Gugong

Corruption, it seems, is everywhere. Even during the good old Ming Dynasty. Despite heavy penalties for corruption, sneaky officials would accept swaps where they gave a good of low value and in return received a higher value item. Gugong seeks to replicate this practice with clever use of cards and engaging gameplay.

Across the board are various areas where you can take actions by playing a card. Each card is valued 1-9 and the card you play must be higher than the existing card on the spot, which comes into your hand. Don't worry though, ones can be used on nines, there is some funny explanation for this involving fruit!

This simple mechanic provokes a lot of thought. You will obviously have your preferred spot depending on what actions you want but exchanging a high card for a considerably lower one is going to limit the rest of your turn. Added to that every player needs to ascend the steps to the emperor or they literally will not have their score counted at the end.

Other spots allow you to trade on the river, build the great wall of china, obtain valuable jade stones and more. The components, even in the retail edition are excellent, as is the artwork.

The game length is also not bad by any stretch of the imagination, especially given the crunchiness of some of the decision. Typically, you will set out with your own plan but then start watching your opponents and decide that you would jolly well like a piece of that action too. The level of interaction is very high for a 'Euro' game, and the temptation to spread yourself too thin is constant.

Of course, with so many ways to score points you might still do alright. Just don't forget to climb those steps!

Player Count: 1-5
Time: 60-90 Minutes
Age: 12+