A colorful game of card drafting
👘Kimono Memories is the newest entry in the Hanamikoji series. This is a new standalone game, the only thing it shares with Hanamikoji is the theme of Japanese culture and kimonos, though it is a duel game again! 2 players will face off, trying to create a better collection of photos with colorful kimonos and props.
The game is centered around 5 tug-of-war tracks and a shared pool of cards laid out in a circle. 🧐 On your turn you will move the Photographer 📷 meeple 1-3 spaces on the card-rondel and take the last card you jumped over. You then have to place this card in your tableau, either to the left or right of previous cards, or above them in a pyramid shape. Depending on what card you took and what symbols you complete, you can pull the corresponding tokens on the tracks towards you.
There are multiple things to look out for when drafting cards! ☝️
🏮You want to pick the colors where you need to move on the matching tracks.
🏮You want cards that could help finish half-symbols on your other cards. These could be colors for more track movement or cats 🐈, which are worth more points the more you have.
🏮You can also get Prop cards that earn you points for women holding the matching prop. So if you get those you also start looking for flowers, lanterns, umbrellas and fans.
The game lasts until the cards run out, but scoring has some surprises in store! 😉 First you start evaluating the tug-of-war tracks from lowest to highest value. If you win a majority you get to take a card from the “reward display”. This card could swing the balance on another track in your favor, so even though some tracks are worth less points, they do matter a lot! You then score for each track where the marker was on your side, for cats, for props and finally for visible symbols in the top corners of your cards.
We really enjoy Kimono Memories. It’s quick and simple, but drafting always remains interesting (Plus it’s a rondel 😁). You should not just get the best cards for you, but try to watch for what your opponent needs. Every little track movement could decide the winner.
