18 Cards, 18 Games

There are 18 cards (3 suits of 6 cards each) and we've created 18 games to play with them! Every game is different and the rules are pretty easy to follow. There's something for everyone and each game only takes 5-10 minutes to play.

1. Bento Box (Obentō)

A hand drafting game for 2-3 players. Try to build the best scoring hand while blocking your opponent from doing the same. FIRST deal all the cards into 3 rows of 6 cards, alternating face-up and face-down like this:

ON YOUR TURN take 1 face-up card and 1 face-down card left or right of it into your hand. IF there are only 2 cards left in a 2 player game, just take 1 card. CONTINUE play until all the cards have been drafted.

TO SCORE, add your cards that have:

• 2 or more of the same number
• 3 or more in numerical order
• 4 or more of the same color

Each card may only be used once. THEN subtract your highest value card with no match. WIN by having the highest score.

2. Diet (Dietto)

A strategy placement game for 2-3 players. This game is a little like the game of dominoes, but only a little. FIRST split the deck into hands of 6 cards, one color for each player like this:

THEN the first player places their card face-up on the table. ON YOUR TURN place a card adjacent to any card on the table. Your card must be 1 higher or 1 lower than any card adjacent to it. If you can't place a card, you must pass. The game is over when all players pass. CONTINUE play until the board has 3 rows of 5 cards, a player runs out of cards, or all players pass their turn. ADD the cards left in your hand to score. WIN by having the lowest score.

3. Remember 3 (Oboe San)

A match game for 2-4 players. Similar to the classic memory game you remember as a kid, but with 3 cards to match each turn instead of 2. FIRST deal all cards face-down into 3 rows of 6 cards each, like this:

ON YOUR TURN flip 3 cards of your choice face-up. If all 3 are the same number, place them in your score pile and take another turn. If not, turn them face-down and end your turn. CONTINUE play until all the cards have been taken. WIN by having the most sets of 3.

4. Twelve (Jūni)

A bluff & push-your-luck game for 2-4 players. This game is a simple, turn-based take on "blackjack". FIRST deal each player 1 card face-down and 1 card face-up. ON YOUR TURN you may either draw 1 card face-up or pass. If the total of your visible cards is 12 or over, you must pass. CONTINUE play until all players pass. Reveal your face-down card and add your cards to score. WIN by having the highest score that is 12 or lower.

5. Fishing (Tsuri)

A fishy sort of game for 2-3 players. A sushi themed game needs at least one "go fish" game. FIRST deal 3 cards to each player. ON YOUR TURN ask another player for card of a given number from their hand. If they have any, they must give them to you to place into your hand. If not, you must draw a card. If the card you draw is the number you just asked for, you must take another turn. Place any set of 3 cards of the same number you get into your score pile. END YOUR TURN by drawing a card. If you have to draw but the deck is empty, shuffle all the discards into a new deck. CONTINUE play until all the cards have been played. WIN with the most sets of 3.

6. First Out (Agari)

A game of luck and discards for 2-3 players. It's a bit like "uno", but with sushi. FIRST deal 3 cards to each player. THEN place 1 card face-up to start your discard pile. ON YOUR TURN discard a card that is either 1 higher or 1 lower than the face-up card on the discard pile. If you cannot, draw a card. If you have to draw but the deck is empty, shuffle all the discards except the top card into a new deck. CONTINUE play until a player discards their last card or there are no more cards to draw. WIN by having the fewest cards left in their hand.

7. Order Up (Chūmon)

A frustratingly addictive memory game for 1 player. It's a bit like "Flappy Bird", but not as grueling. FIRST shuffle and place the deck face-down. ON EACH TURN guess “even” (2, 4, 6) or “odd” (1, 3, 5) and draw a card. If your guess was correct, discard the card face-up and take another turn. If you were incorrect, place all the discards face-down on top of the deck and try again from the start. CONTINUE play until you correctly guess or remember all the cards in the correct order. COUNT the number of times you had to start over as your score. CHALLENGE your friends to beat your score.

You can make it more difficult by guessing colors (orange, green or pink), guessing numbers, or both.

8. Conveyor Belt Sushi (Kaitenzushi)

A pass and keep drafting game for 2-3 players. Try to build the best hand while blocking your opponent from doing the same. FIRST deal cards face-down to each player (9 cards for 2 players or 6 cards for 3 players). ON EACH TURN all players choose 1 card from their hand and place it face-down on the table. THEN all players pass their hand to the player on their left. FINALLY all players reveal the card they kept. CONTINUE play until all the cards have been revealed.

9. 12 per row (Jūni Narabi)

A sudoku-like placement game for 1-3 players. It's a little like Sudoku, but just a little. FIRST deal 3 cards to each player. THEN deal one card face-up in the middle of the table. ON YOUR TURN place a card on the table: 1) adjacent to another card; 2) in such a way that you do not make any row or column total higher than 12. SCORE 1 point for any row or column that you make add up to exactly 12. If you cannot place a card then you must pass your turn, otherwise draw a card to end your turn. CONTINUE play until you run out of cards or there are no legal moves. WIN by having the highest score.

For solo play, try to beat your highest score.

