EntertainmentMomiji reviewIs Momiji the ultimate Japan-inspired board game? Find out in T3’s official reviewWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.(Image credit: Future)T3 VerdictMomiji is a fun, good-looking game that while a bit repetitive, succeeds thanks to its ever-shifting game state and surprising swings.Reasons to buy+A challenging and varied game in a small, affordable package+Lovely leaf and landscape art+Clever gotchas in every aspect of playReasons to avoid-Difficult decisions may be a bit much for family play-Relies on common set collection concepts that may feel over-familiar-Poor solo mode and confusing iconographyWhy you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
EntertainmentMomiji reviewIs Momiji the ultimate Japan-inspired board game? Find out in T3’s official reviewWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.(Image credit: Future)T3 VerdictMomiji is a fun, good-looking game that while a bit repetitive, succeeds thanks to its ever-shifting game state and surprising swings.Reasons to buy+A challenging and varied game in a small, affordable package+Lovely leaf and landscape art+Clever gotchas in every aspect of playReasons to avoid-Difficult decisions may be a bit much for family play-Relies on common set collection concepts that may feel over-familiar-Poor solo mode and confusing iconographyWhy you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Is Momiji the ultimate Japan-inspired board game? Find out in T3’s official review
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Future)T3 VerdictMomiji is a fun, good-looking game that while a bit repetitive, succeeds thanks to its ever-shifting game state and surprising swings.Reasons to buy+A challenging and varied game in a small, affordable package+Lovely leaf and landscape art+Clever gotchas in every aspect of playReasons to avoid-Difficult decisions may be a bit much for family play-Relies on common set collection concepts that may feel over-familiar-Poor solo mode and confusing iconography
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
T3 VerdictMomiji is a fun, good-looking game that while a bit repetitive, succeeds thanks to its ever-shifting game state and surprising swings.Reasons to buy+A challenging and varied game in a small, affordable package+Lovely leaf and landscape art+Clever gotchas in every aspect of playReasons to avoid-Difficult decisions may be a bit much for family play-Relies on common set collection concepts that may feel over-familiar-Poor solo mode and confusing iconography
T3 VerdictMomiji is a fun, good-looking game that while a bit repetitive, succeeds thanks to its ever-shifting game state and surprising swings.
T3 Verdict
Momiji is a fun, good-looking game that while a bit repetitive, succeeds thanks to its ever-shifting game state and surprising swings.
Reasons to buy+A challenging and varied game in a small, affordable package+Lovely leaf and landscape art+Clever gotchas in every aspect of playReasons to avoid-Difficult decisions may be a bit much for family play-Relies on common set collection concepts that may feel over-familiar-Poor solo mode and confusing iconography
Reasons to buy+A challenging and varied game in a small, affordable package+Lovely leaf and landscape art+Clever gotchas in every aspect of play
A challenging and varied game in a small, affordable package
Lovely leaf and landscape art
Clever gotchas in every aspect of play
Reasons to avoid-Difficult decisions may be a bit much for family play-Relies on common set collection concepts that may feel over-familiar-Poor solo mode and confusing iconography
Difficult decisions may be a bit much for family play
Relies on common set collection concepts that may feel over-familiar
Poor solo mode and confusing iconography
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
In Japanese, Momiji is one of those words with an oddly specific definition: maple leaves reddening in the autumnal fall. The beauty of the shaded leaves is a cause for celebration in Japan, and this game invites you to share in it as you collect coloured leaves in the Imperial Garden. In reality, it’s rather more of an abstract card game, but the theme is a great excuse for some very striking visuals.
But, is it one of thebest board gamesto buy and play today? Let’s find out.
Momiji review: Price and Who It’s For
Despite the lovely leaf art and relatively accessible rules, Momiji turns out to be quite challenging to play well. There’s a lot to think about during your turns, which marks it as being a bit more of a gamer’s game than family fare. As such, it’s best suited to groups who might want a short but stretching title to fit into their game nights. If that appeals, then it’ll set you back a reasonable £20/$25.
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
Momiji review: How It Plays
This kind of trap is hidden in all aspects of Momiji’s play, giving it a far more slippery strategy than it first appears. Picking up cards seems like an easy pick if there are leaves there you want, except there’s a strict hand limit, and if you clear the face-up selection the next player gets four new cards to choose from. Playing cards is necessary for points, except you have to lay them in numeric order, and the game rewards you with acorns for laying cards in different colours rather than on the same pile. Every choice you make has a gotcha ready to spring out and bite you on the behind.
As if that didn’t give players enough to think about, players also have three landscape cards, each of which can be activated with an acorn once per game for a special power. This might be to take two colours of leaves instead of one when you pick up cards, or to play additional cards when you add to your piles. There are fourteen different landscape cards, giving a very wide variety of powers to experiment with and ensuring that the challenge is different in every game. However, despite Momiji’s attempts to differentiate itself, set collection is a very common game mechanic and veteran gamers may find its rhythms to be over-familiar.
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
Nevertheless, Momiji delivers a lot of interesting game-play moments as you’re internalising its icons. You’re constantly challenged to balance the desire to collect cards to help you build up to powerful plays with the need to empty your hand to accommodate more cards. Taking turns to buy objectives is both expensive and risks losing the tempo of picking up or playing cards. There’s a strong timing element that comes through with practice, learning when it’s risky to take cards or an objective. At the same time, there can’t help but be a fair amount of randomness when just the right cards are available on your turn for you to grab.
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
Momiji review: Verdict
Momiji is a good and good-looking game that tries hard to differentiate itself from the rash of similar set collection games that abound in the modern market. While it can feel repetitive, it succeeds for the most part, presenting a fun puzzle with a decent amount of variety and an ever-shifting game state that can throw up some surprising swings.
Momiji review: Also consider
Given that there are a lot of set collection games around, the obvious place to look for alternatives is in the well-worn classics of the genre. You may have heard of the Ticket to Ride series, a crossover smash hit that sees players using Rummy-like mechanics to claim rail routes across a map. There are also 7 Wonders and 7 Wonders Duel which feature card drafting, passing a selection of cards from player to player, picking one each time, to build up sets that represent aspects of a developing civilization. All these games are great for family play although they take slightly longer than Momiji does.
If you want a closer fit, in terms of a short, strategic card game with lovely art, there are still plenty of good contenders. Stellar is perhaps the closest, where players build a shaped tableau of beautiful cards depicting the night sky. Closer to earth is Canopy which involves a novel form of blind card drafting to collect sets representing a rainforest ecosystem. Both, unlike Momiji, are best with two players although will support more.
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