By Kieran/Kyra Barry
If you want a break down of what tournaments there were, and who won which, take a look at this handy article https://viewfromvalehaven.blogspot.com/2026/08/queen-of-hearts-xxxi-knave-of-hearts.html
Ultimately, it was won by Team Heart. Which I feel is fitting for the first Knave of Hearts.
The style of tournaments was unusual compared to QoHs from the last few years, and don't worry Queen of Heart enthusiasts, it will return next year. Knave of Hearts is planned to be every other year on the odd numbered QoH years. I personally enjoyed the conceit of four teams styled after the suits in a deck of playing cards. And each team member was randomly assigned, forcing adaptability and reinforcing that this year is more for the folks here to compete for fun, the carefully laid plans of war tourney practices can be carried out next year for those who want to push themselves. It is a reminder that we're all here to enjoy ourselves, that the lines we use to divide ourselves are arbitrary, and being able to enjoy your fellow players' company regardless can be a boon for the community.
Joe Pieiora originally of Realms fame and now of Diable IV videogame fame, which a good number of our community enjoy playing and some have even based a quest series around, came all the way from California to play during Saturday and in the evening provide an excellent night quest. His family came, his wife a Realmsie herself who was lovely to talk to during Saturday, and their kid who gave a good effort in the kid portion of the event run by Brooke of Rowan fame.
So many folks highly anticipated this night quest, and there was genuine debate on whether to npc or pc to see how the game design would work. I can say, from the pc side, it was excellent. We were faced with an Illinarian threat, not necessarily because of the Illinarians themselves but because of a being they worshipped who was beginning to wake. Their heart was, at least, sending waves of madness out through the area. We ran into new threats and familiar faces, and some that may have been lost were returned. This isn't an Order of the Lantern post so I will focus more on the gameplay than disseminating ic information.
It was lots of fun. We self-sorted into three questing teams which determined the type of interactions we'd have vs high combat vs low to no combat. Thematically was very cool, and visually stunning having gone down the Path of Echoes. We reconvened around a mad god's waking heart and put our information and resources together to put it back to sleep, while slowly realizing our guides weren't necessarily on our side.
Sunday brought the finishing of tournaments, wrap up, and the reveal of who won each tournament, with swords being handed out. As revealed at the start of the article, Team Heart won overall. <3
May we cross swords and bare our hearts again next year on the field of Queen of Hearts.
