Kabuto Sumo
2021
Slide pieces onto the board, push rivals from the ring, and claim insect-wrestling glory in a tense mix of dexterity, strategy, and luck.
15
minutes
2 - 4
player(s)
Light
About this board game
Kabuto Sumo is a 2021 board game for 2–4 players that takes about 15 minutes to play. Step into the role of a rhinoceros beetle and battle for supremacy in the ring, where careful moves and a little luck can determine which wrestler earns lasting glory.
The game draws inspiration from the Japanese tradition of rhinoceros beetle contests. These insects, known as “Kabutomushi,” or “helmet bugs,” are famed for butting heads, displaying their strength, and testing their wrestling skills. Kabuto Sumo transforms that theme into a playful contest of dominance.
Its central experience resembles a coin-pusher arcade game. Instead of simply waiting for pieces to fall, you strategically slide them onto the board and anticipate how they will shift the pieces already in play. A well-judged placement can create a cascade, while an unexpected result may completely change the contest.
- Dexterity: Slide pieces onto the board with precision.
- Strategy: Choose placements that can pressure opposing wrestlers.
- Luck: Anticipate cascading pieces and unpredictable shifts.
Your objective is direct: use the movement of the pieces to push other players out of the ring. Every placement becomes a tense moment as you watch the board respond, balancing deliberate planning against the excitement of pieces cascading off the platform.
With its compact play time and accessible premise, Kabuto Sumo combines physical skill, tactical choices, and suspense in a lively World Insect Wrestling Championship. It is a brisk struggle for position where every beetle is fighting to join the pantheon of legendary wrestlers.
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Board Game Rules for
Kabuto Sumo
Players: 2-4 Players | Duration: 15-20 Mins | Age: Ages 6+
The Story
It’s spring time in Japan and the Rhinoceros Beetles, Kabutomushi (Japanese for ‘helmet bug’), have returned from their travels. Now, out in the wild, you can find them butting heads to show off their wrestling skills and impress their insect friends. This is the origin of the phenomenal World Insect Wrestling Championship. In Kabuto Sumo, you are one of the contending beetles, battling for supremacy in the ring and your place in the pantheon of legendary wrestlers.
Objective
Use the pieces in your inventory to push your opponents out of the ring or force them to use all their pieces before they achieve victory. Fight one versus one, in a three beetle free-for-all, or in a two versus two team battle!
Components
- A: 1 Sumo Ring
- B: 1 Pushing Platform
- C: 8 Wrestler Cards
- D: 4 Wrestler Pieces
- E: 8 Signature Move Pieces
- F: 5 Large Discs
- G: 15 Medium Discs
- H: 20 Small Discs
Setup Steps
- Place the Sumo Ring in the center of the table.
- Each player selects one Wrestler card to be their persona for the game. Each wrestler comes with unique signature moves. Find any additional pieces shown on the Wrestler cards and set them aside in the general supply, they may come into play later. You do NOT start with your wrestler’s signature pieces in your inventory.
- Each player chooses a wrestler piece and places it on the board according to the Wrestler Count Diagrams found below and on the back of the box.
- Place small, medium, and large discs in the remaining spaces according to the Wrestler Count Diagrams. Set the remaining discs aside near the play area as a general supply.
- In front of each player, place the specified discs for your player count to create their inventory.
- Randomly choose a starting player.
Setup Diagrams
Starting Board & Inventory Table
| PLAYER COUNT | 2P | 3P | 4P |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Board | |||
| Wrestler Pieces | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Large Discs | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Medium Discs | 8 | 10 | 6 |
| Small Discs | 14 | 12 | 14 |
| Player or Team Inventory | |||
| Medium Discs | 1 | 1* | 1 |
| Small Discs | 2 | 2 | 2 |
* Give the player playing 3rd an additional Medium Disc.
Players take turns sliding any piece from their inventory onto the board in straight line. The final objective is to push opposing beetle wrestler pieces out of the ring.
Each player takes a turn, continuing clockwise around the table until the end of the game.
On Your Turn
- Push one piece from your inventory straight onto the board.
Any standard pieces that fall out of the ring as a result of your push are added to your inventory. - Signature Moves: Before or after your push, you may perform some or all of your wrestler’s signature moves. Each signature move may be used at most once per turn.
Pushing Rules
- Carefully position the pushing platform anywhere you like against the outside of the ring. Place your piece on the platform.
- Push in a straight line (changing direction is not allowed!) with consistent pressure (no flicking!). It must go into the ring itself, not on top of any other discs.
- Immediately stop pushing when the piece completely enters the ring.
Note: If any pieces accidentally fall off of the gameboard NOT as the result of a player pushing a piece onto the board, place those pieces in the general supply and do not give them to any player.
Signature moves consist of 3 parts: a name (1), a cost (2), and the action (3).
Cost
Most moves have a cost that needs to be paid or a condition that needs to be satisfied in order to activate the signature move.
Give: Give the listed piece(s) from your inventory to an opponent’s inventory.
