Hanamikoji
Designer: Kota Nakayama | Artist: Maisherly
Named after the famous geisha street in the Japanese city of Kyoto, Hanamikoji is a swift battle of the charms as its two players try to ply seven of the female entertainers with gifts of flowers, tea, music and more.
This is more than a simple race to impress, though. Key to the game’s enrapturing allure are its four action tokens, all of which can – and must – be used once and only once by each player during a round. Two are straightforward: discard two item cards and hide one to reveal during the end-of-round scoring. The other two are where Hanamikoji’s magic really lies, as they force each player to politely present a choice of cards to their opponent, who picks either one of three individual items or decides between two sets of two to add to their own offering.