10. Castle Quest (Kuesuto)

A push-your-luck game for 1 player. Build a castle then crawl from room to room gathering treasure and avoiding monsters. FIRST find and place the Green 6 card face-up on the table. This is your starting room and gives you a starting health of 6. THEN deal the rest of the cards face-down around your starting card until you have 3 rows of 6 cards each. Or, you can arrange the cards like this:

ON EACH TURN you may enter a room by revealing any face-down card that’s adjacent to any face-up card. Each card has a different effect:

Orange	Add 1-6 treasure
Green	Add 1-6 health
Pink	Subtract 1-6 health

CONTINUE play until you run out of health (total pink is higher than total green) or you decide to stop. SCORE by getting the most treasure without running out of health. CHALLENGE your friends to beat your score.

11. Card Story (Cādo Shibai)

A story making memory game for 2-4 players. FIRST shuffle the deck and place it face-down. THEN draw 1 card and place it face-up and tell a part of a story that includes the card’s number or color (eg. “…ate 3 green spiders…”). ON YOUR TURN repeat the entire story so far. If you are successful, draw a card and place it face-up next to the last card. THEN tell a new part of the story (again, using the card’s number or color). IF you forgot part of the story, draw a card and place it in your score pile. CONTINUE play until all the cards have been played. WIN by having the fewest cards in your score pile.

12. The Bluffs (Hattari)

A bluff and guess game for 2-3 players. FIRST deal 6 cards of each color to each player. Like this:

ON EACH TURN all players choose 2 cards from their hand and place them face-down. THEN everyone flips their cards over at the same time. If you have the highest unique card on the table, place it in your score pile. Discard the rest of the cards played and repeat until all the cards have been played. THEN the add the number of cards in your score pile to your score and start again. CONTINUE playing rounds until a player scores 6 points. WIN by having the most points.

13. Least is Best (Kakeru)

A bluff & swap game for 3-4 players. FIRST deal out 3 cards to each player face-down in a small row in front of them. ON YOUR TURN you may trade one of your cards with a card of your choice with another player. The cards stay face-down and you may not change their order. If you have played at least 2 turns and you believe you have the lowset card score, shout KAKERU! to end the game. THEN all players reveal their cards and add their numeric values to score. WIN with the lowest score.

14. Oinker (Buta)

A push-your-luck game for 2-4 players. A bit like the classic dice game of "pig". ON YOUR TURN shuffle the deck. THEN draw 2 cards and place them face-up on the table.

• IF you drew a 1 then your turn ends with 0 points for the round
• IF you drew a pair of 1’s then you also lose any points you had before your turn
• IF you drew any other pair then draw 2 more cards

OTHERWISE you may choose to draw as many pairs of cards as you dare using the conditions above. CONTINUE as long as you can or wish and END YOUR TURN by adding the cards you've drawn to score your score. CONTINUE play for 3 turns. WIN by having the highest score.

15. The Reaping (Atsumari)

A trading game of tricks for 2-3 players. FIRST deal 2 cards face-up to each player. ON YOUR TURN you must trade one of your cards with any opponent’s card of your choice. Place any sets of cards that add up to 7 into your score pile. END YOUR TURN by drawing 1 card face-up (or 2 cards if you have none left) CONTINUE play until no more cards may be played. WIN by having the most sets of 7.

16. No Touching (Atarazuni)

A dexterity game for 1-4 players. It's like horseshoes but with cards. FIRST line up 6 cards face-up in a row on the far end of a table. Arrange the cards from 1 to 6 where the 6 is closest to the table edge. These are your targets. ON YOUR TURN toss three cards, one at a time, toward the line of cards on the table. END YOUR TURN by scoring each toss by which target card you land closest to without passing or touching. Keep a running total of your score. CONTINUE play for 3 rounds. WIN by having the the highest score.

17. Conscription (Chōhei)

A hand drafting game for 2-3 players. Compete to build the strongest team. NOTE each player should have 6 pawns of their favorite (and unique) color to play. FIRST deal out all the cards into 6 columns of 3 cards each. Players will take turns claiming cards with their pawns while trying to get the best hand of 6 cards, like this:

ON YOUR TURN place one of your pawns on any card that doesn't have a pawn on it on one of your pawns above or below it. CONTINUE play until all players have placed their 6 pawns. WIN with the best score from the cards you claimed with your pawns.

18. Big Table (Ōkina Tēburu)

A strategic linear drafting game for 2-4 players. You are a host at a sushi restaurant trying to seat your customers in front of the best meals. NOTE each player will need a few pawns of their favorite (and unique) color to play:

• 5 pawns each for 2 players
• 4 pawns each for 3 players
• 3 pawns each for 4 players

FIRST shuffle and deal out 16 cards into 4 rows of 4 cards. You will have 2 cards left over. Leave them face-down and away from the table, like this:

ON YOUR TURN flip 1 card faceup. THEN place one of your pawns adjacent to any unoccupied card on the edge, here marked with dots:

The aim of each turn is for your "seated" pawns to see higher value cards than your opponent. For example:

Pawns A, B and C each score the 4 point dish, while pawn D scores the 5 point dish. CONTINUE taking turns until all the pawns have been played. THEN total your score (in the example above, pink would have 9 points while blue would have only 8). WIN by having the highest total points for your pawns.

BONUS!

Use the cards to replace 6-sided dice (up to 3 dice). Shuffle and then draw 1 card for each dice in your roll.

Clarifications

Add	Increase a score by a card’s value.
Adjacent	Cards above, below, left or right only; not diagonally.
Next to	Cards to the left or right only.
Subtract	Reduce a score by a card’s value.