Tokyo Game Market • May 2016 III — Game Overviews of Gaijin Dash!, Trick of Spy, Rummy 17, Mushroom Mania, Same One!, Genie's Banquet & Matadoon!

Filming at the Tokyo Game Market is tough. The event lasts only seven hours, tables are small, few people speak English (and I can only count a bit in Japanese), and most JP designer/publishers don't want to appear on camera anyway. Add all that together, and you can understand why I didn't film any game overviews during TGM itself.

Instead my guide/translator Ken Shoda met me at the Tokyo game café Dear Spiele on the Saturday following TGM, where we spent four hours reading rules (Ken), asking questions (me), and filming these videos (my wife Linda). As you might be able to tell from the walls around us, Dear Spiele has a great selection of games and I'll post lots of pics from the café in another TGM picture round-up. Many thanks to Ken for volunteering to do this, especially since he seemed to be coming down with a cold at the time!

• We'll start with an overview of the non-Japanese game Gaijin Dash!, self-published by designers Antoine Bauza and Corentin Lebrat and released in a 500-copy edition at TGM.

• Reiner Knizia seems to have had a handful of games released or re-released at each TGM that I've attended. In May 2016, Oink Games released a snazzy version of Twins, New Games Order had an in-joke-filled version of Escalation!, and Ten Days Games released the seemingly new Rummy 17. I say "seemingly new" as (1) it's hard to track everything that Knizia has released over the years and (2) the game is mostly standard rummy aside from a few twists — but naturally the twists are what's going to make this game something different.

• A couple of titles from designer Susumu Kawasaki (Traders of Carthage/Osaka, R-Eco) have made their way into markets around the world, but he produces at least one new title each year through his own Kawasaki Factory and those never seem to leave Japan. At TGM in May 2016, Kawasaki debuted Trick of Spy, a trick-taking/deduction combination for 3-4 players.

• I wasn't sure what to expect from looking at the Mushroom Mania box, but BGG owner Scott Alden asked me to buy a copy for him, so I did. Then I discovered that it contained rules only in Japanese, which isn't uncommon, but thankfully Ken was able to explain all, so we can now all consume the 'shrooms (so to speak) at BGG.CON Spring. Here's an overview of this design from Peke and Takamagahara:

• Before TGM opened, I didn't know all the details of Genie's Banquet — a title from Naoki Eifuku and Yu Takada — but I did know that (1) it's a co-op game with (2) a solo mode and (3) players laying down numbered and suited cards in order to clear goals, and that reminded me enough of house favorite The Game to transport money out my wallet and into the hands of publisher Kotatsu Party.

• I wrote an overview of Yoshihisa Itsubaki's MountTen in November 2015, and now he and One Draw have released Same One!, an evolved version of that hand-voiding design that allows you to scale the difficult up or down depending on the age (or experience) of the players.

• Most of the games released at TGM consist solely of cards since those games take up less space on shelves, cost less to create and buy, and take less time to produce — but sometimes you'll find board games among the TGM offerings, as with Ejin Laboratory's Matadoon!, which contains a tiny handmade board that folds up to fit in the equally tiny box, along with four player screens, four meeples, a bunch of paper tiles, and a bag.

Aside from the game, I've amazed by the "Matadoon!" name given the explanation presented in this video. Lots of layers in a single word!

• In addition to recording these game overview videos at Dear Spiele, Ken and I interviewed café owner Masashi Kawaguchi about his experience running the store and dealing with competition from those setting up game cafés in the wake of his success.

Tokyo Game Market • May 2016 III — Game Overviews of Gaijin Dash!, Trick of Spy, Rummy 17, Mushroom Mania, Same One!, Genie's Banquet & Matadoon!

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Tokyo Game Market • May 2016 III — Game Overviews of Gaijin Dash!, Trick of Spy, Rummy 17, Mushroom Mania, Same One!, Genie&#039;s Banquet &amp; Matadoon!

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Tokyo Game Market • May 2016 III — Game Overviews of Gaijin Dash!, Trick of Spy, Rummy 17, Mushroom Mania, Same One!, Genie's Banquet & Matadoon!

New Game Round-up: Sweets on the Streets, More Zombie Fighters, and Team Spirit for Cash 'n Guns

New Game Round-up: Welcoming Tides of Madness, Succeeding Alexander, Revisiting Barony & Eating Fresh Fruit