Francisco (Pako) Gradaille has a talent of designing very interesting boardgames, which at the same time cover pretty broad spectrum of mechanics and topics. As you know, I played his Plantagenet extensively and looking forward for soon-to-be published Cuius Regio: The Thirty Years War. In the meantime another title from this designer draw my attention – namely Habemus Papam!

Salt & Pepper Games has a habit (a good one!) of publishing interesting, small and beautiful conflict / competitive games – see The Hunt or Operation Barclay. And when I spotted they are doing a crowdfunding campaign I knew I want to see this game!

Few words about this game before we jump to the Unboxing material. In Habemus Papam – surprise, surprise! – players take on the roles of Cardinal factions, each representing distinct interests within the Catholic Church. Your mission? To influence the election of the next Pope by supporting a candidate whose traits align with your faction’s public profile – covering their stance on the church, age, personality, and origin – while secretly pursuing a hidden agenda that might conflict with your stated goals.

Honestly, the topic seems so interesting that I was wondering why nobody else thought earlier to create game on this. I am going soon to bring this title to the table – but today I am presenting its beautiful components:

Enjoy the material!