Goryō

About this board game

Goryō is a 30-minute asymmetrical investigation and deduction game for exactly two players, set in a mystical feudal Japan. One player becomes the Samurai guarding the Imperial Palace, while the other controls a dreadful spirit of vengeance.

The Goryō appears in the palace as a cat and is bound to a specific type of object. The spirit player must smash five objects in the palace’s rooms to complete their revenge and win the game, while avoiding defeat by the Samurai.

To prevail, the Samurai must uncover the type of object binding the spirit or catch the Goryō’s essence three times. This creates a focused contest of pursuit, deception, investigation, and deduction, with each player pursuing a different path to victory.

Each round, the players alternate their asymmetrical turns. The Goryō secretly plans a route toward the next object and attempts to mislead the opponent by placing movement cubes on a secret dry-erase board. The Samurai then uses available actions to follow the spirit’s path.

• Two distinct roles: play as the vengeful Goryō or the palace-guarding Samurai.
• Secret route planning: map the spirit’s movement on a hidden dry-erase board.
• Investigation and pursuit: move Samurai pawns across the palace and organize the catch using a special board.
• Two opposing victory goals: smash five objects as the Goryō, or exorcise the spirit as the Samurai.

Every decision matters as the spirit chooses how to move and misdirect, while the Samurai interprets clues and gives chase. With its compact play time and sharply contrasting roles, Goryō offers a tense head-to-head challenge where exorcising a spirit is never simple.