LogFAQs > #964279588

45. Kabuto Sumo

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/320390/kabuto-sumo

Category: Player vs player
Key mechanics: Dexterity
Rules complexity (0 to 7): 0
Game length: 10-20 minutes
First played: 2021
Experience: 2 plays over 1 session with 4 players

In Kabuto Sumo, you attempt to push your opponent's wooden disc off of a crowded board by entering more wooden discs of varying sizes and shapes onto the board. Any disc you knock off becomes yours to enter in a later round.

For context, it's probably useful to have this visual aid:

https://boardgamegeek.com/image/6669027/kabuto-sumo

I thought this was a really nice little filler/novelty game - it's not something I'd play over and over. However, it aesthetically checks a lot of happy boxes - these wooden tokens all look fantastic, and it's very satisfying to see the way that they move as you push your piece on.

Despite not having much dexterity - you just have to pick an angle and push with your finger at a slow pace - it's also deceptively unintuitive and tricky. As you'd expect, entering a larger discs is more effective for displacing discs on the other side of the board from you. But you'd be surprised at how much discs shift before they get displaced. The rules and mechanics are incredibly simply, but physics has a way of frustrating your plans.

Overall, a neat distraction and a cool table-piece.