This thematic combat game comes from The Swashbuckler Press, and is self-published at The Game Crafter.

MC&CI is an expandable card game with what appears to be simple but interesting mechanics (I haven’t played it). Play cards and combinations, aiming for the highest battle strength. Hang onto cards for the next battle if it looks like you’re losing this one. There are numerous expansions available.

The game is also an illustration of the weakness of the direct-to-the-public publishing system that does not pass through the hands of an editor. The cover of the box needs some graphic design work, as you can see. The 23 long pages of rules are written badly. For instance, rather than writing “Deal 7 cards to each player and set aside the remaining cards as the draw pile,” the rules read as follows:

The cards are dealt to each player face-down, so no-one else can see them. The Dealer starts by giving the person to their left the first card; the person to the first person’s left gets the second card; and so forth; dealing in a clockwise manner, until all seven (7) cards are finally given to all players. During the dealing, each player will place their seven (7) cards into their hands (of course, they can see their own cards; but the other players cannot!). The remaining cards, after all players are given their initial seven (7), are then placed off to the side (but reachable by the Dealer) into a single stack, face down. This unused stack will become the ‘DRAW-PILE,’ from which ONLY the Dealer may draw from.

Someone do the world some good: pick up the game and give it a decent rulebook and graphics.