You pick a card from your hand, reveal it with everyone else, then pass the rest along. Over three rounds you collect sets of sushi cards that score in different ways. It plays fast and rewards watching what others might need.
What age is Sushi Go! for?
Box says 8+
We suggest 7+ with an adult helping, 8+ on their own.
The turn is simple, but about eight card types each score differently, and you add up scores after every round. A 7 year old needs an adult to keep score and recall the sets, while an 8 year old can do it alone.
Checked against the Sushi Go! English rules of play from Gamewright, copyright 2014. Page numbers count the cover as page 1, so the rules start on page 2.
Sushi Go! in six steps
Scroll through the lesson while the plate follows along, and tap cards to try things. Then play a short game against a bot right underneath. The card pictures are our own simple shapes, not the art from the box. The deck is the real one: 108 cards in the numbers the rulebook lists on page 2.
Step 1 of 6: The goal
1
The goal: build the best sushi plate
Every round you start with a hand of cards. Each turn you keep one and pass the rest along, then you score the cards you kept. Play 3 rounds. The most points at the end wins. With 2 players you each get 10 cards. Tap any card on the board to read what it does.
PickKeep 1 card, face down. Everyone turns their card over together.
PassHand the rest to the next player, and pick from the hand you get back.
Three roundsScore your plate after each round. Then put it all back, except puddings.
2
Pick and pass
You pick at the same time as everyone else, so you can't wait to see what the others take. Then you turn the cards over together and pass what's left. Try it. This little demo has only 5 cards each, and the bot always keeps the first card of its hand.
Tap a card to keep it. The bot keeps one at the same time.
3
Scoring the sets
Most cards score only in groups. Tempura: a pair is 5. Sashimi: a set of three is 10. Dumplings: 1, 3, 6, 10 and 15 for 1 to 5 or more. Maki rolls: add up the icons, and the most icons scores 6 and the second most 3. Nigiri: squid 3, salmon 2, egg 1. Put cards on your plate and watch the points.
Tap a card to put it on your plate. The points update straight away.
4
Nigiri and wasabi
A wasabi triples the next nigiri you pick, but only if the wasabi is already in front of you when you pick the nigiri (page 2). Each wasabi takes one nigiri, and a wasabi with no nigiri scores nothing. Pick a wasabi and then a squid and see 9. Then pick a squid first, then a wasabi, and try to put the squid on it.
Pick a wasabi, then a nigiri. Or pick the nigiri first and see what happens.
5
Chopsticks
If a chopsticks card is already in front of you from an earlier turn, you can take two cards on a later turn. Say "Sushi Go!", take a second card, and then the chopsticks go back into your hand and get passed on, so the next player can use them. Try it with and without chopsticks.
You have chopsticks in front of you. Tap two cards, then press Take the cards.
Playing with younger kids? House rule, not in the rulebook: leave the wasabi and chopsticks out of the first game, and add them when everyone is comfortable with picking and passing.
6
Pudding and winning
Puddings are the only cards you keep from round to round. They score after round 3: the most puddings scores 6, and with 2 players that is all (page 5). With more players the fewest lose 6, and ties split the points. The player with the most points wins, and if you tie, the one with more puddings wins. Change the counts.
You play against a bot, with 10 cards each and 3 rounds, so a game is 30 picks. Tap a card, then press Lock in. The bot picks at the same time and you both turn your cards over together. If you have chopsticks in front of you, a button appears to take two cards. Tap the question mark on a card, or any stack on a plate, to read what it does. After each round every card is scored, and after round 3 the puddings are scored. The bot only knows its own hand and the cards already on the table.
The bot's plate
This turn
Your plate
Your hand. Tap a card to pick it, or tap the question mark to read it.
How do you teach Sushi Go! to kids?
The box says 8 and up. We suggest 7 and up with an adult helping, and 8 and up on their own. Kids pick it up fast because every turn is the same: pick one card, pass the rest. The scoring is where the teaching goes.
Say this
We are picking sushi for our plates. We play 3 rounds, and the player with the most points at the end wins.
