17 at the UNO Park Community Center on 5/20 for an evening of games about or from Pacific East Asia.

The SdJ (German Game of the Year) finalists and recommended games were recently announced.

https://www.spiel-des-jahres.de/preistraeger/jahrgang-2026

3 of the recommended SdJ games were introduced to Berkshire Gamers by Tim Peters : Hot Streak, Take Time and Wilmots Warehouse.

5/20/2026 @ UNO Park Community Center 

IN: Steve & Sandy, Norm & Hope, Samuel & Ruth, Sean, Armando, Tim, Zach, Tony, Chris, Nicole, Julie, Reimi, Cady, Sean K

Gemblo (led by K-ban)  2003 abstract strategy game with translucent, colored pieces, each of which is made up of one to five hexagons.  The goal is to get rid of all of your pieces by placing them on the hexagonal game board. Each piece that you place after the first cannot touch previously-placed pieces of the same color; instead each piece must be a distance of “1” from another piece of the same color, where 1 is the length of a side of one of the small hexagons. Another restriction is that the distance being measured can’t directly cross another player’s piece, but it can lie at the junction of two pieces. Once all players have placed as many pieces as they can, they count the number of hexagonal units in the pieces they couldn’t place, and the player with the lowest score wins. This is the Korean answer to Blokus….but can handle up to 6 players.

Tiger & Dragon (led by Tim) 2021 beautifully produced shedding card game played with chunky tiles. Players play tiles from their hand to participate in waves of attack and defense. Be the first player to empty their hand to score points based on whichever one of ten scoring cards are in use this round. The game contains 38 tiles: 36 numbered tiles with one 1, two 2s, etc. up to eight 8s, along with a tiger and a dragon. The tiles are shuffled face down, then each player takes tiles based on the player count, with the round’s starting player taking one additional tile.The start player attacks by playing a tile from their hand. The next player can either pass or defend the attack by playing the same tile. Note that the dragon defends against any odd-numbered tile and the tiger against any even-numbered tile. After defending, place a tile of your own to attack. If a player passes, the next player either passes or defends. If all other players pass on your attack, place a tile from your hand face down, then choose a new tile to attack again. If you attack with the dragon or tiger, a player can defend with any odd- or even-numbered tile, respectively. The first player to empty their hand wins the round and scores points based on the last tile that they played and the specific scoring card for that round. They score 1 bonus point for each time an attack of theirs went undefended. At the end of a round, if a player has scored 10+ points, they win.

3 Witches (led by Zach) 2025 must-follow, trick-taking game with no trump suit. At the start of each round, players bid on how many tricks they can win (out of five). The highest bidder becomes the Lead Witch, and their opponents play together on a team as Lesser Witches.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/447707/3-witches

Mahjong (led by Sandy) 1850 traditional Chinese tile rummy game frequently used to gamble. There are many different scoring systems….the American scoring changes annually, governed by cards purchased from the National Mah Jongg League.

Let’s Go to Japan (led by K-ban) 2024 card drafting game where players are travelers, who after 13 turns of planning get to experience their own dream vacation to Japan. The game consists of thirteen rounds in which players draw activity cards illustrated by Japan-based artists and strategically place them on different days in their week-long itinerary. These tourist attractions have players bouncing between Tokyo and Kyoto via train, as players try to puzzle out the optimal activities to maximize their experience while balancing their resources. The game ends with a final round in which players ultimately go on their planned trip, activating each of their cards in order along the way. The player who collects the most points by the end of their trip wins! The Kick Starter deluxe edition includes wooden train, research, walk & wild tokens, neoprene playmats and ceramic bowls.

The Year of the Dragon (led by Zach) 2007 Stefan Feld design where players take on the role of Chinese rulers around the year 1000. The game plays out in twelve rounds, with each round representing one month in a year that seems to go from bad to worse. Disease, drought, and attacks from the Mongols may claim lives, but make sure you have enough money to offer a tribute to the Emperor. Players have a set of “person” cards. Each round, you choose one action (most of which call on your workers’ abilities) to help you prepare for the months ahead. Then you play one person card, recruiting that person and placing him into one of your palaces. Each person brings different skills and abilities to help you ride out the year. (Farmers help you gain rice to survive a drought month, Tax Collectors raise money, etc.) At the end of each round, that month’s event is triggered, which may cost you some of your workers, some money, or give you points.

Ticket to Ride: Legendary Asia (led by Tony) 2011 expansion  to Ticket to ride. The main change in this set-up is that some of the routes through Asia are labeled mountain routes, with one or more spaces on the route bearing an X. Whenever a player claims one of these routes, they must place a train from their reserve in the Mountain Crossing area of the game board, earning two points for each such train but losing access to them for the rest of the game. The player who connects to the most cities in a single network earns a ten point “Asian Explorer” bonus.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/106637/ticket-to-ride-map-collection-1-asia-plus-legendar

Bamboo (led by Tim) 2023 action management and tile optimization game where players take on the role of clans that grow bamboo and use the fruits of their labor to take care of their family and thus add happiness points. 

Ramen Fury (led by Tony)  2019 set collection card game with a ‘Take That’ aspect. Players collect combos of cards to score for different recipes while adding garnishes to boost their points. Watch out as other players throw spicy chili peppers your way or swipe foods right from your bowls! 

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/265524/ramen-fury

Vivo (led by Zach) 2024 trick taking card game, where each round starts by revealing a harmony type (Solo, Duet, Trio, Quartet). The harmony determines how many suits must be played in the trick—not being able to is considered playing “off-harmony,” making that player ineligible for points. At the end of the trick, the player who played the highest on-harmony card scores two points, and the lowest on-harmony card scores for the value of that card (those bass notes are so important!).

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/420242/vivo

Lexio (led by K-ban) 2005 Korean climbing/shedding game, based on the traditional Chinese card game system of “Zheng Shangyou” – and is virtually the same game as Big Two (also known as The Great Dalmuti, Gang of Four, Tichu, Scout, etc.), but LEXIO uses tiles similar to those in Mahjong instead of cards, and they are chunky to say the least. In accordance with Chinese tradition, the number “2” is the strongest number. The suits are named after the sun, the moon, the stars, and the clouds – and serve as a secondary hierarchy to break ties.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/19184/lexio