If you know me you know that I don’t love games that are abstract. I enjoy a good game, but often times games just abstract down to some basic mechanisms. So when I got a chance to play Kamon, I was less than sure that I was going to like it. The premise is pretty simple, but is there enough of a game to make it good or not, or is it just a game that I’ll find okay and not worth playing anymore.

How to Play Kamon

In Kamon, you play against an opponent on a board that is already full of pieces, or symbols. And you want to create either a path connecting two opposite sides of the board of your piece. Or you want to surround a single piece with only your pieces. The player who does that first, either one, wins the game.

But it’s interesting how the game works. On your turn you can’t just claim any piece that you want. No, instead you play based off of what your opponent played. You either need to match color or symbol on the piece. Then your opponent does the same as well. When either of the win conditions are met, or there are no possible moves left, the game is over.

What Doesn’t Work

This is an abstract game. It doesn’t even pretend to have a theme. So if you love a game with a theme and it needs to have some sort of theme, this game isn’t going to do it for you. Normally I fall into that camp, but we’ll see if I do this time. But it’s just going to be a straight forward system that if you plan more turns ahead, you’ll probably do better. This is less of a negative and more of a learn more about the game.

What Works

The turns are fast. While there is a lot to consider, there isn’t always a ton that you can do on your turn. And this isn’t a negative, because it’s all about setting up yourself and preventing your opponent from winning. So each turn and action is going to be limited because of how you are able to chose. And as the game gets tighter and turns matter more, it is even more limited.

Because of that the game is also fast. There is no chaining of actions, it is simply picking from the options you have and verifying what it means for your opponent. I also like to think about what my opponent can do and if I can set them up to give me something I want. But that is a later game element, so it means that it’s limited in what you can do and keeps the game moving.

I also like how there are two (technically three) ways to win the game here. I find that it’s not uncommon to pivot on what I am doing in a game. And then I might pivot back. It means that there is enough to look at in the game to keep it feeling like you are not out of the game.

Who is Kamon For?

This is for people probably a couple or a regular gaming partner whom you want a short abstract game with. This is one that isn’t too heavy and doesn’t require too much planning. So it’s that filler waiting for more people to come to a game night or filling in the end of a game night after a heavy game when you want something lighter and easier to play.

Final Thoughts on Kamon

I expected not to like Kamon. Mainly because I thought it might be like Quarto. And I don’t like Quarto. In that one you pick a piece for your opponent to place. That game it feels like it is locked in and you wait for someone to make a mistake. And that is how you win the game. In Kamon, it is a bit more free, but it also has that element of setting up your opponent to maybe make a mistake. I feel like I have a healthier control to winning the game versus a control in not losing the game.

And I think that this game feels like it has more variety to it. Yes, the game is the “same” every time in terms of what you are trying to do. But the board is larger and more dynamic in how it is set-up. So that is going to make it feel like different options work better every time.

My Grade: B
Gamer Grade: B-
Casual Grade: B
Strategy: 8
Luck: 0

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