Chinese military general and politician. He was the military Grand Marshal and regent of the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was an elder half-brother of Empress He (the emp ...

, Niu Jin, and

Han Sui Han Sui () (140s - June or July 215According to Cao Cao's biography in ''Sanguozhi'', Han Sui was killed in the 5th month of the 20th year of the ''Jian'an'' era of Liu Xie's reign. This corresponds to 15 June to 13 July 215 on the Julian calend ...

)

Collector's editions

# Black Collector's Edition (2010) # Red Collector's Edition (2012)

Variations

Variations to the original game are played by people from all over China. The game has since been translated into English. Many people created different ways of playing LTK with no roles. # For three players. Two things have to be concerned about: each player must kill the one that is on your right (who takes the next turn) and also try to save to one on the player's left (who takes the preceding turn). A player dies if the player on the left dies. # Kingdoms War (with five to 12 players) has the same rules without the roles. Everyone chooses their character (five characters to choose from). A few things are different from the original game. The objective is to find the player's ally (who has the same country) and team up to kill other ally. There are no king's abilities. First, players put their character card face down and do not show it to others. Then, whenever a player chooses to use the character's abilities or flip riskily to let others know who the player is. The card is permanently face up because everyone knows which country the player is except when they flip character abilities. # Advanced Kingdoms War: Same on Country kill. Difference are choose from (6 character cards), from those 6 character cards, players choose two character cards with the same Country. During the game, a player's first character that is revealed is the player's gender for the rest of the game. # Fighting the Landlord: A 1v2 gamemode where two Peasants go up against a single Landlord. In order to balance the game, the Landlord always goes first, draws one more card during his drawing phase and can use one more Strike card every turn.

Alternate versions (officially released by YOKA)

# LTK "Q" Edition (Kid's version) (2010) # LTK "3v3" Edition (2010) # LTK "Q God" Edition (Kid's version) (2011) # LTK "3v3" Edition 2 (2011) # LTK "High School" Edition 校园版 (2012) # Kingdoms Wars 国战 (2012) # LTK "3v3" Edition 3 (2013) # LTK "1v1" Edition (2013) # 神话再临 Expansion (Renewed Version) (2013) # 界限突破 - 新标无改 (2013) # 界限突破 - 修改新将 (2013)

Criticisms

LTK is influenced by Bang! and the two share a lot of characteristics, e.g. the basic cards and tool cards. The similarity motivated the creators of Bang! to sue LTK and its Western distributor. While the court found there was potential for copyright infringement on its initial hearing, it ultimately ruled in favor of Ziko Games and dismissed the case in 2016.

References

*{{cite web, title=How to play LTK, url=http://legendsofthethreekingdoms.com/how-play/
LTK Official English Edition in the US
Card games introduced in 2008 Chinese games Collectible card games Works based on Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Relevance to history

Basic rules of the standard mode

Objectives

Types of cards

Play

Death

Point duels

Character allegiance

Expansion packs and collectibles

Playing card expansion

Character card expansions

Collector's editions

Variations

Alternate versions (officially released by YOKA)

Criticisms

See also

References