Disable Bombs, Command Flying Squirrels, and Become Queen of Japan

Unlike some other parts of the world, Japan has done a decent job of keeping COVID-19 in check — 103K cases total vs. 100K new cases in the U.S. on Nov. 4, 2020 — so perhaps it's not surprising that Tokyo Game Market will take place on Nov. 14-15, 2020 as originally planned.

Well, sort of as originally planned. While the show will have physical booths, Game Market has also set up a site for (as I understand it) both recorded and live video of game presentations — GameMarket.live — as well as a Discord for designers to share info and (possibly) demo games. I'm not sure what exactly will be available through these channels, but we can all discover this together over the next week or so before the show takes place.

As for the games that will be introduced at this show, here's a few titles that I've run across, starting with Bomb Squad, a co-operative mission-based game about bomb disposal for 2-5 players from Hisashi Hayashi of OKAZU Brand. I'd love to get more details about gameplay, but this title seems to be a Japanese-only release for now. In any case, here's an overview of the setting and goal:

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Working with limited information, players must pool their wits and resources to dismantle live bombs. Dismantling is carried out by finding pairs of code tiles with the same number. Aim to clear the missions without blowing yourselves up. All players share the victory or suffer defeat together. Work as a team towards victory!

What's more, you and your fellow professional bomb disposal specialists can work through a sequence of fifty missions, which are listed in a separate scenario book. If you wish, you can also just pick and play specific missions that you like. You won't be able to complete everything in one sitting, so gather your friends and meet up over multiple play sessions. The missions start off easy, but steadily grow harder.

• In May 2018, I posted an overview of Sakenobori, a game from こぐまやん (Kogumayan) in which you were challenged to move salmon upstream to lay eggs.

For November 2020, Kogumayan will release the 2-4 player game Sprinkle (このみしぐれ, pronounced "Konomishigure") from designer ぶらちょこ (Blachoco). The Japanese title could be translated to mean "sprinkle of fruits and nuts", which is what you hear falling from trees in autumn, and in the game you are those trees! Here's an overview:

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In Sprinkle, an area-control game themed on "forest creation", you each take on the role of a different tree species and use three different actions — grow trees, move flying squirrels (to spread the seeds), and move the clouds (to sprinkle water) — to gain victory points in the photosynthesis phase, which takes place several times during the game. The victory points you gain depend not only on the number and size of the trees, but also on the weather in the area where the trees grow.

You can also plant trees in each area to gain the "evolutionary power" of that area. By using such power effectively, you can achieve more, such as increasing growth efficiency and generating more victory points.

• A number of Japanese creators have started turning to Kickstarter to make their titles more available on a worldwide basis, but not everyone has figured out how best to reach an audience. Designer 和田啓佑 (Keisuke Wada) from Accent Circonflexe, for example, ran an unsuccessful Kickstarter in September 2020 for 詠天記 (EETenki: The Queen Himiko Chronicles) and is gearing up for another attempt — but before that happens, the game will be on sale at Game Market in a Japanese edition.

The game has an elaborate production and looks like one of those titles that sells out its few dozen copies in minutes at Game Market, and I'm curious to see what kind of support the designer can gain following further exposure through this upcoming event. Here's a rundown of the game's setting and flow, followed by an explanatory video from the designer:

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In the second half of the second century during the Civil War of Wa, a number of small nations chose their leaders and began to fight for supremacy over Japan. Who would be the "Himiko", the queen of Japan, who would later rule the nations?

In EETenki, each player is a priestess-king who can master sorcery and skillfully read the changing weather. They perform rituals and direct agriculture to bring wealth and power to the nation they lead. Players race to get the most victory points by growing rice coins that represent rice plants. These rice coins will grow or rot depending on the weather. On a turn, you perform two actions:

1. Use your sorcery to predict the weather.
2. Push your luck to plant some rice coins, or wait for the next day.

When the weather is good, planting rice coins can yield a better crop and earn you victory points. However, if the weather is bad, your coins will level down (rot) or be lost. Level up (grow) your rice coins efficiently and occasionally buy trade goods to earn victory points. When the fourth sunny card is revealed, players finish that round, then the game ends. The player with the most victory points wins.

This game involves some strategic luck pushing based on previous information, such as calculating probability, but also bluffing and poker face to read your opponent's expressions.