Devious is an anti-set collection card game. Build the strongest faerie alliance over five rounds and claim the crown. To do so you must play and hold in your tableau a single faerie from each of the faerie tribes, of the highest rank possible. But be wary, a second faerie of a given tribe negates your score - and more than two plunges your score into the negatives. Seek only the highest ranking faerie from each tribe for the strongest alliance possible. But each tribe has a unique power and the ability to manipulate faeries from around the table, including your own. Gaining the upper hand will be both chaotic and devious.

To set up before the game, players decide which six faerie tribes to use in the game from the 13 suits included in the box. They can be mixed and matched so game play varies from game to game.