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Have you ever sat down to play a card game where everyone knows your hand, except you? Sounds ridiculous, but that’s exactly what happens in LUZ.
At its core, it’s a trick-taking game played over four rounds. But the twist is simple and brilliant: you can see the colours of the cards in your hand, but not the numbers. Everyone else at the table knows what you’re holding, while you’re flying blind. It reminded us straight away of Hanabi, but instead of working together, you’re very much on your own, trying to predict how many tricks you’ll win.
👥 3-5 players, ages 10+
⌛ Playing time: 30 minutes
📝 Designer: Taiki Shinzawa
🎨 Artwork: Crocotame
🏢 Publisher: IELLO Games (review copy provided)
How It Plays
Each round, or “deal”, starts with everyone receiving ten face-down cards. You pick them up and look at the front, which is the only time you’ll get to do that this round. Then you sort them by colour and by number within each colour group. You choose whether to arrange them with the highest values on the left or right, and you use a small marker card to show that.
Once you’ve sorted your hand, you pass it face-down to the player on your left and receive a new one in return.
Now you’re holding a fresh hand of ten cards, arranged by someone else. You can only see the backs of the cards, so you know the suits and their order, but the actual values are hidden from you for the rest of the round.
Before the round begins, each player makes a bet on how many tricks they think they’ll win. For each trick you aim to take, you take a yellow bead. You can also grab a blue “safety” bead, which gives you a bit of breathing room. If you win one more trick than you predicted, that bead saves you. It doesn’t give you a huge bonus, but it can stop you from losing points.
Then play begins. The lead player chooses a card to play, setting the suit for that trick. As each player takes their turn, they play a card and reveal it immediately. If you have a card in the required suit, you must play it. If not, you can play anything. You don’t know the value of your card until you play it. Once all cards are on the table, the highest number in the lead suit wins the trick. If someone plays a yellow card, that wins instead, since yellow is always trump.
This continues until all ten tricks are done.
After the round, you check how close you came to your bet. If you didn’t use a safety bead, you have to hit your number exactly. If you did use one, you can be one trick over and still count it as a success, though you score fewer points for it. If you miss your target completely, you lose five points for each trick you were off. That can add up fast.
Each round increases in value, which means even if you mess up early on, there’s still a chance to catch up later.
Visuals and Components
This version of LUZ comes from IELLO, based on a Japanese original by Korokoro Dou and the Kentaiki circle. The rulebook has been slightly adjusted, and the artwork has been redone for this edition.
The first thing you’ll notice is the stained-glass look. The card backs are bold and colourful, with each suit having a unique icon like a flame, moon, or sunburst. It’s helpful during play and gives the game a distinct visual style.
The card fronts are clean and easy to read. Numbers are big, the suits are clear, and the layout is symmetrical. That helps when organising your cards or passing your hand across the table. There’s also a small plus-sign marker to show where your highest values sit within each suit.
The beads are simple and tactile. Yellow for betting, blue for safety. They look a bit like glass droplets, which suits the theme. More importantly, they’re easy to handle and understand.
What It Was Like at Our Table
We’ve played a fair amount of trick-taking games over the years. Some traditional, some with strange rules or unique mechanics. LUZ definitely sits in the “clever twist” category, and for us, it worked really well.
Not being able to see your own cards is strange at first. The first round feels like trial and error. You’re trying to make a sensible bet, but it’s mostly a guess based on the suits you’ve been handed. Then you watch everyone else playing their cards and reacting, and suddenly you realise the game isn’t just about what you play, but how others respond to it.
The comparison to Hanabi is pretty clear, but unlike Hanabi, you’re not working as a team. Here, you’re watching your opponents, trying to read their hands, and hoping they don’t ruin your bet by throwing a surprise trick your way.
We mostly played with three and four players, and that’s where the game felt best. With more players, there’s more chaos, more information to process, and more opportunity for unexpected outcomes. You’re constantly reading the table, guessing who’s strong in which suits, and trying to avoid accidentally taking a trick you didn’t want.
It took a round or two to get used to handling the cards without accidentally turning them over. But once that became second nature, everything flowed smoothly. The pace is snappy, the rules don’t get in the way, and everyone stays involved, even when it’s not their turn.
There’s definitely some deduction involved. You see everyone else’s hands, so you can track what suits are strong or weak in other players. But the game also removes some cards from the deck each round, so you’re never working with complete information. You’re making educated guesses, not exact calculations.
Some of our favourite moments were the ones that went completely off-script. Winning a trick we didn’t want, or watching someone panic after playing a card that backfires. It’s a game that encourages a bit of table talk, some second-guessing, and plenty of reactions. That kept the mood light, even when we completely messed up a round.
By the final deal, everyone had settled into their own strategy. Some played it safe and took the safety bead. Others took risks and bet high, hoping to cash in. There was a nice sense of escalation without dragging the game out.
The Verdict
LUZ takes the trick-taking format and shifts the focus from managing your hand to watching what others do. It’s less about card counting and more about paying attention, taking risks, and adapting as you go.
We’d recommend it to players who enjoy deduction games or those who like a bit of unpredictability in their strategy. If you’re into games like The Crew, Hanabi, or even Skull, there’s a good chance this will click with you. And if you’re a fan of classic trick-takers but feel like you’ve seen them all, LUZ might surprise you.
That said, it’s not going to work for everyone. If you want full control over your decisions, or if randomness frustrates you, this might not be the best fit. Sometimes you’ll do everything right and still miss your bet. Other times you’ll play horribly and still come out ahead. It depends on the mix of luck, deduction, and timing.
The game is well produced, easy to learn, and keeps the whole table engaged. It’s probably not a game we’d bring out every game night, but when we’re in the mood for something a bit different and a bit unpredictable, LUZ makes a solid choice.
And if you’re curious to try it out, LUZ is also available to play online at Board Game Arena.
📝 We received a copy of LUZ from IELLO for review.
