One of the biggest deals of the gaming world of 2012 was the arrival of Love Letter on the American and European scene. A brisk little 16-card wonder, Love Letter was originally released in Japan, where “micro-games” are relatively common. AEG had the foresight to bring Love Letter outside of the Land of the Rising Sun. Many got their first taste with prototype copies at GenCon 2012 (if you were at a Legend of the Five Rings Clan dinner at GenCon last year, there was an AEG employee/volunteer there with a prototype copy of Love Letter), and the game had its official release at Essen 2012, where AEG skinned Love Letter as part of its Tempest line. Strange Assembly loved Love Letter, and apparently an awful lot of other folks have as well – Love Letter is well reviewed, has snagged a stack of awards and award nominations, and has sold like hotcakes. With Love Letter making big waves, you can expect to see a parade of micro-games following in Love Letter’s wake (Alderac has something of a jump on this, of course, with Card of the Dead and Agent Hunter hitting at $10 price points for GenCon 2013, and a re-release of Straw at the same price) .

AEG isn’t done with Love Letter yet, however. GenCon 2013 will see the release of the Kanai Factory Limited Edition (the designer of Love Letter is Seiji Kanai, who also designed Mai Star), which is an English-language version of Love Letter with the original art and names (it also includes an alternate-art Princess card with glasses and a Prince, for those who want more variety in their romantic targets). But soon we’re going to see the release of what might possibly be the most awesome combination since peanut butter met jelly:

It’s Legend of the Five Rings! It’s Love Letter! Oh, I swoon just thinking of the L5R art assets that are available to be deployed in this game! Will our Scorpion Courtier here be joined by a Crane Courtier to play the role of Priest (from the Tempest Love Letter)/Clown (from the original Japanese)? Will one (or both) of the sons of the Empress Iweko make an appearance as the target of your affections? Will that last question have something to do with the storyline prize attached to the Love Letter side events for the 2014 Kotei Season?!

I HAVE NO IDEA! But it’s exciting, isn’t it?