Image Courtesy of <PERSON>
This review continues my series of detailed reviews that attempt to be part review, part resource for anyone not totally familiar with the game. For this reason I expect readers to skip to the sections that are of most interest.
If you liked the review please thumb the top of the article so others have a better chance of seeing it and I know you stopped by. If you thumb the bottom as well, I consider that a bonus. Thanks for reading.
Summary
Game Type – Card Game
Play Time: 10-20 minutes
Number of Players: 2
Mechanics – 'I Cut, You Choose', Hand Management, Area Majority\Influence
Difficulty – Pick-Up & Play (Can be learned in under 20 minutes)
Components – Excellent
Artist – <PERSON>
Release – 2013
Designer – <PERSON> (中山 宏太) -( TOKYO JIDOHANBAIKI)
Overview and Theme
Boardgames have taught me a lot of facts and geography over the years and here again I learn some new things. Hanamikoji is the most famous district and Geisha street in the old city of Japan, Kyoto.
In this game of the same name, two players compete to attract the favour of these most skilled women of Japanese entertainment and traditional arts.
What struck me after my first read of the rulebook was that this has a similar feel and playing style to a Battle Lineor a Revolver(even a Lost Cities). By that I mean that both players are looking to play cards to their side of the line of Geisha's in order to win them at various locations. Beyond that there is a bit more going on here also, to help it stand out from that competition.
Grab that money roll and let's talk a walk to the Hanamikoji District. We have a fun night in store.
The Components
My copy comes from publishers and and it is a lovely production. The box cover is different and appealing and the box size is only as big as it needs to be. In addition to all the nice embellishments below, the insert inside the box also features gorgeous Geisha art.
Geisha Cards – These are oversized cards (7 in all) with each one featuring full colour art of different Geisha who specialise in one artform or another. 470
The cards all have a dominant colour and then similar hues flesh out the colour palette to create a lovely effect.
The only other features on the cards are a single number in the top-left corner and some Japanese characters. The numbers serve to outline how many Charm Points each Geisha is worth as well as signifying how many Item Cards there are in the deck for each particular <PERSON>. I assume that the Japanese characters are outlining the name or discipline featured on each card.
Image Courtesy of stellarc
Item Cards – These cards are slightly smaller than regular size and again are dominated by artwork to depict the item most associated with each <PERSON>'s skill. These include items such as the Shamisen (3-stringed banjo-like instrument) and the Shakuhachi (bamboo flute). Then there are other more generic items such as the scroll (used for poetry), the teapot, parasol, a hairpiece and the hand fan.
These cards have the same two features as the Geisha Cards, both with the same purpose (although the Japanese characters are no doubt outlining the name of the discipline\item in question).
These cards have similar colouring to their Matching Geisha Cards, although the colours on the Item cards are slightly stronger. When cards are placed underneath their corresponding Geisha Card, the colour palette across the playing surface is very attractive.
Image Courtesy of tikyjo
Action and Favour Tokens – Two sets of tokens are required to round out the game. The Action Tokens are small square affairs and use icons to outline what each one does. There are two sets of these, one for each player. My copy comes with tokens in a set of orange and a set in a violet\light purple.
The reverse side of the tokens are greyed out as the tokens should be flipped after use in a round.
The Favour Tokens are round and feature a nice piece of art. Some copies come with different colours (I have seen black in the BGG images) but in this production, a muted colouring of violet, light blue and white is present.
Image Courtesy of REDD55
Rules – The rules are a double-sided affair that fold up to form a little vertical booklet. They do a good job of outlining the game, feature nice colours and images and don't feel daunting.
Image Courtesy of REDD55
The icing on the cake is that all components (outside of the rules) feature a matte\linen finish, even the tokens. 872