• MON – Emblems from Sengoku
• Designer: Osami Okano
• Publisher: Studium Mundi
• Players 2-5
• Time: 15 minutes

Mon is a card shedding game inspired by 16th century Japan during the warring period of Sengoku Jidai. The game consists of 3 suits and player tokens. Depending on the number of players, the suit cards from 1-18 are dealt. The zero cards of each suit are placed in the center of the table to start a row for each suit. Each card also has a point value with higher numbered cards being worth more points.

Players then take 1 of 4 actions on their turn.

1. They can play a card or Step. They play a card in increasing sequential order in the matching row of the card’s suit and put their point token on it as indicated by the card.
2. They can play a card or Backstep. They play a card numerically smaller than the highest played card but larger than the previous card in its matching suit. They remove the point token on the highest card, covering it with the new card and place their own point token on it plus 1 point token for each card it covers.
3. They can exchange a card from their hand with a card in the remaining deck.
4. They can discard a card from their hand.

The game ends when a player has no cards left in their hand. Players complete an equal number of turns. The winner is the player with the most points played.

Tactically trying to determine when to play cards for points or risk falling to a Backstep seems key. It’s also interesting trying to determine how fast or how long the game may go. Playing a larger number of players is more chaotic but also more fun. MON – Emblems of Sengoku is a game that plays quickly and has some depth, and a new deluxe edition as shown here is coming soon. 

*A review copy of this game was provided.