tabletoppingboardgames 
Stamp Showdown is a game where the theme sounds very polite, but the table experience ends up being a bit sharper than you expect. You’re competing in a stamp exhibition, building a collection by trading cards through a shared market, and every so often you compare results to see who did best. That sounds friendly enough. Let’s face it, it doesn’t stay friendly for long.
Each player takes on the role of a collector, slowly improving their hand over time. Every competition ends with a showdown, where everyone reveals their best five-card poker hand. Poker hands are the end goal here, but the way you get to them feels different from just sitting down and playing poker.
The game uses a standard 52-card deck and is played over four short competitions. Each competition is made up of several quick rounds, followed by a showdown. Scores carry over, and after the fourth competition, whoever has the most points wins. It’s a straightforward structure, easy to follow, and easy to explain without losing people halfway through.
👥 2-6 players, ages 14+
⌛ Playing time: 10 minutes
📝 Designers: James Ernest
🎨 Artwork: Rixt Heerschop
🏢 Publisher: Foursuit Studio (review copy provided)
Check out Stamp Showdown on Kickstarter
Gameplay Overview
At the start of each competition, the deck is adjusted based on player count by removing low-ranked cards. The deck is shuffled, and each player gets four cards as their starting hand. Every competition consists of seven rounds and then a showdown.
Each round begins with four cards dealt face up into the middle of the table. This is the market. Everyone then chooses one card from their hand and plays it face down. Once all players have committed, the cards are revealed and resolved from highest to lowest rank, with aces high. If two cards share the same rank, suit order breaks the tie, with spades first, then hearts, diamonds, and clubs. This detail feels small until it suddenly isn’t.
When your card resolves, you take all cards from the market that match either the rank or the suit of the card you played. Those go straight into your hand. Your played card then joins the market. There’s no hand limit during play, so hands can grow quickly.
If your card doesn’t match anything in the market, it’s considered missing. In that case, you can take any single card from the market. You might do this because you have no better option, or because you want a very specific card before someone else gets it.
After all played cards have been resolved, the round ends. After the final card has resolved, any cards remaining in the market are discarded. Then a new round begins with four fresh cards.
After the seventh round, it’s time for the showdown. Each player chooses the best possible five-card poker hand from their hand and reveals it. Hands are ranked using standard poker rankings. If you know basic poker hands, you’re good to go, and the game includes a handy reference just in case.
Scoring is relative. The strongest hand scores points equal to the number of players. Each next hand scores one point fewer, and the weakest hand scores zero. Once scores are written down, a new competition begins, unless you’ve already played four. After the fourth competition, the highest total score wins.
Artwork, Components, and Visual Design
Stamp Showdown comes in a small tuck box with a custom deck of cards and nothing else. You’ll need something to keep score, but that’s it. It’s clearly designed as a card game first, without extra components trying to justify the box.
The cards are designed to look like postage stamps, with perforated edges printed around each card. It’s a strong visual idea and easy to read at the table. The suits are colour-coded, which helps a lot once cards start moving quickly.
Instead of traditional face card illustrations, the deck features stamp-style imagery. You’ll see historical figures, inventions, and landmarks. The illustration style feels consistent across the deck, which helps it look like a single collection rather than a mix of unrelated images.
Card values and suit symbols are clearly printed in the corners. The artwork doesn’t interfere with play, which matters here because you’re constantly checking ranks and suits. Everything looks nice, but nothing gets in the way.
Our Experience
What stood out right away is how fast it is to set up and how easy it is to start another competition once one ends. The structure keeps things moving, and the familiar poker foundation helps people get comfortable quickly.
That said, if poker hands aren’t something you’re used to, you’ll probably be checking the reference more often in the first few rounds. It’s not hard to learn, but it does ask a bit more from players who haven’t seen these hand rankings before.
Rounds move along without much waiting because everyone chooses their card at the same time. The main flow is easy to remember. Play one card, resolve from high to low, collect matching cards, and move on. What makes this interesting is how the market keeps changing. Every card played affects what the next player can do.
I didn’t think much of the missing rule at first, but it ends up shaping a lot of decisions. It prevents turns where nothing happens, but it also creates moments where you take a card mostly because you don’t want someone else to have it. Sometimes that feels more important than improving your own hand.
Hands grow quickly, especially early on. With no hand limit, players are encouraged to collect broadly and figure things out later. You’re not forced to commit to one direction too early, which makes the early rounds feel open.
Because the deck is finite and trimmed, paying attention helps. You don’t need to memorise every card, but noticing patterns over time makes a difference.
As the showdown approaches, the game can slow a bit. Choosing the best five-card hand from a large hand takes longer for some players. It’s not a major issue, but it’s noticeable if someone likes to take their time.
Our Thoughts
Stamp Showdown doesn’t advertise itself as confrontational, and there’s no direct attacking built into the rules. Still, interaction is always present. Once players understand how denial works, especially through timing and the missing rule, decisions start affecting each other more directly.
Because cards resolve by rank and suit order, timing matters. Acting early can mean collecting a lot from the market. Acting later means dealing with what’s left behind. This shifts the focus toward when to act rather than just what to collect.
Value doesn’t stay put. Cards that look useful one moment can disappear before your turn comes around. You’re often reacting to what just happened rather than executing a long-term plan.
Most of what matters in this game happens in the market. The end result is still a poker hand comparison. For some players, that familiarity helps. For others, it might feel like a lot of play leading to a result they already understand. Whether that works for you depends on how much you enjoy the process itself.
Scoring keeps results close. Differences between players are often small, which keeps everyone involved across all four competitions. At the same time, putting together an excellent hand doesn’t always feel much better than putting together a decent one, because the point difference can be minimal.
As a competition goes on, priorities shift. Early on, having more cards gives you options. Later, extra cards matter less, and control over specific ranks or suits becomes more important.
Stamp Showdown expects plans to change. Cards you were hoping to use will disappear. Turns don’t always line up the way you want them to. The game keeps asking you to decide whether it’s worth waiting or better to act now.
The rules are easy to teach, and most players will be comfortable after a round or two. Getting good at it takes longer. Understanding how timing, denial, hand growth, and the trimmed deck all come together is where the depth shows.
I’d recommend the game to players who enjoy interactive card games and don’t mind having their plans interrupted. I can imagine some people wanting bigger swings. For us, the small decisions piling up were enough to make us come back to it.
If you want to see more or get your hands on a copy, check out the game’s Kickstarter here.
📝 We received a copy of the game from Four Suit Studio.
