This is one of my favourite 2-player games! It’s elegant, easy to learn and every play feels very tight and tense. The ‘I split, you choose’ mechanism works very well and gives some really tough decisions!
2 players, ages 10+
Playing time: 15 minutes
Designer: Kota Nakayama
Artwork: Maisherly Chan
Publisher: EmperorS4
https://en.emperors4.com/
Now live on Kickstarter:
In Hanamikoji, players try to earn the favor of the seven Geishas by bringing them gifts.
Players take turns selecting one of their four available markers, flipping it and performing the depicted action.
Those markers allow you to:
– Place 1 card facedown to reveal it at the end of the round
– Discard 2 cards face down that won’t be scored
– Place 3 cards face-up, with your opponent selecting one and keeping the other two for yourself
– Divide 4 cards in two groups of two cards, with your opponent choosing a set and you keeping the other one.
You place your cards on your side of the row, next to the corresponding Geisha, and the player who has the most cards next to a Geisha at the end of a round wins their favor.
As soon as one player has earned the favor of four Geishas, or has scored 11 Charm points, that player wins the game.
While choosing, players will need to predict which choices their opponent will make as some of the actions allow them to put cards on their side, changing their influence on the Geisha. Making these decisions makes Hanamikoji a very tactical and suspenseful game like no other.
The Hanamikoji mini-expansions are now released and add some really cool twists to the game. Each expansion consists of two sets of four new action markers, and just like the ones in the base game they make players play one, two, three or four cards, in different configurations, giving the game a new dynamic.
Hanamikoji, the mini-expansions and also the new sequel Geisha’s Road are now live on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tbdgames/hanamikoji-geishas-road
Tabletopping 