Review: Yokai Pagoda

Introduction & Overview

A mysterious building rises on the hill, bathed in twilight. Amazed by the Pagoda’s strange aura, you decide to investigate it. Suddenly, a laugh, a shadow that is not your own, and an ominous-looking eye come to life. You have disturbed the peace of ten powerful Japanese spirits (called Yokai) resting there! Will you find a way to soothe their wrath?

This is the premise behind Yokai Pagoda, a design by Jacobo Rufete (AntaYagí, Iluliaq). First published in 2023 by PIF Games in a multilingual edition (Spanish, English, German, and French). The illustrations are handled by Nakara Studio (their debut in the board game world).

It plays with 2 to 5 players, with a minimum suggested age of 8 years and an approximate duration of 15 minutes. The MSRP is €14.95. For this review, a copy of the multilingual edition by PIF Games was used, kindly provided as a review copy by the publisher itself.

Important: if you already know the game and/or are only interested in my opinion about it, you can go directly to the Opinion section. The Content and Mechanics sections are especially intended for those who do not know the game and prefer to get a general idea of how it works.

Go to Personal Opinion

Components

Inside a two-piece cardboard box measuring 13×10×3 cm (a small rectangular box similar to Seas of Strife or Pocket Mars), we find the following items:

• 109 Cards (56×87 mm):
  • 100 Yokai Cards
  • 4 Torii Gate Cards
  • 5 Reference Cards
• Rulebook

How to Play

Yokai Pagoda is a card filler in which players, over a series of rounds, attempt to accumulate the fewest negative points possible. At the start of each round, players receive 7 cards from a 100-card deck featuring 10 types of yokai, each with 10 cards numbered 1 to 10. Two additional cards are revealed and placed on either side of the draw deck. On each turn, the active player must play a card from their hand onto one of the two piles, leading to one of three possible situations. If the yokai type and/or the value of the card matches the top card of the chosen pile, they hand a card from their hand to an opponent. If it does not match in yokai type and the value is higher, the player must draw a card, which can be taken from the draw deck or the face-up card of the other discard pile. And if the yokai type does not match and the value is lower, the player may trigger the end of the round provided the value of their hand is less than 3. The hand value is the sum of the lowest-value card of each yokai type held in hand. The round also ends if a player runs out of cards. When the round concludes, all players place all cards remaining in their hands into their score pile. At the end of the game, players reveal their score piles and sort the cards by yokai type, scoring points equal to the lowest value for each yokai type present in their pile, with the lowest overall score winning.

Key Concepts

Throughout the game, players manage a hand of Yokai Cards from a deck containing ten types of Yokai, each with ten cards numbered from 1 to 10. The core concept is the hand value, calculated by adding together the value of the lowest card of each Yokai type in hand. Thus, if a player holds multiple cards of the same Yokai type, only the one with the lowest value is taken into account when evaluating their hand and their final score; the remaining cards of that type are effectively ignored for these purposes.

The game unfolds over a set number of rounds. To track the progress, players use the Torii Gate Cards, which depict a Torii Gate showing the current round’s number.

That is enough to get started.

Preparación de la Partida

1. Shuffle the deck of yokai cards and place it facedown in the center of the table.
2. Next, reveal the top two cards of the deck to form two discard piles on either side of the draw deck.
3. Stack the Torii gate cards from highest to lowest, leaving the lowest-value card on top.
4. Finally, randomly choose the starting player.

We are ready to begin!

Game Flow

A game of Yokai Pagoda is played over three rounds (four in two-player games).

