An overview of Tokaido board games
An overview of Tokaido board games
Tokaido is a game where travel is the goal. Travels across the East Sea Road to Ed; to experience many interesting and convincing encounters along the way.
This game is as beautiful in its simplicity as it is in Zen. There is no other game that takes relaxation as seriously as Tokaido.
Check out our full overview of Tokaido board games below.
- For 2 to 5 players, 45 minutes of play
- Independent game by designer 7 Wonders, Antoine Bauza ....
- 5th Anniversary Edition updates the basic Tokaido game with all ...
A brief overview of Tokaida
While in many traditional board games it is possible to reach the goal first, Tokaido is all the way. We mean this quite literally; the player who has the most completed trip wins.
Players make their way along the famous Eastern Sea Road in Japan. The journey takes our adventurers from Kyoto all the way to Ed.
Along the way, they will experience encounters with strange and interesting characters, visit temples, shop souvenirs, bathe in hot springs and much more. At the end of the route, the winner is the traveler who experiences the most adventures on his way.
A slower player driving down a less-traveled route will no doubt hit multiple locations, but when it’s time for the night, it may be hard to find lodging and good food.
Variations and extensions
Tokaido: Matsuri
This extension adds a staggering 16 new travel tickets to the basic Tokaido game. Although the format doesn’t change, Matsuri adds more depth to the game by adding extra experience.
Tokaido: a crossroads
Tokaido: Crossroads is a confusing extension for a game like Tokaido, as it replaces Zen travel with a more tactical style of play. Swords, magic, and even the Yakuza play character are part of this much more competitive expansion.
- Crossroads is the first extension for Tokaido to open new ...
- New mechanics, excellent repeatability and expansion very ...
- Lovers of Japan will discover the immensity of the Tokaido universe ....
Tokaido: Eriku
Eriku is a promotional gaming card awarded at the Essen Spiel in 2013 to celebrate the release of Tokaido: Crossroads. This card was created as a bold address to Eric Burgess from the Boardgame Babylon podcast. Eric accidentally took a meal at the beginning of the game and after the correction stated, "Of course we eat before the trip starts, we're Americans, aren't we!" leading to the introduction of Eriku as a playable character.
Tokaido: New meetings
Tokaido: The New Encounters is a set of four promotional meeting cards awarded to everyone who bought a copy of Tokaido at the 2012 Essen Spiel. Fans who were lucky got them: old priest Takuhatsuso, traveling cook Itamae, veteran guide Kitoushi and pure monkey Saru.
Unpacking Tokaido
Every game needs its own pieces, here’s what comes from Tokaido
- 5 travel pieces
- 5 waypoint codes
- 5 playing colored chips (bags)
- 50 coins
- 10 travel tiles
- 142 cards
- Game board
Before you even remove the plastic from the box, it’s very obvious that Tokaido is an incredibly aesthetically pleasing game. Everything from artwork to the design of the pieces just radiates a certain serenity and zen.
When you open the box, you are greeted by beautiful panoramic maps, a Funforge product catalog and the most important Tokaido policy. Below this you will find two sheets of percussion cards containing playing cards, some tokens and coin markers that players use as currency. I like the attention to detail regarding the coins; they actually have a hole in the middle of them.
Next is the plate itself; it seems to be of good quality and seems to last for hours of playback. That’s about half the width of a regular board game board and 1.5 times the length.
You finally get to the last pieces. In this layer we have all the playing cards and pieces for five players in blue, purple, green, yellow and gray. The maps are especially enjoyable to view, with beautiful artwork and superb printing.
It is also a layer that has space to store all the things you will squeeze out of these cards. Funforge has generously thrown away a few extra small plastic bags so you don’t lose any of the cut-out cardboard pieces.
Overall, the look of all the pieces is really top notch and high quality. It seems as if Tokaido is made to last and provide years of enjoyment.
How to play Tokaido
The goal of the game
Tokaido is just about experience, and that experience is not only the essence of the game, but also how you achieve victory. The goal is to collect as many points as possible with the most fulfilling journey. There is no reward here for being the first to finish.
Setup
The cards are divided into rows, shuffled and placed face down on the board. The remaining pieces are then placed in the appropriate spaces. Players then select the traveler and the appropriate markers and tokens.
Each player chooses two tiles of random travelers and then chooses one to continue using. These tiles have a number in the upper right corner that indicates how many coins the player will get to start the game.
All travelers start at an inn in Kyoto.
Movement
Being in last place may be a weakness in other games, but this traveler moves to Tokaido first. In fact, if you’re still in last place after moving, you can move on again. The next player to move is always the one in last place and closest to Kyoto. Travelers can move forward to any open space in front of them, allowing them to receive its effects. There are certain places (inns) where all travelers have to stop and wait for fellow passengers.
This is about weighing risk and reward. Either skip a place and let your opponents accept it, or try to be the first out of the door in the next part.
You
The trip brings souvenirs and surprises to the village. You will get the opportunity to buy everything from art to food and drink here. Souvenirs provide players with points and more when they have a higher score.
