Yokai Septet

 

The Game

Yokai Septet is a trick-taking card game from Japan, by yio and Muneyuki Yokouchi (Cat in the Box). It has some interesting twists. You are monster hunters helping villagers hunt down these naughty creatures which have been terrorising them. Cards numbered 7 in the game are the monsters. In terms of gameplay, you want to win tricks which contain 7's. There are 7 suits in the game, and the interesting thing about them is the number range is different for each suit. E.g. purple cards go from 2 to 8, blue cards go from 7 to 13. To win the game you need to capture a specific number of monsters. However you can also lose the game if you win a certain number of tricks but fail to reach the required number of monsters. I interpret this as you cast many spells and most of them don't work, so you are disgraced. 

The monsters (i.e. the 7's) are the prettiest cards. At the top left corner you can see the number range of the colour. Along the left edge there is a scale with a white dot indicating how strong the card is compared to others in the same colour. For example the green card. The green number range is A to 7. So 7 is the highest number, and you see the white dot at the top of the scale. Since the green monster (7) is the highest card in its colour, it has a good chance of winning a green trick. The blue monster is the lowest card in its colour. When it is played in a blue trick, quite likely it will be lost. 

This reference card shows the number ranges of all the suits. 

This is a 3- or 4-player game. The 4-player game is played in a partnership mode. The trick-taking mechanism is mostly standard. All cards are dealt out evenly. There will be one extra card. It is revealed and its colour will be the trump colour. The lead player of a trick decides the lead colour, and if you have the lead colour you must play it. Only if you don't have it then you can play any other colour. The strongest card in the lead colour wins, unless someone has played the trump colour. Then the strongest trump colour card wins. The A is the strongest card in the deck. There is only one A (green). If it is played, it wins the trick. 

When you (or your team) reach the required number of monsters captured, you win. Or if you win 7 tricks without reaching the target, your opponents win. The winner scores points based on monster cards claimed and also monster cards still in hand (all players). Monster cards have point values on them. You play several rounds, until someone (or team) reaches 7 points. 

The Play

If you have played some trick-taking games, this will be familiar. I did a 4-player game, so we played in teams. There are only 7 cards in each suit. When a player plays a colour for the first time, and every other player is able to follow suit, that's 4 cards of that colour used. There will be only 3 cards of that colour left. If anyone leads with this colour again, for sure someone won't have the colour and will be able to play another colour. 

Team mode is fun because of how you will be able to communicate with your partner through card play. When a round starts, you pass three cards to your partner. That's another way you communicate. When you manage to communicate in subtle ways and cooperate to win, it is highly satisfying. 

Yokai Septet may have 7 different suits, more than typical trick-taking games, and it has this unusual number distribution, but these don't make the play experience very different from other trick-taking games. What stands out more for me is how winning tricks can be a bad thing. If you win too many tricks which do not contain monsters, you're going to lose. So the strategy here is not just about winning monsters. It is also about making your opponents win monsterless tricks. 

When you have too many colours, that can be bad. You will often be forced to play a specific card. If you have a monster in a specific colour, you'd hope to have other cards in the same colour to protect it. For example in the photo above I have the blue monster (7). I also have the blue 8, 9 and 10 which will protect the monster. If an opponent plays a high blue, I can still play my 8, 9 or 10, thus keeping my blue monster in hand. 

When you have only two colours, you will have more flexibility. When other players lead with other colours, you don't have those colours so you can play any colour. However this situation can be bad too. If you are the lead player, and no one else has the colour you lead with, you will keep winning tricks. If you win too many tricks which do not contain monsters, that's bad news. Your partner will need to be smart and feed you monsters if he or she knows you're going to win the trick. 

The Thoughts

Yokai Septet is a trick-taking game with a twist. Japan makes many such quirky little card games. I have not tried it with three, but I suspect it is best played with four. Compared with Cat in the Box, it is closer to typical trick-taking games, so it will probably be easier for casual players to learn. This is a good game to introduce to people outside the hobby who like trick-taking games. They are familiar with trick-taking games, and Yokai Septet will show them how modern game design can add interesting twists to traditional games.