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Kabuki Tricks
2024
Rules assistance for Kabuki Tricks
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–5 players
- 20–30 min
- 10+
- Complexity 1.1/5
For 2 players
Rules assistant for Kabuki Tricks
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Kabuki Tricks is a board game released in 2024 for 2–5 players, 20–30 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. It was designed by Geoffrey Chia and its main mechanics are Hand Management, Trick-taking, and Predictive Bid.
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About the game
It's showtime in Kabuki Tricks, with players becoming producers of Kabuki performances in which the quality of showmanship depends on the number of tricks to be won. The game is played over a number of rounds, with each player having a chance to play as the dealer. Each round plays out as follows: • Each player gets a hand of a joker and seven random cards, which come in four actor suits. The dealer then arranges the separate actor cards in order to determine the rank of the suits, while also determining whether low or high cards are best. • The dealer leads to the first trick, and all players must follow suit, if possible — except that one non-lead player can play their joker instead of matching suit. When someone plays a joker, they place one of their player cards face down above one of the actor cards; their player card is a bet that they will win 1, 2, or 3 tricks, and the actor they played above is a bet that their final card will be that color. Additionally, they can either flip the High/Low card to affect which numbers are best or swap two adjacent actor cards to change the rank of the suits. • Whoever played the highest/lowest card in the highest rank wins the trick, then leads to the next trick. • After seven tricks, players reveal their bets and score: 1 point per trick captured, 1 or 2 points for correctly bidding the number of tricks they won, and 1 point if their final card matches the actor card they chose. Alternatively, if a player's last card is their joker and they won zero tricks, they earn 5 points. The player with the highest score after adding the scores from each round wins. —description from the publisher Kabuki Tricks is the second title of the Shiba Senpai game series.
Designers
Publishers
- 25th Century Games
- Good Spirit Games
Questions and answers
Kabuki Tricks supports 2–5 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Kabuki Tricks is 20–30 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Kabuki Tricks for ages 10 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Kabuki Tricks has a complexity rating of 1.1 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Kabuki Tricks belongs to these categories: Card Game and Humor. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Trick-taking, and Predictive Bid. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Kabuki Tricks are: Geoffrey Chia. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Kabuki Tricks as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.