Queries on Gwent: Alternative Game Modes + Poster Board Reveal

Seasoned Gwent players know that the battlefield of Gwent is ever-changing. Outsmarting an opponent in a round of Gwent is one thing—but surviving the chaos of multiple decks and opponents is another challenge entirely. In today’s post, we unveil three new game modes for those bold enough to face them:

1. Tournament Mode
2. 2 vs 2 Mode
3. Free-For-All Mode

As a bonus, stick around until the end to see the poster board that will be included in every box of Gwent: The Legendary Card Game. For those wondering about point tracking, you’ll definitely want to see this!

 

Tournament Mode

Tournament mode is for those looking to triumph as the ultimate Gwent winner. Rules will follow advanced mode with a twist: you will have to prove your mastery by playing multiple decks.

Before starting a tournament battle of Gwent, each player must build 3 decks from 3 different factions (for this reason, we recommend each player have their own copy of Gwent: The Legendary Card Game). Each deck must be composed of:

• 22 Unit/Hero cards (minimum)
• 5 Special Cards (maximum)
• 2 Spy (maximum)
• 2 Medic (maximum)
• The total power of each deck cannot be over 130.

To start, toss a coin to decide which player chooses their deck first. Once both players have chosen, proceed through the game with all the standard rules.

For the second and third game, the winner of the previous game must change their deck and will select it first. The loser can choose to keep or change the deck. The person who wins 2 out of 3 full games is the tournament winner.

 

2 VS 2 Mode

Have you ever wished you could bring a friend to help you during a game of Gwent? When playing 2 vs 2, you can! Team up with a player and battle against another duo.

 

2 vs 2 match from Festival des Jeux Cannes 2025. The team on top is playing Monsters and Northern Realms; the team on the bottom is playing Nilfgaard and Scoia’tael.

 

There are some advantages to playing with a teammate. When playing in a duo:

• Your teammate cannot play the same faction as you.
• You will share the same army on the board.
• You will also share a discard pile and gem counters.
• You can look at your teammate’s hand. What strategic play will you discuss together?
• Every card played adds to your team’s total power.

 

When turntaking, teams will alternate between turns and each team plays one at a time. For example, A1 and A2 are a team battling against B1 and B2. A1 plays first. It is then B1’s turn. A2 plays the next turn, followed by B2.

If a player passes, their teammate can keep playing.

 

Some abilities will also be used differently in this mode.

• Medic: Can be used to recall a Unit from your team’s discard pile. This means you could revive someone from either of your faction’s!
• Commander’s Horn: Affects all the team’s Units on the line.
• Decoy: Can target a Unit played by you or your partner.
• Monster Ability: The card that stays in play must be a Monster card or an enemy spy.
• Nilfgaard Ability: If Nilfgaard is used by both teams, this power is null.
• Scotia’tael Ability: If Scoia’tael is used by both teams, flip a coin among the Scoia’tael players to decide who chooses the starting player.
• Skellige Ability: The cards brought back into play must be Skellige cards or enemy spies.
• Emhyr var Emreis The White Flame: Cancels all leader abilities.

 

Free-for-all Mode (3-5 Players)

Let’s say you’re a group of friends getting together to play Gwent. Why wait to play a round of Gwent… when you could battle everyone at once!

Example of a free-for-all game with 5 players. All five factions are in play at the same time.

 

All standard rules apply, with the following clarifications for these abilities:

• Spy: You choose which opponent gets the spy card.
• Unit’s Scorch: Affects every enemy individually.
• Nilfgaard: If 2 players using Nilfgaard end in a tie, they score the highest position.
• Scoia’tael: If 2 players use Scoia’tael, choose randomly among them who will choose the first player.
• Northern Realms: If you have the bigger score than at least 2 opponents, you draw a card.

To win in a free-for-all, a player must win as many points as there are total players, plus 1. A point is earned for every player defeated at the end of a round. At the beginning of a new round, the player with the most points in the last round plays first. In the event of a tie, tied players score the same number of points as opponents bested. However, ties do not count as victories (unless you play Nilfgaard).

 

Board Reveal

You will undoubtedly be asking yourself, with so many possible gameplay options, how will we keep track of points during each round? Let’s answer this common query (it’s in the name of the blog after all) by revealing the poster board!

It might look overwhelming at first, but it will make sense as we break down each section:

• 1 (on the bottom right for each player) is your discard pile
• 2 is your deck
• 3-5 are the battleground, representing close combat, ranged combat, and siege combat
• 6 is where Commander’s Horn will be placed if used during battle
• 7 is the scoring ladder. You will have two scoring tokens, one for each row, so that you can easily track points after every turn.
• 8 holds the two gem counters that will also be included in the box. These track the number of rounds lost. At the start of a game, place the two gems on the circles below your scoring ladder. After each round, the losing player removes a gem. When a player runs out of gems, they lose the game. 

A closer look at the scoring ladder and counter.

• 9-10 are Player Aids, where you can place Unit Cards with special abilities
• 11 is your Leader card
• 12 is where Weather cards go

To sum up, every box of Gwent: The Legendary Card Game will include the illustrative poster, four score tokens and four gem counters. Players can use score tokens to update their scoring ladder after each turn and the gem counters to track rounds lost. As mentioned in the previous blog post, there will be accessories for those who want sleeves or a neoprene mat.

Questions, comments, feedback? We’re open to all of it! Let us know in the comments what you think of the new game modes!