In each round, players take alternating turns, starting with the first player and proceeding clockwise. On each turn, the active player must play a card from their hand onto one of the two discard piles. When doing so, three situations may arise:

• The card matches either the yokai type or the value of the top card on the pile. In this case, the active player hands one card from their hand to an opponent of their choice.
• The card is a different yokai type and its value is higher than the top card of the pile. In this case, the player must draw a card and add it to their hand. This card can be drawn from the top of the draw deck or taken from the top of the other discard pile (the one they didn’t play onto). If drawing from the pile empties it, immediately reveal the top card of the draw deck to restart that pile.
• The card is a different yokai type and its value is lower than the top card of the pile. In this case, the player has the option to end the round, provided that the sum of the lowest-value cards of each yokai type in their hand equals three or less. If this condition is not met, or if the player simply chooses not to end the round, nothing happens (they do not need to announce that they had the option to close).

The round ends when a player chooses to close the round or runs out of cards. All other players slide the cards remaining in their hands under their reference card (without revealing them).

Following this, 7 new cards are dealt to each player (leaving the discard piles as they are), the round counter advances, and the first turn of the new round goes to the player sitting after the one who triggered the round’s end.

Game End

The game ends at the conclusion of the third round (fourth in two-player games).

At this point, each player reveals all the cards accumulated during the game and sorts them by yokai type. Each player’s score is the sum of the lowest card value for each yokai type in their scoring area.

The player with the lowest score wins. In case of a tie, the player with the fewest yokai types wins. If the tie persists, the player with the fewest total cards wins.

Personal Opinion

Today we are going to look at one of those games that lands on our table almost by chance. You know the drill: a small publisher that does not yet have massive media reach due to lacking major promotional channels, whether on video platforms or large social media accounts.

Indeed, this Yokai Pagoda had flown completely under my radar. It would have stayed that way were it not for the folks at PIF Games—creators of Captain’s Log (here is its tocho-review)—and some emerging word-of-mouth bringing positive impressions of this Japanese-themed filler. After putting it through its paces across several games, it is time for one of those lengthy write-ups you love so much, not without first thanking the publisher for providing the review copy that made this possible.

Yokai Pagoda is a filler that borrows interesting ingredients from other successful titles and shakes them lovingly in a cocktail shaker to achieve a genuinely compelling result. I will mention these references as we explore each of the concepts seen in other games.

The core goal in Yokai Pagoda is to finish with the lowest score possible after the three rounds that make up a game (four at two players). At the start of each round, players receive a hand of cards that they will try to shed as quickly as possible. On each turn, the active player must play a card from their hand onto one of the two discard piles established at setup. Doing so leads to three possible outcomes depending on the type and value of the played card relative to the top card of the chosen pile.

What players ideally aim for is playing a card of the same type or value as the face-up card on the chosen pile, as this allows them to pass a card from their hand to an opponent. In doing so, the active player effectively reduces their hand size by two cards. This first option strongly evokes the timeless UNO through the mechanic of matching the color or number showing on the discard pile. Furthermore, whenever you play a matching card, you get to “gift” cards to a rival, usually targeting whichever player holds the fewest cards.

This direct-attack mechanic generates that delightfully petty dynamic where players scramble to plead their case to the active player, arguing why someone else deserves the card more. It sparks equal parts whining and vendettas. While this dynamic might not suit every gaming group, I find it quite well-balanced in Yokai Pagoda, because the harm inflicted on the targeted player remains relatively contained.

The second situation that can occur on a turn happens when the player discards a card of a different yokai type with a higher value. This forces the player to draw a new card—something inherently disadvantageous at first glance, since you end your turn with the exact same hand size you started with. Fortunately, the design allows you to choose whether to draw from the deck or take the top card of the other discard pile (while playing your card onto the first), opening up interesting tactical moments where you play defensively to secure a low-value card.

Why would you want a low-value card in the first place? Here is where the game’s core concept comes into play, namely the scoring system, which acts as a hybrid of the mechanisms found in No Thanks! (here is its tocho-review) and Parade (here is its tocho-review). It is as straightforward as this: for any given yokai type (of which there are 10 cards), you only score the single lowest-value card you possess. This calculation applies both to checking your hand during the round and to the final scoring.

