Sumo
- Board's Eye View
- Sep 24
- 2 min read
Designed by Kota Konno and published by Bright Eye Games, Sumo is a trick-taking card game for just two players. It's ultra short - played in no more than 5 minutes, and it's possible that a game could be ended in just one or two tricks - but it's addictive enough for players to almost always want an immediate replay, and then another.
The game is played with just 20 cards, numbered 1-5 in four colours/suits. Both players are dealt eight cards; so four cards are taken out of play, unseen, in each game. Both players then choose one of their cards to place face down and then simultaneously reveal in order to determine the lead for the first trick; with the highest card, regardless of suit, winning the lead. If players tie, they repeat the process until a first lead is determined. Cards played to determine the lead are not used for any of the tricks.
Players start off with their Sumo wrestlers in the centre of the 'ring'. Win a trick (highest card, following suit, or lead card if suit isn't followed) and you push the wrestlers towards the edge. If your opponent wins the next trick, you'll both be back in the centre of the ring but if you win that next trick you'll have pushed them out of the ring for the win. In this reverse tug-of-war way there can be back and forth or a very early win for one player. A win in this way is Yorikiri. If neither player has otherwise been pushed out of the ring, the player who wins the last trick of the hand claims victory as Wuwatenage.
That alone would make for a fun filler, but there's more! If you play a 4 against a 1 of the same colour, you claim an instant Abise-Taoshi win, regardless of the wrestlers' position in the ring. Likewise, it's an instant Hikiotoshi win if you play a 1 against a 5 of the same colour.
Finally, you can claim an instant Wucchari win if you play a 2 of a different colour to the lead card when you are at the edge of the ring (ie: one push away from losing).
When we introduced Sumo to new players, there were some initial protests that the special case tricks seemed complicated. They're not, and they are quickly assimilated. They call on players to make some deft card-counting calculations, and some push-your-luck gambles over which four cards have been removed from play. It all makes for a game that's surprisingly exciting and eminently replayable.
And if you get really hooked, the game comes with a pad of scorecards on which players can record their wins and losses, and which move determined each contest. You calculate your ranking according to the number of wins you manage to rack up before you suffer your third loss. We didn't need this reason to keep coming back to play Sumo, but it's a bonus to know it's there if you feel the need to justify your returns to the ring.
