Play This: Sushi Go!
I like sushi every now and then but I only eat it three or four times a year. So I was skeptical that I would like a card game about creating sushi meals. But Sushi Go! has quickly become one of my favourite games.
The object of the game is simple: Make the best combination of sushi dishes from the cards in your hand. What’s the best combination? That’s where things get interesting.
There are many different dishes that can wind up in your hand, and players get different scores for different combos. Want to play it safe and collect maki? The player with the most maki gets 6 points, while the player with the second most gets 3 points. Everybody else gets food poisoning. Or you could be adventurous and try the sashimi — if you collect three sashimi cards you get 10 points. Anything less and you’re picking up the bill. Then there are wild cards of a sort. Wasabi triples the value of your next nigiri. Chopsticks allow you to get extra cards and so on.
The real fun part of the game is you don’t stick with the same hand all game. Each turn you select one card from your hand that effectively becomes your order. Then you lay down your card so everyone can see it and you pass your hand to the player on your left while receiving the cards of the player on your right. It’s like one of those sushi boat setups. You never know what’s coming to you, so figuring out what to collect is always a bit of a gamble. On the other hand, you can see what everyone else is trying to collect so you can try to come up with ways to make sure they don’t enjoy their meal.
The game usually proceeds quickly, lasting about around 20 minutes or so, with the winner being the player with the most points after three rounds. Almost everyone I know is always hungry for more and wants to play again.
The game art is beautiful and it comes in a lovely box as well if you get the party pack version with all the cards and a game board. I highly recommend that, as most people end up ordering it after playing the basic game anyway.
It’s a good pick for family games as well, as the rules are easy to pick up and kids generally seem to enjoy it.
Just remember to leave room for dessert! (Seriously. I keep losing games because I don’t think of dessert points.)
