Capote Review: The Best Way to Lose Friends for Under Five Bucks

This game is digital chaos, cheap beer, and a screaming match with your buddies, all rolled into one.

I'm not going to sit here and tell you Capote is the next Slay the Spire. It's not some galaxy-brain, innovative masterpiece.

What it is, however, is a digital table, a deck of cards, and a perfect excuse to absolutely ruin your friends' night. And I fucking love it for that.

It’s based on a Brazilian bar game, and it perfectly captures that chaotic bar vibe. This is less about high-level strategy and more about high-level shouting.

How to Ruin a Friendship

The rules are simple, which is what makes it so damn devious. You get a hand of cards and everyone bets on exactly how many "tricks" (rounds) they think they'll win. The key is, you have to hit that number exactly.

If you bet two and win three, you lose. If you bet two and win one, you lose. For every trick you're off, you have to take a virtual "shot." Four shots and you're capotado, out of the game.

This turns every round into a beautiful mess of sabotage. My buddy needed one more trick to win his bet, and I watched our other friend, who had already busted his own bet, intentionally throw a high card just to make him fail. It's the digital equivalent of flipping the table.

Sabotage Is the Real Strategy

The special cards are where the real Uno-style "fuck you" energy comes in.

You can play a card that forces the next player to play their highest card, completely wrecking their plan. Or another that just reverses the turn order, or messes with the betting.

This system ensures no victory is guaranteed. It’s designed for those moments where you laugh yourself sick as your friend's "perfect" hand goes up in flames because of one stupid card you played. It’s glorious.

The Early Access Bar Vibe

I've been playing this since the playtests, and the vibe is spot on. The character models are cartoony and fun, and the built-in voice and text chat are essential. This is a game you must play with friends while talking trash.

Playing solo with randoms just isn't the same. You need that personal connection to really twist the knife.

That said, it's definitely still in Early Access. I've seen some bugs, like cards not showing up on the table, and the main menu is pretty barebones. There's not even a proper settings menu, which is an odd choice.

The Verdict

Look, Capote isn't trying to reinvent the wheel. It's a cheap, incredibly fun, and laser-focused party game designed to make you laugh and scream. It knows exactly what it is.

It desperately needs more polish, custom game options and some more general love. But for what it costs? It’s already become one of those sacred Friday night rituals for me and my group.

Score: 8.0/10 - Like Uno, but with more betting, more chaos, and a higher chance of ending a 10-year friendship.

We at NLM received a key for this game for free, this however didn't impact our review in any way.