A fun-sized review of Polite Society: The Jane Austen Board Game

One of my favourites, combining my love of books and games

When I decided to make these board game reviews a staple of Hard Claiming Writer, I knew exactly where I would start on my shelf.  

Polite Society is the perfect intersection for literature lovers and gaming nerds. One of two games from the Australian publisher Veldi Games, this 2018 Kickstarter smashed its stretch goals. 

Sadly, on writing this post, I discovered it’s now only available in Print and Play format. However, if you’re new to board games, and this one seems up your street, $5 for a download is a low commitment way to give it a try. It’s definitely worth the equivalent of two takeaway coffees. 

How it works 

First off, don’t worry. You don’t need to know anything about Jane Austen to play. 

If you’re a big fan of the novels, the illustrated character cards with their select quotations will be an extra reason to love this game. But the mechanics are enough to make it fun and engaging for anyone; for fans of Catan, these will feel particularly familiar. 

Each player starts with a dining table and two guests at their dinner party. Whoever fills the eight places at their table before the other players is the winner. Use your societal assets (Wit, Wealth, Beauty and Heart) to “buy” new guests for your party. Assets are resources you collect either from action cards drawn every turn or from the guests already at your table. All guests have a cost and a reward, and you attach the guest to a numbered seat. Whenever that number is rolled on the dice, you receive the character’s reward. 

Make sure to read the card carefully though! Some characters have nothing at all to offer you and others have negative numbers, causing you to lose assets. Then again, it is a race after all and sometimes filling your table with less valuable guests might be the right road to victory. 

Action cards also let you place ‘indisposed’ tokens on guests at your opponent’s table, preventing them from collecting that character’s reward when the number is rolled. Like the Robber in Catan. 

Looking for more of a challenge? 

Try playing with the optional mission cards! These change the rules and each has two levels of mission. Janeite missions test your knowledge of Austen’s novels. Social Butterfly missions can be enjoyed without prior knowledge.  

They’re an interesting addition but I must confess I haven’t used them much; the base game works so well on its own. 

Why I love it 

It’s fast-paced, simple to learn and compact even with the box – ideal for taking to parties or friend’s homes. There’s little set up so it’s quick to get straight into the game and typically lasts around 30 minutes. I can’t say that about many of my other games! Catan is fairly similar and used to be high on my favourites list; now I’ve almost entirely replaced it in my heart with Polite Society. 

As I mentioned (and not to brag but) the boxed version is beautiful – the illustrations, the tactile tokens. Check out Veldi Games’s Instagram for some lush product photos. You can tell a lot of love went into making this game. 

Most importantly though, it’s Jane Austen themed. Recognising the characters, reading their quotes, and seeing the correlation between their rewards and how they behave in the novels, makes this a special addition for any Janeite’s shelf.