Have you been training, wrestlers? Good! You’ll need to put all your best moves to the test and push your opponent out of the dohyō before they can get the best of of you. Ready? Hakkyoi!

What Is It?

A trick-taking game where players battle head to head in a sumo match to defeat their opponent. Players can either push their opponent out of the victory ring, or perform various game winning sumo moves by playing certain numbers against others to win the game without position on the dohyō mattering.

Who Is It For?

  • 2 Players – Strictly a head to head game
  • Ages 8 & Up / Light Gamers – Small rule set, quick teach, very light strategy; accessible to a wide audience
  • Fans of trick-taking and/or quick card games

PROS

  • Aesthetics – Crisp, clean graphic design
  • Components – Good cards; good amount of tournament sheets included
  • Rules – Well written, short and sweet, and clear to learn from
    • I like that the rulebook doubles as the sumo move reference stand
  • Small and portable; do not need a large play area
  • I like that it doesn’t just come down to winning tricks in the most classic way — it’s neat that the sumo moves can make lower numbers or numbers that don’t follow suit more powerful at certain times
  • Tournament mode is cool to track which moves players win with

CONS

  • Almost plays too quickly – You only play a few cards and then the game is over
  • Often don’t feel like you have a lot of choice, since you have to follow suit if you can (like most trick-taking games); comes down to some luck of the deal

Final Thoughts

Overall, there’s not much to this one. I found it just fine. It’s very quick, which can be good if you are limited on time, but sometimes it feels like you barely played once it’s over.

There aren’t many cards, so I never feel like I have a ton of choice, but I do like that you can win in a few different ways. It’s a nice choice for a filler, or to bring with you to play in line at a con, since it’s small, if you like trick-taking and want one that works at 2.

Additional Information:
My Final Rating – 5/10

Designer – kota konno
Artist – METEOR
Publisher – Bright Eye Games, konno.
MSRP – $14.99
Website

*I was provided a copy of this game to do this review*

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