Temple
Players who stop at the temple must drop a few coins on the collecting board. Between one and three coins must be offered. Then place the coins on the section of the temple that matches the color of the player. When all this is done, the traveler receives a blessing and is rewarded with one point per donated coin.
The farm
Players who visit the farm will receive three prizes. Travelers are not limited to how many coins they can collect.
Springs
Relaxing soaking in the waters of hot springs will yield a hot spring card worth between two and three points.
Meetings
The road to Ed is long and full of unique encounters. Players simply draw the top card from the pile of the match to reveal the outcome of the match. After that, the player can keep the card.
Panoramas
When the passenger lands on the panorama, he receives a panoramic card. For example, if you landed on an unpeeled bike, you will receive a cardboard plate. Tickets are awarded in numerical order according to availability, so if someone else has already received number one, you will collect number two, and so on. Once you land on a particular panorama and collect a card, you can no longer visit any type of this type and may not receive further maps of this type.
Inns
There are four inns on the Tokaido board and each player must visit them on their way to Edo. Here, travelers can buy meals with collected coins. The first player to arrive at the inn gets a dib on the meals, but has to wait for the other players to arrive before they can leave.
The end of the road
The game ends when all the players arrive in Edo. Achievement cards are now dealt. Additional points are awarded to the generous patrons of the temples, and the most donors receive the most points. The victory is determined by adding up the points and the traveler who has the most is declared the winner. If the results are tied, the passenger with the most achievement cards wins.
Your first Tokaido game
You unpacked the pieces, set up the board, and now it itches you to start the journey. We understand, it's exciting. Theoretically, Tokaido is very simple, but there are a few things people get used to on the first try.
You can enjoy this game slowly, no sprint. Trying to play too fast and loosely fairly distances you from the atmosphere and often leads to small mistakes that impair the enjoyment of the game.
In Tokaido, scoring is very important and it’s so easy to lose track of who has what points. We recommend that you have a note at hand so that each player can write down what he or she has done to save any arguments about the results at the end of the game.
We all have our favorite foods, but in Tokaido we shouldn’t eat the same meal multiple times. This is a simple mistake, but remember that dinners remain unique. They are worth a ton more points and who wants to eat the same thing over and over again?
Advantages disadvantages
Advantages:
- A truly unique and completely magical gaming experience
- Easy to pick up and even easier to bathe
- Beautifully crafted with beautiful artwork
There is something special about Tokaido and no one ever forgets the first ordeal of this whimsical journey. Something in itself is magical about this and the whole experience.
Picking up the game is so easy that you can drag your non-gamblers and family very easily, making it a great transition game . One of the best things about Tokaido is that once you move past the surface veneer of simplicity, the true depth of the game starts to really shine. It’s a really engaging and unique board game experience.
You can’t really talk about Tokaido without talking about how beautiful this game is. Everything from the artwork on the front of the box has been crafted with such obvious love and care that it’s sometimes hard to put it down. Tokaido is a complete joy from the first second you get this box in your hands, to the moment the game is over.
Weaknesses:
- Sometimes it can be too simple
If you’re looking for a super in-depth game, then you’ll want to look elsewhere. There won’t be a heavily drawn map on your board with the pins attached to the string, but you’ll have a good time. He doesn’t pretend to be heavy, and he really puts in a lot of effort to show off his beauty in simplicity.
This is really the only thing I can knock Tokaido for and he tells you in advance.
TL; DR
Tokaido is a journey you will never forget. A wonderful trip around Japan where players compete to experience life on the road to the fullest. You will love visiting the inns where you will try delicious dishes and buy souvenirs around the villages, all for those sweet sweet winning points
Tokaido is a simple wonderful game focused on a relaxing journey, but in reality, players will fight and compete for the best places to relax. There must be a duality of human joke somewhere.
Conclusion: a verdict?
Tokaido is one of those games that you will really want to play with fresh new eyes again. It’s a magical experience that makes you feel calm and maybe even a little melancholy when the journey is over.
Tokaido is a great transition game. The actions are limited, but at the same time they still offer players a lot of options and strategy. You can easily relax and get lost in the beautiful artwork from the components, making it a very enjoyable experience overall.
This is not to say that Tokaido is a completely friendly game. Beneath the gorgeous minimalist exterior is a pretty fucking game. Only one person can be in one location at a time, and strategic blocking is part of the game. Therefore, without fear, aggressors and lovers of conflict, it is not all stop smelling roses.
Finally, I really like being able to move at my own pace. On Kendr’s Disorder, when we play, I like to take my time and hit every single location I can. She, on the other hand, rushes forward and gets the first choice of everything. An early bird gets a worm, but a slow and steady one also wins.
- For 2 to 5 players, 45 minutes of play
- Independent game by designer 7 Wonders, Antoine Bauza ....
- 5th Anniversary Edition updates the basic Tokaido game with all ...
Have you tried Tokaido yet? We want to hear your thoughts. Drop a comment below and let us know!
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