Review: The Jane Austen Game

A family-friendly Austen adventure

Oct 01, 2024

I was given the opportunity to try out “The Jane Austen Game,” a new immersive board game from Laurence King Publishing by Ellie Dix and Mandela Fernandez-Grandon. I had a lot of fun playing this game. In it, you get to play as one of Austen's six heroines, and you can either marry a dashing suitor or become a woman of independent mind. I love that you can choose which path your character takes. The game lets you decide where your character goes. You can go on an outing, go to dinner, call on friends, stay at home, or walk around town. And at the end of every round, you can have a ball and collect suitors. It’s up to you if you keep them or trade them. The game is for 2-6 players and takes about 45 minutes to an hour. It’s a family-friendly game that even my aunt, who knows nothing about Jane, loved playing.

The cover for "The Jane Austen Game" by Ellie Dix and Mandela F-G. It features colorful illustrations of Austen characters, houses, and an illustration of Austen herself by Barry Falls.

The first thing that popped out to me were the gorgeous illustrations by Barry Falls. I think I spent more time examining each illustrated card than playing the game.

Game pieces, game boards, and the instruction booklet for "The Jane Austen Game."

As a board game novice, I was a little intimidated by the instruction booklet. I recommend allotting time to learn the rules before gameplay. However, my cousin assured me that for anyone who plays board games regularly the instructions are pretty standard and won’t pose much of a challenge. For newbies like me, a few rounds of gameplay should be enough to get you up to speed. And if you do forget how to play there are handy cards given to each player with a summary of gameplay rules. Just be aware of the learning curve.

As far as the production quality, the board itself is sturdy, the cards are thick, the die is wooden, and the tokens are easy to pop out. The character figurines are a little flimsy, however, and could use some more stability. They came apart when I moved them to the next location. It would also be nice to get a baggie to hold the game pieces for storage.

Game figurines for "The Jane Austen Game."

“The Jane Austen Game” is on sale starting October 8, 2024.

I would also encourage everyone to check out some of the goodies that Laurence King Publishing sent me: “Matchmaking: The Jane Austen Memory Game,” “Jane Austen Playing Cards,” and “The World of Jane Austen” puzzle. They all feature beautiful illustrations from Barry Falls.

The boxes for "The Jane Austen Game," "The World of Jane Austen" puzzle, "Matchmaking: A Jane Austen Memory Game," and "Jane Austen Playing Cards." Image 2: The game board during a round of play for "The Jane Austen Game." The many pieces are assembled on the board. Image 3: The Emma Woodhouse character board and character cards during a round of play of "The Jane Austen Game." Image 4: Cards from both "Matchmaking: A Jane Austen Memory Game" and "Jane Austen Playing Cards" are spread out on a table next to "The Jane Austen Game" and "The World of Jane Austen" puzzle. Image 5: A close up of the cards from "Matchmaking: A Jane Austen Memory Game"

Check out the video below for a more in-depth look at “The Jane Austen Game” and the other goodies from Laurence King Publishing!

@austen1stdrafts I had a lot of fun checking out “The Jane Austen Game” from Laurence King Publishing. Watch my review and go to my Substack for a more in-depth look (link in bio). “The Jane Austen Game” is on sale on October 8th. #janeausten #janeaustentok #austentok #janetok #thejaneaustengame #janeaustengame #boardgamereview #boardgame #boardgames #puzzle #matchmaking

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