Gasha Card Game Overview

The holidays for my family are spent playing games with each other and enjoying each others’ company. I hope you all were able to take a break from work and other things that occupy your minds and enjoy time with friends and family also. Of course, I also hope you received some great games to play. If you’re like us, board games are a must. But really, we try not to go overboard with new games during this time because we get and play games all year long anyway. 

So what’s the latest? We wanted a small, quick game to loosen the fingertips to handle the game components, but also get the brain juice flowing. The kids decided to start with Gasha. It’s a card game provided by 25th Century Games for 2-6 players that plays in about 20 minutes. 25th Century Games has great products the kids CONTINUE to get out and play.

Back to the discussion about Gasha! You know those toy machines where you drop in a coin, crank the handle and cross your fingers that the prize you want comes out? Gashapon is a trademark for a type of vending machine-dispensed capsule toys originating in the 1960s which became popular in Japan. They’re everywhere. My kids even get to do this when they go to the dentist. They have a huge machine and at the end of their appointment, the kids crank the machine and get a random toy (which almost always seems to be another bouncy ball).  

This game is taking that theme to the table. Setup for Gasha is easy. There are 2 types of cards: Gasha and reward. Shuffle the Gasha and reward cards separately. Place the Gasha decks face-up in four roughly equal decks. Below the Gasha decks, you will place out four of the reward cards face-up with the remainder of the deck placed to the side. Randomly choose a number of bonus tokens according to the number of players. 

On a your turn, either draw two Gasha cards one at a time, or trade your Gasha card in for a reward card. When taking Gasha cards you can take your cards from the same deck, or one each from two different piles. Each card shows the possible outcomes you might gain if you choose to pick that card. When you can and want to gain a reward card, discard Gasha cards of the types shown on the top of a reward card to gain the rewards shown on the bottom of that card. You will also possibly gain half tickets. When you have two of the same color half tickets (forming a full ticket), you can gain a bonus as well. 

The goal is to collect Gasha cards that can be exchanged for reward cards to then gain the most points to the win the game. The game ends when either the last bonus token is taken, there are no more reward cards, or you are unable to make four Gasha decks. Players will then add points from their reward cards, from their bonus tokens, and score one point for each extra Gasha card in their hand. The player with the highest score wins. 

Players collect magical girls, kitsune, robots, radishes, or sushi. Its a fun game of figuring out what you might want, and then trying your luck with the toy dispenser machine. Some cards list two possible toys, while other list three, so your chances vary by card. But, you might really want a specific card to get a much wanted reward card, so then its all luck at that point. It’s a quick, fun game the combines luck with some choices of probability. We all liked trying our luck while playing this game, and it sets up for a fun less competitive game where all players gain something. All players will be able to gain reward cards, but some players might make choices or just get lucky to get specific toys at the best time to gain better reward cards to win the game.

The theme resonates with kids, but adults appreciate it as well. Ask about Gasha at your local game store, grab a copy direct from 25th Century Games or toss it in your cart to arrive with your next Amazon order.

What’s your favorite thing you like trying to get from toy vending machines?