Cook the best possible ramen… Become the best citizen of medieval Edo… Make splendid Zen memories while traveling the Tokaïdo road… This is the program for our special Japan Games evening.
All practical information (price, duration, difficulty, etc.) on the games is in the box at the end of the article.
“Ramen Ramen”, in search of the best soup
To whet your appetite before a games evening, what could be better than a game of cards in “stop or again” mode. Siméon and Benjamin (8 and 44 years old) compete in Ramen Ramen. The game consists of filling bowls of ramen with ingredients that have values from 0 to 7. When a bowl exceeds 14 points, the one who put the last ingredient wins the trick. The more different ingredients there are, the tastier the ramen and the more victory points the trick earns. No doubt disturbed by his hunger, the adult makes a mistake in his calculations and leaves the victory to the child, who has already eaten, the lucky guy. A delicious but not sickening game, Ramen Ramen calls for several parts. Three of us, when Lise (43 years old) joins us, the recipe is almost the same but the flavor is different since alliances of circumstance are born. The child wins again. Come on, let’s go to the table.
Iki, harmony and commerce
Iki is a game, of course, but also a philosophical concept according to which harmony arises from the fair profit of each person. However, that evening, the players very much want harmony to be born from their sole profit, and victory. Clotilde (42 years old), Sophie (37 years old) and Benjamin try the game with its recent extension Akebono, which deepens an already very rich game. The objective is to organize the life of a shopping district (and a port) of Edo, the Tokyo of the era of the same name, in the Middle Ages. Helping craftsmen gain experience, promoting trade, managing port life… Iki initially seems complex to learn, with its host of strategies and possible actions, players are a little lost on the first round. Then, from the second, we feel that Sophie and Benjamin are gaining confidence and seem certain of their strategy. But the magic of Iki is, under the appearance of calm balance, to offer tense rounds where, without frontal opposition, players must consider the strategies of their opponents to improve. After two hours (we lost time chatting because of the immersion afforded by the splendid equipment) in this street in the Nihonbashi district, the game ended with a resounding victory for the player most attentive to the others. , Clotilde. Everyone leaves the table with the certainty of having to return to Edo quickly to cultivate their Iki.
Tokaidothe race for beautiful travel memories
We continue with another great recent classic of ideal toy libraries: Tokaido. For its 10th anniversary, the game is getting new illustrations, always sublime and always signed by Naïade. The game remains the same: ideal for calming down a table of tense players. The goal of the game is a marvel in itself: to make the most beautiful journey. Players embody travelers from Tokaido, the sea route between Kyoto and Edo (again). Without a challenge or a map, players are invited to compose their wanderings in search of enriching encounters, breathtaking panoramas, gastronomic discoveries, zen meditations… There is still a way to bring out your competitive side by squatting in the best spots and by hindering other travelers in the objectives. At the end, we still count the points but the main thing is elsewhere: we can’t wait to go on a trip to Tokaïdo, a game that we will play for at least five more years.
Ramen, Ramen
18 euros. From 8 years old, games of less than 20 minutes, from 1 to 4 players.
Iki
51 euros. From 14 years old, games of one to two hours, 2 to 4 players.
Tokaido
29 euros. From 8 years old, games of 30 minutes to an hour (if you wander around…), from 2 to 5 players