Sangoku (2016)

About this game

In a mythic oriental universe, great powers battle for control of Three Realms: The Heavens, The Earth and The Hells. Sangoku (meaning "three realms") is an elegant and thematic card game by renowned designer Mike Elliott. In the game, players recruit warriors – Dogs, Samurais, Oni and Dragons – to their armies by playing poker hands to each of the Three Realms. The best hand in each realm wins, and a Warrior is summoned from the winning cards – but the weakest cards also summon the most powerful Warriors, with the 2 card in each suit (Fire, Metal, Earth, Water, Wood) summoning a mighty Dragon. With these recruited Warrior tokens, players advance on their opponents to gain ascendancy in the Realms. They can also wager and collect Legend cards, which when combined into sets can be used to powerful effect, including bringing forth uniquely damaging Warriors.

Does it fit your group?

• Group size. Works with 2 to 5.
• Rules load. At 1.7/5 this is a light game — explain it in a few minutes, good for a table that has not played much.
• Age. The publisher suggests 10 and up. That rates the rules rather than the artwork, so judge the box yourself for younger players.