Decided to test out the prototype deck while visiting family, especially since my wife’s family is big on games. After reading through the directions, we gave it a try and it turned out to be a fairly quick and fun game. The directions do make it sounds somewhat daunting, but we think some of that is the translation and the usual overexplanation to keep things straight. Overall, they liked the game, so I’ll keep hammering out the details. The card size was a good fit as well.
The family also provide some good feedback on the design. As a result, I’ve already made some revisions to the design based on their comments. The point value font has been changed, and the English card names added to help in tracking what card is which. I also made some changes to the info cards, namely adding the chess symbols to the score info, the card playing order, and a link to a video showing gameplay.
I’ve also worked on changing the back from a two-way to a one-way, since the card faces are one-way (unlike poker cards). I also revised the motifs to better represent the game and region of Japan it is from. The flower is a black lily, associated with the Ishakawa prefecture. The lower motif is a common icon I’ve seen for Goita – the traditional tile shape with the character for ‘pawn.’
Data Monkey Designs 