← all games

Lord of the Chords: The Geekiest, Punniest Music Theory Card Game

#291048BGG ↗

2019 · 2-4 players · 45min · weight 3.00 · 134 ratings

v2 v3 v4 wide v4 deep

BGG raw

ID
291048
Name
Lord of the Chords: The Geekiest, Punniest Music Theory Card Game
Year
2019
Rank
23184
Min players
2
Max players
4
Playing time
45
Min playtime
25
Max playtime
45
Avg weight
3
Num weights
9
Bayes avg
5.50827
Average
6.01157
Users rated
134
Num owned
640
Wanting
6
Wishing
74
Num comments
65
Fetched at
Sat May 02 2026 17:15:10 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
Mechanisms (4)
Open DraftingSet CollectionTake ThatVariable Player Powers
Categories (3)
Card GameEducationalMusic
Description (2008 chars)

Lord of the Chords is a classical music themed, card drafting set collection game for 2-4 players that has real music theory cleverly woven into its game mechanics. Prepare for augmented fun, major geeky learning, and diminished boredom! Players begin by choosing 1 of 13 musical instruments that grant variable player powers. To win the game, players must draft the right Note cards to their hands, according to the active Key Signature tile. Notes are then played to the field, and combined to form Chords. When a Chord that matches the current Key Signature is completed by a player, that Key Signature Tile is claimed! The first Player to collect 3 Key Signatures is the Bringer of Harmony, the Destroyer of Dissonance, the Lord of the Chords! On your turn, you first draft 3 cards, then make 3 moves. You may spend your moves by (1) playing a Note card, or (2) playing an Action card. Other ways to spend moves include: (A) Moving a Note card from one chord to another, (B) buying Accidental Tokens, or (C) spending 2 moves to draft 1 additional card. Note cards must be diatonic to be played, according to the active Key Signature. Action cards range from punny composer cards like “More-zart”, which allows you to draw 2 more cards, to powerful music theory concepts like “Major 7th Steal”, which allows you to turn the tables by stealing another player's hard earned Key Signature tile! Accidental Tokens make it easier to complete chords. They are placed on Note cards to raise or lower the note by a semitone/half step, depending on whether the sharp or flat side is facing up, respectively. Accidental tokens are bought by selling a dotted quarter note/dotted crotchet worth of Note cards. All cards are drafted from a pool of 6 cards, so memory, prediction and counter-strategizing are key to victory. Every play is noteworthy - you can't miss a beat! The player who most recently practiced music goes first, so go practice! —description from the designer

LLM v2 (wide)

Not yet enriched at v2 (wide pass).

LLM v3 (deep)

Not yet enriched at v3 (deep pass).

LLM v4 wide (controlled-vocab primitives)

Not yet enriched at v4 (wide pass).

LLM v4 deep (archetype fit)

Not in the v4 deep-pass top-20% slice.