Short answer: yes. There is one part of the box that is not beginner friendly, and it is not the part people expect.
This article covers what you actually do on a turn, why it works on a table of people who have never played anything, the one setup decision that trips new owners up, and who should buy something else instead.
What you actually do
Everyone gets a hand of cards. You all pick one card at the same time, put it face down, and flip together. Then you pass the rest of your hand to the player on your left and do it again with the hand you just received.
Your face up cards stay in front of you until the end of the round, when they score. The game is three rounds long.
That is the whole loop. The rulebook deals a hand based on the number of players:
| Players | Cards dealt to each player |
|---|---|
| 2 or 3 | 10 |
| 4 or 5 | 9 |
| 6 or 7 | 8 |
| 8 | 7 |
Which means a two player game and an eight player game take about the same amount of time, because everybody is choosing at the same moment. Nobody waits for a turn.
Why it works for beginners
- There is no turn order to sit through. Turns are simultaneous. The person who is slow to decide is the only delay, and there is social pressure not to be.
- Nobody is eliminated. On the menu the rulebook recommends for a first game, no dish takes cards from another player. The worst thing that happens is somebody takes the card you wanted.
- The first round teaches the game. You do not need to understand the scoring to play your first card. You learn what tempura is worth by watching it score.
- A bad decision is small. One wrong card out of nine costs you a few points, not the game. That matters more than it sounds when somebody is worried about looking foolish.
The part that is not beginner friendly
It is not the rules. It is the menu.
Gamewright ships 22 menu tiles, and before anyone plays you have to decide which dishes are in the game. The rulebook is explicit about the shape of a legal menu:
- Nigiri cards are used in every game.
- 1 type of rolls.
- 3 types of appetizers.
- 2 types of specials.
- 1 type of dessert.
For a first game that is a decision you do not want to be making while five people watch you read a box lid. The rulebook already solved it: there are eight ready made menus printed in it, and one of them is built for exactly this.
| Preset menu | The rulebook’s own description |
|---|---|
| My First Meal | A mellow menu that goes down easy for first time players. |
| Sushi Go! | The classic menu from the original game. |
| Party Sampler | Taste what is new in Sushi Go Party! |
| Master Menu | For seasoned Sushi Go! players who want to think! |
| Points Platter | Score big points! |
| Cutthroat Combo | Interactive and in your face! |
| Big Banquet | Works well with 6 to 8 players. |
| Dinner for Two | Works well with 2 players. |
Use My First Meal. That is what it is there for, and the rulebook describes it as a mellow menu that goes down easy for first time players. Do not mention the other 21 tiles on the first night.
Two more restrictions worth knowing before you start, both from the rulebook: menu and special order cannot be used in a 7 or 8 player game, and spoon and edamame cannot be used in a 2 player game.
How it changes with the number of players
This is the part that makes it unusual. Most games have a player count where they work and a player count where they sag. Sushi Go Party! covers 2 to 8 and the rulebook adjusts the game rather than stretching it.
Three things change as the table gets bigger.
- Your hand gets smaller. Ten cards at two or three players, down to seven at eight. The round stays roughly the same length no matter how many of you there are.
- More dessert cards go into the deck. The rulebook shuffles in 5, then 3, then 2 desserts across the three rounds for a 2 to 5 player game, and 7, 5 then 3 for 6 to 8 players.
- Some dishes come off the table. Menu and special order cannot be used in a 7 or 8 player game. Spoon and edamame cannot be used in a 2 player game.
The practical read: four to six players is where the game is most comfortable, and it genuinely does work at both ends of the range rather than tolerating them.
Your first game, in order
Following the rulebook, with the beginner choices already made for you.
- Put the board in the middle and give everyone a pawn on the 0 space.
- Pick the My First Meal menu and find the matching menu tiles. Slot them into the board so everyone can see which dishes are in play and what they score.
- Shuffle the dessert cards for that menu into a face down pile to one side.
- Shuffle everything else together into the main deck.
- Shuffle the right number of desserts into the deck for round one, then deal each player a hand using the table above.
- Everyone picks a card, everyone flips, everyone passes left. Repeat until the hands are gone, then score the round.
- Three rounds, then desserts score, then the highest total wins.
The menu tiles doing the explaining is the detail worth noticing. You do not have to remember what any dish is worth, because the tile is sitting on the board in front of everybody all game.
Who should buy something else
- You only ever play with one other person. It works at two, and there are better two player games. See the two player list.
- You want a board and a map. There is a board here but it is a score track, not a place where things happen.
- You want confrontation. Nobody can do anything to you in this game. For some groups that is the appeal and for others it is the problem.
- You want a plan that lasts the whole game. Sushi Go Party! is decided in short bursts, one card at a time.
What it is actually like at a table
My take: this is one of the games that almost never fails.
I have played it a lot over the years. My own original copy is actually Sushi Go, my brother’s version.
Most people who try it for the first time fall in love with the cards themselves, all those little dishes from Japanese cuisine, and do not even notice they are playing a card drafting game. All they know is that, like Pokemon cards, they want to collect them all.
My mother used to smile every time we played it together. Those games are something I will not forget.
Of the games I cover here, the one I have taught most is Sushi Go Party!. It plays with more people than most games, so it has also been in front of the most people.
FOTO: la caja de Sushi Go Party!
What to read next
- Easy board games you can teach in 10 minutes, where this one comes first.
- Best board games for non-gamers, if the table is mixed.
- Sushi Go Party! in the beginner hub.
- Easy board games for beginners, the main hub.
How this article was written
Every rule, card count and menu restriction above comes from the official Gamewright rules of play for Sushi Go Party!. Where the rulebook did not settle something, I left it out.
I have played this game many times, including on Board Game Arena. My original copy is Sushi Go, my brother’s version.
Using the Amazon links in this article helps me keep working on Board Game Newbie, at no extra cost to you.