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The year is 1840 and the great Master Hokusai, creator of the famous print ‘The Great Wave off Kanagawa’, is putting you to the test to create the masterpiece of your lifetime. Throughout Kanagawa, you will expand your studio and develop a beautiful and harmonious print to earn diplomas and score as many harmony points as possible. Kanagawa is a game that expertly mixes hand management, set collection, worker placement and push-your-luck. Why should Kanagawa be in your collection?
SATISFYING
The illustrations, crafted by Jade Mosch, are a huge element of the game, and Jade truly delivered. Each lesson card contains an amazing piece of art that charmingly connects to the next card you add to your print, enforcing this idea of creating one big masterpiece and capturing that essence of traditional Japan.
The School Board that you select your Lesson Cards from is a bamboo mat which is a small detail that makes a huge difference, and ties in brilliantly with the theme. I would also suggest playing some traditional Japanese music in the background to really get you into that headspace.
CALMING & CUT-THROAT
With the immaculate VIBES of the theming, you can already understand how calming Kanagwa must be to play…which unfortunately doesn’t overpower the pure fire you feel when another player screws you over. Now, it wouldn’t be much of a game if all you had to do was place pieces of art together!
“How do I earn these points?”, I hear you ask. At the start of a round, cards are laid on the School Board (either face up or face down, following the instructions on the board). You can decide to take a card, immediately adding it to your print or your studio, or you can stay in school and “Broaden Your Knowledge”, and more lesson cards are placed out. You now have the option of taking your cards from a whole column (to a maximum of three). These cards will either expand your studio, allowing you the option to buy more print cards down the line and gain more resources, or (if you can afford to) expand your print, extending your masterpiece. The cards can have a multitude of things that contribute to points - the season on the card, the subject of the card, the landmarks, the supplies and Know-hows etc. These things could be endgame point gainers, or the opportunity to snag a diploma and earn extra points now. Players can only take one column of cards per round, so when another player takes the column you were eyeing up, or you take a column only to find out that the face-down card isn’t what you wanted it to be, or EVEN WORSE, it is, but you can’t afford it with the options you have in your studio, you can quickly see how Kanagawa can turn deadly.
Kanagawa captures the anxiety of Ticket to Ride, but with a funner theme. Patchwork also comes to mind when thinking of this game. A game so calming and casual, until the end is in sight and the stakes get higher. You need this subject to get this diploma, or this season to grasp that extra point before you miss the chance. It’s brilliant.
CONSIDERATIONS
Reading the rules, this is one of the few games where I would recommend getting started as soon as you can. The rulebook throws a bunch of terminology at you and a few concepts that may have you re-reading them to understand how they work, but once you know how to play, the game is super easy to follow. On my second play, I was able to set up, teach a friend how to play and finish the game all within an hour.
Diplomas are super easy to forget about, even if you're trying so hard to remember them. In every game of Kanagawa I’ve played there have been moments when I’ve realised I could have claimed a diploma rounds ago but didn’t. The kicker? If you pass it up, you can only aim for the next diploma in that category and you don’t get to go back. If you have friends like mine, it doesn’t matter that “you didn’t pass it up, you just forgot”. You’ve missed your chance buddy! Cry about it…
Some game mechanics admittedly feel weak in comparison to the larger game. I very rarely need to move more than one paintbrush per round, and having more than 3 paintbrushes doesn’t feel particularly helpful unless your aiming for the paintbrush diploma. I’ve never needed to use the “Keep a lesson card” Know-How ability, though I’m sure it has its uses in the right situation.
It’s also worth considering that Kanagawa is currently on sale on Zatu for £20.49, so if this has inspired you to give it a play, grab it now!