Because of this, if playing a card onto a pile results in a different yokai type with a lower value, the player earns the option to end the round early before anyone runs out of cards (the latter being the standard and preferred way to wrap up a round, as it avoids taking any penalty points).

If a player’s total hand value is three or less, they can reveal their hand and drop the hammer on the round, forcing every other player to tuck all remaining hand cards into their score piles. This mechanism injects immense tension into the flow of play, hanging like the sword of Damocles over everyone’s head from turn one, very much in the spirit of CuBirds (here is its tocho-review). While an early round closure is somewhat rare, the mere possibility keeps everyone on edge.

Consequently, hoarding multiple cards of the same yokai type becomes a great strategy since only one of them will count against you, much like holding sequential runs in No Thanks! Meanwhile, the connection to Parade lies in the fact that your primary goal for any given yokai type is to avoid collecting it entirely. If you must take cards, you want to minimize your own penalty while loading up your opponents.

Similarly, if you have already secured low cards of a specific yokai type and draw more of that type in later rounds, you will look to pass them to whichever opponent is hurt the most by them, knowing that several of the protective low cards are already out of circulation.

Naturally, player performance heavily relies on the luck of the deal. If a player is dealt a hand containing very few yokai types (in the extreme case, seven cards of the same type), that round will be over in a flash; that player will likely close the round on their very first turn to the dismay of their rivals, who will rarely have had such good fortune and will end up banking numerous yokai types in their score pile, some with very high values.

The design mitigates this swinginess through a multi-round structure that builds narrative arcs from one round to the next, as the player who abruptly closes a round often becomes the prime target for everyone else in the following round. Because of this, it is often wise to let another player pull the trigger while you manipulate your hand to collect duplicate yokai types; that way, when you stash them in your score pile, your rivals assume they dealt you serious damage while you quietly smile to yourself.

This is precisely why I enjoy the game most at four or five players, where these dynamics shine at their fullest. At two players it still runs smoothly, but the back-and-forth becomes far tighter; since there is only one opponent to target, the play style shifts and the table talk largely fades away. That is not to say it is worse, but I personally find it less entertaining, as that touch of chaos suits the game wonderfully.

In terms of replayability, it is one of those addictive fillers that hooks you through the dynamics described above. Furthermore, each round generally drives players swiftly toward the finish line—often leaving you wanting more—making it very easy to chain multiple games back-to-back. I have brought it to the table with various gaming groups, and it has consistently left a fantastic impression across the board.

If you tally up how many great fillers I have referenced throughout this article, you will understand the rationale behind the final rating you are about to see (unless you belong to that impatient group of readers who skipped straight to the score and is reading these words devoid of suspense). Bringing together so many established concepts so seamlessly is a commendable design feat, creating interactive dynamics that, while not entirely novel in isolation, feel remarkably fresh in execution.

Let us turn to production. The game comes in a compact cardboard box housing the cards across two compartments. The cards feature good core stock, more than adequate snap, and a very pleasant linen finish. Sleeving is necessary here because the cards use black borders, which are prone to chipping and edge wear; given that hidden information is central to the game, marked cards must be avoided. The rulebook is well-structured and leaves no room for ambiguity.

Visually, the game might not be universally appealing: while the comic-book art style is technically competent, most of the yokai do not carry substantial visual charm. In fact, a few look downright bizarre or off-putting, though not for lack of illustrative quality. They are simply inherently eccentric creatures. All things considered, the presentation is functional, and it is far preferable to plain numbers and basic color schemes (which could easily have been the case).

And let’s wrap this up. Yokai Pagoda has proved to be a delightful surprise—a filler that flew under the radar only to become one of the standout releases of recent months. It successfully weaves together core concepts from other great fillers, generating dynamics that are tremendously rewarding. While the two-player experience plays differently (though not worse), the game truly shines at four or five players thanks to higher tension and richer player interaction. It belongs to that category of games concealing clever subtleties that emerge with repeated plays, revealing considerably more depth than meets the eye. For all these reasons, I give it a…