Designed by: Tony Miller
Kabuto Sumo is a game of sumo-wrestling beetles trying to push each other off the board, because of course!
Set-up involves placing the elevated ‘ring’ (-a tree stump) between the players and following the diagrams in the rulebook, adding both the beetle wrestlers and the various wooden discs of three sizes. Players also receive some discs as well (-their inventory) and a card their shows their beetles’ special wrestling move ( or you can play without the special moves for a simpler game).
Then players take turns, using the provided ‘slider’, to push one of their pieces into the ring in a straight line, stopping when its outside edge is no longer overhanging. As pieces are pushed on, everything already in the ring is obviously affected, moving towards the edges themselves, and possibly over. Any pieces you knock off the ring are added to your inventory, and then it’s the next player’s turn. The game can end in one of two ways: either a wrestler is knocked off, and the wrestler who knocked them off wins, or (in a two player game) a player has nothing in their inventory to push with, leading to a submission victory for the other player. Note: in a three player game, the other two players would play on, but could push off this inactive player for a win.
The special moves add variety and spice to the game: it’s fun without them but they’re very simple to follow and all come with a cost and reward to do them: you might for instance have to pay another player some discs in order to add a special piece to your inventory, or get to take two consecutive pushes but without the ability to move the slider between them.
There is also a team variant for 2 v 2 play.
Well, it's a wrestling match, and the fact it's cute insects rather than extremely heavy men won't make it lovable when you're pushed off the ring. But it's brief, and fun!
Very low. Maybe in a team game youngsters might agitate for their next turn, but it's a speedy game
Exceedingly low, but it's definitely not a game devoid of tactics. How things are going to move on the board gains a kind of legibility over a few plays, and the 2 v 2 game throws up an additional level of intrigue
It's not a game shimmering with variety - there's only a few special abilities to explore - but the sense of battle is always present, and games can vary from smash-bang defeats to attritional, cagey battles...
2-4
Players
6+
Years
5-15
Mins
Sam says
Initially I was slightly underwhelmed by Kabuto Sumo: despite the lovely appearance, it seemed like an iteration of Magician's Knight but without the quirk of playing in the dark. However subsequent plays (and the addition of the special moves) gave the game a bit more tactical depth, and fun. I think the team version is best, as the extra dynamic of team-play helps. It's not the most elegant game, or the most nuanced. But it always seems to spark up conversations, and that's no bad thing.