Makoto (Preorder)

PLEASE NOTE: Due to continuous changes in tariffs on incoming products to the United States we cannot guarantee that there will not be changes to SRPs on our current preorders. We will do our best to keep customers and listings updated as information becomes available. However, if SRPs are increased preorders may be subject to additional charges. Preorders are subject to our Cancellation Policy. We do not know how tariffs will continue to impact our products and will always try to keep our prices as low as possible and our customers up to date and appreciate your understanding.

Preorder items are not yet available. The quantity available and "in stock" notations are the quantities we have available for advance order.

If there are other items on the order, the entire order will not ship until all preorders release.

Image, contents, and release date are subject to change.

Makoto, which means "sincerity" in Japanese, is a climbing card game with hidden depths and beautiful illustrations that show the journey of a Ronin through the countryside of Japan. Each player starts a round with a hand of cards that range from 1-16, and a number of cards are dealt face up in the center of the table as a "blind".

The lead player of a round plays a combination - a set of one or more cards of the same value or a run of at least three cards - then players in turn either play the same combination (with at least one higher card) or pass, which does not remove you from the round. A four-of-a-kind - a Kensei - can be played over any combination and is beaten only by a higher Kensei. When all players pass in turn, the round ends, and whoever played last collects the played cards and leads the next round.

After playing on your turn, you can discard to the blind one card from your hand that's lower than anything you played, or you can pick up cards from the blind as long as they're the same value, lower than what you played, and at most the same number of cards you played.

When you've emptied your hand, you receive a bonus, with the bonus diminishing for those who go out later. After all but one person has gone out, players score for the cards they've collected - but only for 2s, 5s, and 10s. After a certain number of rounds, whoever has the highest score wins.

Makoto is all about cleverly improving your hand cards and weighing when to continue playing versus when to pass.

Ages: 8+
Players: 2-6
Game Length: 20 minutes