Yokai Septet

Previously published as both 7 Symbols and 7 Nations, Yokai Septet is a partnership trick-taking game designed for four players, although the game provides alternate rules for three as well.

The deck of cards is made of seven suits with seven numbers each. No suit has the same numbers, however: green cards are 1-7, purple are 2-8,  pink 3-9 and so on all the way up to the blue suit which numbers 8-13. Players team up (with your diagonal opposite around the table) and once cards have been dealt, swap three cards with their partner. Then play begins, following standard trick-taking rules: whatever card is led, you must follow suit if you’re able to, and the most valuable card wins the trick. One suit will be trump: this is the strongest suit, and can win tricks even when not the highest number played.

Each team’s goal is to claim four number 7 cards (the only number that appears in every suit) with the caveat that if you win your seventh trick without claiming a fourth 7 in the process, you lose the round! So you need to be careful about what you play when, and use the limited knowledge of your partners’ hand (the three cards you handed them) along with what they know of yours, to your advantage. Be aware also of the one special card – the green ‘one’ (actually an ace) trumps everything when played and is an automatic win. But it must still obey the rules of following-suit.

Yokai Septet’s simple scoring system is the first team to win two rounds wins the game. But it also provides a more subtle, complicated scoring system to try once familiar with the basic game.