桜儷 (Sana)

桜儷 (さな) (Sana) is a 2-player co-operative game from Japan. Players are apprentice Spring fairies, tasked with bringing the cherry blossom (Sakura) to flower. Both fairies don't want to let on that they are apprentice, and so do not talk as they work. The more flowers they can make bloom, they better they succeed.

The game title Sana is a contraction Sakura Narabu, meaning Line Up Blossoms. The kanji 儷 (Narabu) is remarkably obscure. Hence the publisher has added the more simple hiragana さな to help readers as a furigana (pronunciation indicator).

The board shows ten open spaces for Sakura, each space being for five petals. Players will build up complete flowers on the spaces to win.

Each player has a number of petal pieces, showing 1 to 4 petals. They secretly take a petal in hand and show them together, without discussing what they are choosing.

If they have chosen different pieces, then they each place their chosen petals on the board. But an existing piece must be taken off the board to a storage area.

If they have chosen the same pieces to play (butting), again they place their pieces, but may now bring a piece from the storage area onto the board.

When places their pieces, the players can talk so to get optimal placement. But they cannot discuss what pieces they have left, not what to choose next turn.

There are also some placement conditions depending upon the number of petals. For example, a 3 petal piece can only go to an empty space.

Once a flower is complete, it cannot be changed. Pieces that cannot be placed are returned to hand.

The game ends in certain ways: When a player runs out of pieces. When all ten flowers are complete. When the storage area has five pieces.

Then the players see how many flowers they have completed and praise or chastise themselves accordingly. user summary