Tokaido 10th Anniversary Edition Review

boardgamequest.com:

Tokaido is one of my daughter’s favorite board games, so when FunForge released the 10th Anniversary edition I was curious to see how it had changed. In this review, I’ll discuss Tokaido for readers unfamiliar with the game, but I’ll also note the differences in this new edition for those who have played the original (note that the actual rules are unchanged).

Tokaido is a track movement and set collection game for 2-5 players. In it, players take on the role of travelers making their way along Japan’s historic road from Kyoto to Edo. A game lasts about 45 minutes.

The board depicts the Tokaido road, with various stops marked along the way. Each player gets a character card with a unique ability, as well as a number of coins determined by this starting card. On their turn players will move their pawn to a location and get the benefit specific to that location. There are four inns (not counting the initial starting inn) which represent way-points along the way. During their turn, a player may move as far as they like along the path, but no farther than the next inn. They can never move backward, so any skipped spaces are skipped for good. The spaces give various benefits which grant players coins, souvenirs, panoramas, and other benefits. The next player to take their turn is whoever is farthest behind on the path. This means a player may occasionally get to take multiple turns in a row.

When a player reaches an inn they must stop and wait until all other players reach the inn as well. Whoever reaches it first will draw as many meal cards as there are players, plus one. They may purchase one of these, but only if they have the money. Meals cost one to three coins and only if it’s a meal they haven’t previously collected. Each meal card is worth six points. Players arriving after the first player will get to choose from the remaining meals.

Once all players have reached the final inn and had the opportunity to purchase a meal, the game ends. In addition to points