Yokai Septet Review

Yokai Septet is a trick taking game where players are attempting to capture the boss Yokai by winning tricks for their team. Each game is comprised of two 2-player teams. Each player is dealt a hand of 12 cards and the final card is put in the middle as the trump suit. Then players will pass 3 cards to their teammates. These are the only cards they'll know they have. This is a fairly traditional trick taking game where the lead player puts a card out and everyone must follow suit or play the trump suit. The highest card will win the trick. Rounds end after a team has 4 bosses. It can also end if a team has 3 bosses and 7 tricks won but if it ends this way, that team loses the round. Points will be scored based on the number of stars on the boss cards the winning team has in front of them. Then reset and start over. The first team to 7 points will win the game. The game also has options for competitive 3-player games and an advanced variant where you need to seal all of the bosses.

The Good: The team aspect to this game works really well. You don't know what cards they may have but its hugely beneficial to make some big moves when you need to try and secure a boss card. Being able to win without necessarily having to follow suit by either playing a trump card or having the one green A card makes your life a little easier. Also, the holographic boss cards are really nice. More games should include these.

The Okay: Yokai Septet doesn't really do much to separate itself from a normal trick taking game outside of the team aspect. While not a deal breaker, gameplay can get stale over time. The overall player count limits you to 3-4 at most. I wish there was a 2-player variant or one for more players.

Final Thoughts: I have to say, there is nothing that I outright didn't care for in Yokai Septet. I've said it before and I'll say it again. I don't care for trick taking games but I really like the catch of teams. Overall, this may be the best one that I've played. I've played very few but this was easy to follow and understand and it's extremely thematic throughout. I'm going to hold on to this one for a long time I think.

Thanks to Ninja Star Games for providing a review copy.