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- BGG #6,673
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Spies & Lies: A Stratego Story
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Umami
2025
Rules assistance for Umami
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 1.5/5
Rules assistant for Umami
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Umami is a board game released in 2025 for 2–5 players, 20–30 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. It was designed by Don Eskridge and its main mechanics are Take That, Set Collection, and Open Drafting.
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About the game
Fire up your stalls under a full moon in a rustling forest! Ramen, takoyaki, miso soup, and more sizzle as you race to serve dishes packed with umami — that savory taste that makes mouths water and crowds gather. In Umami, you will whip up the tastiest dishes possible of just three ingredients each. Spot a better bite? "Borrow" it off a rival's plate! Forest denizens have special tastes, so match your ingredients to their appetites to win them over! In more detail, start with four ingredient cards in hand; ingredients range from 1-9, with each card also having a star, steal, or blossom icon. Four ingredient cards are in a face-up market. Each player has a secret "favorite" card, with four favorites in a face-up market; each favorite shows three cards that make up the dish they want, e.g., two medium (4-6) and a high (7-9), with the highest total possible. On a turn, play one ingredient from your hand and another from the market, creating over time at most five dishes of three cards each. (You can replace a card in a dish, if desired.) Once per turn, you can discard a card with a steal icon to take an opponent's ingredient and add it to your dish; they draw and play a replacement card. As soon as you qualify for a favorite on display, place it in front of that dish, which keeps others from stealing your ingredients...although they can still steal the favorite by having a dish that better meets their tastes or has more blossoms in it. When the last favorite is claimed or someone has a full table, everyone reveals their secret favorite, then run through one more round, after which the player with the most stars — summed from ingredients played and favorites claimed — wins.
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- HeidelBÄR Games
Questions and answers
Umami 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 Umami 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 Umami 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.
Umami has a complexity rating of 1.5 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.
Umami belongs to these categories: Card Game and Animals. Its main mechanics are Take That, Set Collection, and Open Drafting. 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 Umami are: Don Eskridge. 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 Umami 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.