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Here's an overview of this well-rated, but hard-to-find 2-4 player game:
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Edo — what we now know today as Tokyo, Japan — was a thriving city with an estimated population of one million, half townspeople and half samurai. With a huge shopping culture, Edo's main district, Nihonbashi, was lined with shops, selling kimonos, rice, and so much more.
Nihonbashi is the focus of IKI, which brings you on a journey through the famed street of old Tokyo. Hear the voices of Nihonbashi Bridge's great fish market. Meet the professionals who carry out all the different jobs. Enter the interactivity of the shoppers and vendors. Become one with the townspeople.
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One of the main professions in the world of Edo is the artisan. Each of the Edo artisans uses their own skill of trade to support the townspeople's lives. In this game, not only are there artisans, but street vendors, sellers at the shops, and professions unique to this time and age. Meet the puppet masters, putting on a show. Meet the ear cleaners that people would line up for.
The goal of this game is to become the annual Edoite, best personifying what is known as "IKI", an ancient philosophy believed to be the ideal way of living among people in Edo. Knowing the subtleties of human nature, being refined and attractive — these are all elements of a true IKI master.
Notes SWAF, "We have been working on the game for more than a year: new art, improved ergonomics, and some rule modifications (mainly two players)..."Nihonbashi is the focus of IKI, which brings you on a journey through the famed street of old Tokyo. Hear the voices of Nihonbashi Bridge's great fish market. Meet the professionals who carry out all the different jobs. Enter the interactivity of the shoppers and vendors. Become one with the townspeople.
New cover with non-final art
One of the main professions in the world of Edo is the artisan. Each of the Edo artisans uses their own skill of trade to support the townspeople's lives. In this game, not only are there artisans, but street vendors, sellers at the shops, and professions unique to this time and age. Meet the puppet masters, putting on a show. Meet the ear cleaners that people would line up for.
The goal of this game is to become the annual Edoite, best personifying what is known as "IKI", an ancient philosophy believed to be the ideal way of living among people in Edo. Knowing the subtleties of human nature, being refined and attractive — these are all elements of a true IKI master.
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Here's an overview of this 1-4 player game, which is funding on Kickstarter in December 2020 ahead of a planned Q3 2021 release:
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In Momiji, you attempt to fulfill objectives by collecting the most valuable autumn leaves from the Imperial Garden in ancient Japan.
You start with a hand of six leaf cards and a series of three landscape powers that combine to form a unique panorama. (For the first game, landscapes are assigned, but they can be drafted in subsequent games.) Leaf cards come in 4-6 types depending on the number of players, with values of 0-3 in each type. Start with four random cards in the central playing area, sorted by type. Place 4-6 randomly chosen objective tokens in the center of play; sample objectives are collecting the most 0s, having the most cards of a specific type, or having the highest sum of visible cards at game's end.
On your turn, choose one of these three options:
—Collect leaf cards: Take all the leaves of one type from the central display and add them to your hand; if you wish, pay one acorn token to reveal four new leaf cards prior to choosing a type.
—Play leaf cards: Place 1-2 leaf cards of the same type or two or more cards of different types in your player area. Each type is placed in its own pile, with 0 being the first card you can play of a type; each subsequent card must the same number or at most one larger. Once you play a 3 on a pile, cover that pile with a torii token as that pile is now closed for you. If you play different types, then after playing, each pair of adjacent topmost cards in your area; if both cards show an acorn on the adjacent corners, you take two acorn tokens from the reserve.
—Activate a objective token: Pay three acorn tokens to place an objective token in your player area. This activates the objective, and anyone might score for it at game's end.
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Once during a turn, you can discard two cards from your hand for one acorn token or spend an acorn to use a landscape power or do both of these actions. You can use each landscape power at most once during a game.
When the leaf card deck is empty or after 4-6 leaf piles are closed with a torii token, the game ends. For each pile of leaves, you score points equal to the value of the topmost card multiplied by the number of cards in the pile. Remaining acorn tokens are worth 1 point each. For each activated objective, you see who best meets the condition and therefore scores points; if the player holding the token scores, they receive 10 points, whereas anyone else who scores that objective receives 3 points. Each player scores in case of a tie. The player with the most victory points at the end of the game wins.