Everyone picks one card from their hand, puts it face down, and then we all turn them over together. Then pass the rest of your hand to the left.
Different foods score in different ways. Two tempura make a pair for 5. Three sashimi make a set for 10. The more dumplings the better. Nigiri are worth 1, 2 or 3.
Wasabi triples the next nigiri you pick, if the wasabi is already on the table. Chopsticks let you pick two cards later.
Maki rolls: the player with the most maki icons gets 6 and the second most gets 3.
Puddings are kept for the very end. The player with the most pudding gets 6 and the player with the fewest loses 6.
The rulebook has official variants: passing hands both ways, and a two-player game with a dummy player (pages 5 and 6). It has no beginner variant, so every simplification below is a house rule.
First-game simplifications
House rule Play one round on its own as practice and count the points with the scorer below, before you play the full three rounds.
House rule Take out the wasabi and chopsticks cards for the first game. Put them back in when everyone is comfortable with picking and passing.
House rule Let a grown-up be the scorekeeper and call out each food as the kids lay their plates down.
Watch-outs for kids ages 7 to 8
Everyone picks, then everyone reveals together, and only then do you pass your hand (page 2).
A nigiri only goes on a wasabi that was already in front of you when you picked it. Each wasabi takes one nigiri (page 2).
Chopsticks: say Sushi Go!, take a second card, and put the chopsticks back in your hand before you pass it (page 3).
A single tempura scores nothing. Sashimi needs a set of three, and two sashimi score nothing (page 4).
Maki ties split the points evenly and drop the remainder. If players tie for most maki, there is no second place (page 3).
Pudding cards stay in front of you after each round and are scored only at the end. With 2 players nobody loses points for puddings (pages 4 and 5).
If you tie on points, the player with the most pudding cards wins (page 5).
Back for another game?
Setup: deal 10 cards each with 2 players, 9 with 3, 8 with 4 and 7 with 5. The rest is the draw pile (page 2).
Each turn: everyone picks 1 card and puts it face down, everyone reveals, then pass your hand to the left (page 2).
Wasabi: a nigiri you pick while you already have a wasabi goes on it and is worth triple. One nigiri per wasabi (page 2).
Chopsticks: on a later turn, say Sushi Go! and take 2 cards. Put the chopsticks back in your hand before you pass it (page 3).
End of a round: score your cards. Maki: most 6, second 3. Tempura: set of 2 is 5. Sashimi: set of 3 is 10. Dumplings: 1, 3, 6, 10, 15 for 1 to 5 or more. Nigiri: squid 3, salmon 2, egg 1, triple on wasabi (pages 3 and 4).
New round: discard your cards except pudding cards, and deal new hands of the same size (page 4).
After round 3: pudding. Most pudding cards scores 6, fewest loses 6, ties split. Equal counts score nothing. With 2 players nobody loses points (page 5).
Winning: most points. Tied? The most pudding cards wins (page 5).
Every turn, four things
Every turn of every round goes the same way.
PickChoose 1 card from your hand and put it face down. Chopsticks in front of you? You can choose 2.
RevealEveryone turns their card over together. A nigiri goes on a wasabi you already had.
PassHand the rest of your hand to the next player. Pick up the one you're given.
ScoreWhen the hands run out, score your plate. After round 3, add the puddings.
How do you score Sushi Go!?
Pick a round, then count each player's cards for that round: maki roll icons, tempura, sashimi, dumplings and nigiri (with or without wasabi). At the end, add the pudding cards. Rounds are scored as on pages 3 and 4, and puddings as on page 5. The rulebook does not say what happens when nobody, or only one player, has maki icons, so this helper gives no maki points to a player with 0 icons. Tied on points, the player with the most pudding cards wins (page 5).
Pudding cards at the end of the game
Your pocket card
For the table. The front is your turn, the back is scoring.
Sushi Go!, the short version
Mostpoints wins
Pick: 1 card from your hand, face down. Reveal together.
Pass: the rest of your hand to the left.
Rounds: 3. Keep puddings, discard the rest after each round.
Wasabi triples the next nigiri. Chopsticks: take 2 cards later.