There are times when you want to play games with a larger group of people and you don’t want to play a party game. Now, there are starting to become more with social deduction games, or games like Tsuro, but how about games that allow you to have a larger number of players that offer a bit more strategy? I think that Sushi Go Party! is a good fit for that realm with how it plays and the variability in the game.

In Sushi Go Party! you are drafting cards to collect sets of various foods you might find in a Japanese restaurant. These foods will score you different points for how they are collected. Eel, for example gives you 7 total points if you have two or more, but if you only have one, you lose 3 points. Or with tofu, if you have two they are worth 5 points for the pair, but if you get a third, they aren’t worth any points. And there are a lot of different appetizers, deserts, rolls, and specials that you can use. You draft three hands of cards, first passing left, then right, and then back left, resetting the cards, each time. Except the dessert cards which you score at the end of the game, because you have to wait for dessert.

What makes Sushi Go Party! a good game, besides the simplicity of the drafting, is the variety of cards that you have. You only ever play with a single dessert and a single roll, so with three of them, you can create a variety. There are a lot of specials that you can use that change up how you draft and score in interesting ways, and then the appetizers, while there are three of them, you have a good variety of them. So you can make it a very friendly game where everything scores you no points or positive points and end up with a very high scoring game. You can also tailor the combination to be really tough. If you had eel, tofu, a dessert like pudding or fruit, you can create a combination that is really mean and I’ve seen someone get negative points to start the game.

This ability to tailor the combination of foods makes the game for a good variety in types of players. If it’s a more casual group where you want points, you can do that, and vice-a-versa. And the variety in player count works as well. On the Board Game Geek page, the recommended number is 4-5 players as you can get more strategy, but the game can play as few as 2 and up to 8, so you have a big range of players. I personally would say that 4-8 is where the game is ideal because you get the full party effect then, and a smaller number is too strategic in your drafting, and if you can remember cards and count cards, you are going to be at an advantage.

Another thing that is really strong in this game is the artwork. I realize it might be too cute for some people or make people think it can’t be a strategic game, but they have branded it well and made it very accessible for gamers and non-gamers because of the artwork. When you pull it out as compared to other drafting games, for example, 7 Wonders, Sushi Go Party! is going to be easier to get to the table because the artwork is going to be more attractive to most people. Now, like I said, it can be a turn off for some, but especially for casual gamers, I think that it helps sell the game. And it is also going to be attractive to most children, so if you want to get them to more complex drafting games like 7 Wonders, Sushi Go Party! is going to be a good starting point and an easier sell based off of the artwork.

Overall, this game hits the table pretty often. It’s a good game for board game nights because it can handle that higher player count. And a game of it doesn’t take too long because everyone is drafting at the same time. I like this game as a warm-up for a board game night as it gets people thinking more than a lot of party games as well and the game length allows it to fit into that filler category so you still have time for longer games later.

Overall Grade: A
Gamer Grade: B-
Casual Grade: A+

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