The "Bastard Games" subtitle refers to the tournament structure of the endgame. To claim the throne, you must survive the "Three Trials of the Unworthy"—a gauntlet of betrayal, combat, and resource management so tight that it makes FTL: Faster Than Light look like a vacation.

Rook has no face to hide. No self to reveal. Rook is the game given form. When the mask touches Rook’s absence, something will happen that has never happened in three hundred years of Kingsfalls.

Mother Sallow gave away the name of her favorite spy-child to an enemy house. The child will be tortured for information within the hour. She has already replaced her.

With no true heir, the King’s three illegitimate sons—the Bastards—laid claim to the ruins. They did not use diplomacy. Instead, they turned the King’s sprawling, trap-laden estate into a series of lethal arenas. The rule was simple: the last one standing would claim the "Harrowed Crown" and the right to rebuild the fallen monarchy. The Contenders Kaelen the Smith