Award winning designer Antoine Bauza’s game of pilgrims in feudal Japan is getting a beautiful reprint.
Tokaido publisher Funforge, LLC has just launched a Kickstarter for a collector’s edition of the game – one certainly destined to succeed, racking up almost half of its $40,000 dollar goal within thirty minutes of launching. Tokaido is notable not only for being made by two time Spiel des Jahres winner Antoine Bauza, but for being a wonderfully meditative piece of design. The collector’s edition splurges by including the Crossroads expansion, improved art, miniatures, metal coins, scoring tokens, and a peaceful soundtrack to listen to while playing. At this point, the game funding is an inevitability, with the only question being how much money they’ll make off of it. The Kickstarter is EU-friendly, with free shipping to a variety of countries. The game’s Kickstarter-only price is $75, while the estimated retail price of the Collector’s edition will be $90.
Tokaido explores the theme of pilgrims along the East Sea Road of Japan, variously visiting hot springs, natural wonders, and collecting trinkets. The mechancis are all about basic set collection, but with an added element of turn order that keeps any given player from falling irreparably behind in their score.
It’s exciting to see games like Tokaido do so well, especially on a victory lap. With all the variously violent or complicated themes in board games these days, the value of an uncomplicated yet deep game of setting your own path is exciting. Not to mention family-friendly. This is certainly a game for getting your spouse, significant other, or parents into modern board gaming.