You start with a hand of six leaf cards and a series of three landscape powers that combine to form a unique panorama. (For the first game, landscapes are assigned, but they can be drafted in subsequent games.) Leaf cards come in 4-6 types depending on the number of players, with values of 0-3 in each type. Start with four random cards in the central playing area, sorted by type. Place 4-6 randomly chosen objective tokens in the center of play; sample objectives are collecting the most 0s, having the most cards of a specific type, or having the highest sum of visible cards at game's end.
On your turn, choose one of these three options:
—Collect leaf cards: Take all the leaves of one type from the central display and add them to your hand; if you wish, pay one acorn token to reveal four new leaf cards prior to choosing a type.
—Play leaf cards: Place 1-2 leaf cards of the same type or two or more cards of different types in your player area. Each type is placed in its own pile, with 0 being the first card you can play of a type; each subsequent card must the same number or at most one larger. Once you play a 3 on a pile, cover that pile with a torii token as that pile is now closed for you. If you play different types, then after playing, each pair of adjacent topmost cards in your area; if both cards show an acorn on the adjacent corners, you take two acorn tokens from the reserve.
—Activate a objective token: Pay three acorn tokens to place an objective token in your player area. This activates the objective, and anyone might score for it at game's end.
Once during a turn, you can discard two cards from your hand for one acorn token or spend an acorn to use a landscape power or do both of these actions. You can use each landscape power at most once during a game.
When the leaf card deck is empty or after 4-6 leaf piles are closed with a torii token, the game ends. For each pile of leaves, you score points equal to the value of the topmost card multiplied by the number of cards in the pile. Remaining acorn tokens are worth 1 point each. For each activated objective, you see who best meets the condition and therefore scores points; if the player holding the token scores, they receive 10 points, whereas anyone else who scores that objective receives 3 points. Each player scores in case of a tie. The player with the most victory points at the end of the game wins.
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Later in 2021, rigoler will release a new edition of Stefan Dorra's Linie 1, a.k.a. Streetcar, a super fun game that I haven't played in more than a decade. How time flies...
In the game, you're given a secret list of terminals that you need to connect with track and buildings that you need to stop at while traveling from one terminal to the other — but the board starts track-free, with each player laying down two tiles on a turn to attempt to build an efficient network without revealing where you're going since everyone else will mess you up. Once you've finally completed the track, you start moving your streetcar, ideally reaching your far terminal first in order to win.
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The publisher notes that it's consulting original artist Franz Vohwinkel on the look of this new release, trying to modernize the feel of the game while possibly retaining the bouncing, joyful appearance of that airborne trolley.
Finally, in 2021 rigoler plans to release a JP edition of Ken Gruhl's co-operative game Cahoots, which I covered in depth here, and a new edition of the two-player game 聖杯サクセション (Throne and the Grail) from designer Nao Shimamura that was first released in 2016 by 大気圏内ゲームズ (Taikikennai Games). Here's an overview of the design, which features deliciously simple gameplay:
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The King nears death — which of you will succeed him? To win, you must gather the support of the various kinds of citizenry...or you could try to claim the throne with the legendary power of the grail.
To set-up the game, remove three cards from the deck of 45 cards, then lay out two cards to start the line. Each round, each player receives five cards in hand, and each turn you either play one card from your hand to the end of the line or — once per round — collect the most recently played five cards. Once all the cards from hand have been played, deal out five cards to each player and start the next round. After four rounds, the game ends.
Some cards have positive or negative numbers on them, and you score those points directly. Other cards are numbered 5-8, and you score 5-8 points for a value if you have more of those cards than the other player. Additionally, you score 5 points for each set of 5-8 that you've collected. And while normally points decide who wins, if you collect all three grail cards — each of which are worthless on their own — you win immediately.
Can you get a hold on the kingdom without letting your opponent gather all the pieces of the grail?
To set-up the game, remove three cards from the deck of 45 cards, then lay out two cards to start the line. Each round, each player receives five cards in hand, and each turn you either play one card from your hand to the end of the line or — once per round — collect the most recently played five cards. Once all the cards from hand have been played, deal out five cards to each player and start the next round. After four rounds, the game ends.
Original edition
Some cards have positive or negative numbers on them, and you score those points directly. Other cards are numbered 5-8, and you score 5-8 points for a value if you have more of those cards than the other player. Additionally, you score 5 points for each set of 5-8 that you've collected. And while normally points decide who wins, if you collect all three grail cards — each of which are worthless on their own — you win immediately.
Can you get a hold on the kingdom without letting your opponent gather all the pieces of the grail?
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