
- BGG rank
- BGG #9,476
- BGG rating
- 6.3
Karuba Junior
- 1–4 players
- 5–10 min
- Complexity 1.1/5
- 2017

2022
Rules assistance for Kinoko
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
For 2 players

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Kinoko is a board game released in 2022 for 2–4 players and ages 8 and up. It was designed by Tim Rogasch and its main mechanics are Hand Management, Set Collection, and Dice Rolling.
In Kinoko, each player secretly draws a color card corresponding to a family of mushrooms — musicians, scientists, etc. — and gets a hand of three mushroom cards. On your turn, roll the three dice, then choose one of them. The result of that die, whether a number or an icon, determines your action: exchange two cards, swap two sets of cards, pick at any card secretly, etc. To win the round, you must gather the three members of your family in one location during your turn. This reunion can happen in any player's hand or on the table. Seems easy? The trick is you can see only the cards in other players' hands, and your decisions are limited to what you roll on the dice. What's more, each round one family of mushrooms turns poisonous, and having a card of that color in your hand when the round stops earns you a negative point... The round's winner scores positive points, and the first player to 4 points wins.
Kinoko supports 2–4 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 catalogue lists Kinoko for ages 8 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.
Kinoko has a complexity rating of 1.2 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.
Kinoko belongs to these categories: Dice and Memory. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Set Collection, and Dice Rolling. 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 Kinoko are: Tim Rogasch. 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 Kinoko 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.