How to Play Sushi Go! and Sushi Go! Party

Sushi Go! is a brilliant party game. The standard way to play is for 2 to 5 players, but there's also an expanded edition for up to 8 players. They play almost the same way, but with more flexibility on the bigger game. Today, we're going to teach you how to play both versions – and throw in a few bits of sushi trivia while we're at it!

Sushi Go! 2 – 5 players

The aim of the game is to score the most points, and this is done by collecting the best combinations of sushi cards. The game runs for three rounds and should last around 15 minutes.

First of all, you'll need to shuffle the deck. If you struggle with shuffling you could cut (split into piles) then rearrange them. After a few plays the deck shuffles itself because of how the game is played, so you can dive straight into play if you want.

Like most card games, you need to deal the cards to each player. How many depends on how many people are playing.

It goes like this:

10 cards each for 2 players

9 cards each for 3 players

8 cards each for 4 players

7 cards each for 5 players

Each player should keep the cards in their hands hidden from others.

At the beginning of the game, players simultaneously choose one card from their hand and put it face down in a shared space, like a playmat or table. If you’re travelling, beds work fine too.

Once everyone has put a card down, it's time to flip them over. You all do this at the same time, and everyone sees what the other players have set.

After the reveal, players pass their remaining hand to the player on their left – without showing anyone else.

Now, you do the same again, placing one card in the middle and passing the rest to the player on your left after revealing the one you just put down.

Continue this until there aren't any cards left to pass on – and that's the first round complete!

This brings you to scoring. Sushi Go! points are based on the ‘meal’ you've made, which is shown by the cards in your face up area. Different cards score in different ways, much like in more traditional card cards.

Nigiri cards are 1, 2 or 3 points depending on which one they are. Nigiri is the one where a block of rice is hand-formed with a protein on top. This could be something like a strip of salmon, a shrimp or a slice of egg roll.

Wasabi gives a card bonus if placed before a Nigiri. This triples the nigiri’s value. Wasabi is a spicy paste made by grating a wasabi root. It has a quick warming sensation at the back of the nose that goes away quickly. If you've had wasabi outside of Japan, it probably wasn't real wasabi because of the rarity of the plant. Often, a synthetic version is made of horseradish and green food colouring.

Tempura only gets you a point if you have a pair. It's five points per pair. Tempura is a popular Japanese restaurant food where seafood, vegetables or tofu is lightly cooked in batter.

Sashimi scores ten points – if you have a set of three. Sashimi is a frequently mistaken Japanese food, because lots of people think it's sushi. Sushi is actually the rice, while sashimi is the sliced, raw fish element.

Dumplings increase in value with each one you collect in a round, going from 1 point for a single dumpling, 3 points for 2 dumplings, 6 points for 3 dumplings, 10 points for 4 dumplings and 15 points for a set of 6 dumplings. Dumplings are a universal food and come in many flavours reflecting each country's heritage.

Maki roll points depend on the number of roll icons on each card. On top of that, whoever has the most maki rolls gets an extra 6 points, and whoever has the second most gets 3 extra points. Maki rolls were modified in the 1960s to create California rolls where the seaweed is inside so as not to put off Americans who were new to the sea vegetable.

Here's a quick guide to those types in kawaii pictures.

The styles of the food types, made on Canva

After three rounds, the points from the three rounds get added together and you have your sushi score – but there's a pudding point to add.

Pudding cards are only scored at the end of the game. You don’t add them into each round. Whoever has the most pudding cards in their pile, gets 6 extra points. In games with 3 or more people in, the person with the fewest puddings loses six points. It can be a real game changer.

The player with the highest score overall wins! And if you're playing with younger ones, so do you, because they're getting mathematics practice without even knowing it!

Sushi Go! Party

In this version, which is great for parties or more experienced gamers, the core gameplay is the same.

Players still draft cards, place one down, rotate their hands and collect point-scoring combos over three rounds. However, Sushi Go Party is a customizable version where players can design a menu of cards. This adds different setups and scenarios to each game, gives freedom to be even more strategic and is a fun way for budding game designers to hone their skills.

Sushi Go Party! comes with a scoring board and tokens for easier tracking. Old-fashioned pen and paper also works.

The customizable menu cards are based on the different types of sushi and specials from the original version but with a few exclusive extras. Thankfully, these cards aren't ones you draw on – defacing cards or manga is one of our big hates. The customizable element is that you build the deck you'll be drawing from, rather than using the whole pack. You can build some really salty plays too.

How the game plays depends on what you choose to create your own menu and points system. It really opens up the game, giving it way more playability.

There are lots of menu categories, so here's a basic breakdown of what's generally included in a menu – but feel free to mix it up.

Nigiri is always included, and comes with the options of egg, salmon or squid.

One roll card is chosen, and could be a maki roll, uramaki (inside-out roll with rice on the outside) or temaki (seaweed cones filled with sushi rice).

Uramaki gains the player who gets 10 uramaki pictures first gets 8 points. The second gets 5, and the third gets 3. Everyone else gets nothing for their uramaki.

As for temaki, whoever has the most at the end of the round, gets 4 points. Whoever has the least loses 4 points.

Appetizers come in threes. You can choose any combination of tempura, sashimi, dumplings, edamame or fruit – with fruit being counted as a pudding card.

Two specials are selected. These are a bit of a mixed selection, including wasabi, chopsticks, soy sauce, tea, a menu, or a special order. These are fun tech cards, adding extra options that aren't used in the standard version. In case you've lost your instructions, here's a quick summary of what the special cards do:

Chopsticks can be swapped for two extra cards.

Menu lets you draw 4 cards, but limits you to placing one of them instead of your original hand.

Soy sauce gives 4 points to whoever has the most colourful card selections at the end of the round.

Tea scores extra points for each identical card in your group.

Takeout box makes you discard two cards and exchange them for a pudding.

Special Order lets you copy the effect of a card you already played this round.

One dessert type is added. In this version, you can switch pudding cards with other choices like fruit or green tea ice cream

Fruit cards score points based on how many complete sets of three you have at the end of the game. A set includes a pineapple, watermelon, and an orange. One full set is worth 5 points, two sets gets you 10 points, three sets score 15 points, and four sets are 20 points. Incomplete sets don't score.

Green tea ice cream gives you 12 points at the end of the game if you get 4, but nothing for anything under.

That's all you need to know, but here are a couple of menus for your playstyle while you get to grips with the game.

Family friendly menu

This menu set is a nice, chill selection that's good for friends and family who just want to have some fun.

Appetizers: Dumpling and miso soup

Rolls: Maki rolls

Specials: Menu and tea

Dessert: Fruit

Nigiri: Egg, salmon, squid, and wasabi

Chaotic menu

This is the one to use if you want to get tactical, frustrate other players and make people salty.

Appetizers: Tofu and edamame

Rolls: Temaki

Specials: Soy Sauce and chopsticks

Dessert: Green tea ice cream

Nigiri: Egg, salmon, wasabi, and squid

We hope that you have a great time playing Sushi Go! and we're going to be writing up lots of fun game rules in the future, as well as ideas for new ways to play existing card games. We'll also be adding ideas for our own games that are in development, so if you fancy learning something new, or refreshing on games, please feel free to have a look through our other blogs, or follow us on social media (links at the bottom of the website) to see what's new!