Stack: Stack the listed piece(s) from your inventory on top of another piece their same size or larger already on the game board. Pieces can never be stacked on a wrestler piece, unless otherwise stated.
Discard: Return the listed pieces from your inventory to the supply.
Other Terms
- Knocked Out: When a piece falls off of the gameboard.
- Touching: When a piece is physically in contact with another piece on the board.
- Gain: Take the listed piece from the supply, and add it to your inventory.
Resolve the Move
The text of the signature move will describe how it is resolved. You may only perform each signature move once per turn.
If the move states “replaces your turn,” you cannot perform any other signature moves or pushes on the same turn you perform that move.
Some signature moves break other rules of the game. This is OK. What’s wrestling without a little foul play?
Signature Pieces
Signature pieces can be pushed just like standard pieces. When a signature piece is knocked out, it is returned to the general supply rather than going into any player’s inventory.
Team Play Rules
- Opposing teams will alternate turns with the players on each team alternating as well.
- Players on a team share their inventories and both players play pieces from it.
- A player on a team may use any signature piece in their inventory (including a teammate’s), but can only use their own wrestler’s signature moves.
Knock Out!
The player or team that pushes an opponent’s wrestler piece out of the ring wins Kabuto Sumo!
If you knock out your own wrestler piece, you are eliminated, and if there is only one remaining opposing wrestler they win.
Submission!
In a 2 or 4 wrestler game, the game ends once a player or team runs out of pieces in their inventory and cannot take their turn. The other team wins!
In a 3 wrestler game, If a player runs out of pieces in their inventory, they are eliminated but their wrestler piece remains on the board and continues to be in play as a potential “Knock Out!” victory condition for the remaining players.
This Game is For Raphael
Credits
- Design: Tony Miller
- Illustration: Kwanchai Moriya
- Graphic Design: Anca Gavril
- Development: Michael Dunsmore, John Brieger
- Production: Chad DeShon
- 3D Artist: Filip Gavril
Introduction & Components
Players: 2-4 Players | Duration: 15-20 Mins | Age: Ages 6+
The Story
It’s spring time in Japan and the Rhinoceros Beetles, Kabutomushi (Japanese for ‘helmet bug’), have returned from their travels. Now, out in the wild, you can find them butting heads to show off their wrestling skills and impress their insect friends. This is the origin of the phenomenal World Insect Wrestling Championship. In Kabuto Sumo, you are one of the contending beetles, battling for supremacy in the ring and your place in the pantheon of legendary wrestlers.
Objective
Use the pieces in your inventory to push your opponents out of the ring or force them to use all their pieces before they achieve victory. Fight one versus one, in a three beetle free-for-all, or in a two versus two team battle!
Components
- A: 1 Sumo Ring
- B: 1 Pushing Platform
- C: 8 Wrestler Cards
- D: 4 Wrestler Pieces
- E: 8 Signature Move Pieces
- F: 5 Large Discs
- G: 15 Medium Discs
- H: 20 Small Discs
Setup
Setup Steps
- Place the Sumo Ring in the center of the table.
- Each player selects one Wrestler card to be their persona for the game. Each wrestler comes with unique signature moves. Find any additional pieces shown on the Wrestler cards and set them aside in the general supply, they may come into play later. You do NOT start with your wrestler’s signature pieces in your inventory.
- Each player chooses a wrestler piece and places it on the board according to the Wrestler Count Diagrams found below and on the back of the box.
- Place small, medium, and large discs in the remaining spaces according to the Wrestler Count Diagrams. Set the remaining discs aside near the play area as a general supply.
- In front of each player, place the specified discs for your player count to create their inventory.
- Randomly choose a starting player.
Setup Diagrams
Starting Board & Inventory Table
| PLAYER COUNT | 2P | 3P | 4P |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Board | |||
| Wrestler Pieces | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Large Discs | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Medium Discs | 8 | 10 | 6 |
| Small Discs | 14 | 12 | 14 |
| Player or Team Inventory | |||
| Medium Discs | 1 | 1* | 1 |
| Small Discs | 2 | 2 | 2 |
* Give the player playing 3rd an additional Medium Disc.
How to Play
Players take turns sliding any piece from their inventory onto the board in straight line. The final objective is to push opposing beetle wrestler pieces out of the ring.
Each player takes a turn, continuing clockwise around the table until the end of the game.
On Your Turn
- Push one piece from your inventory straight onto the board.
Any standard pieces that fall out of the ring as a result of your push are added to your inventory. - Signature Moves: Before or after your push, you may perform some or all of your wrestler’s signature moves. Each signature move may be used at most once per turn.
Pushing Rules
- Carefully position the pushing platform anywhere you like against the outside of the ring. Place your piece on the platform.
- Push in a straight line (changing direction is not allowed!) with consistent pressure (no flicking!). It must go into the ring itself, not on top of any other discs.
- Immediately stop pushing when the piece completely enters the ring.
Note: If any pieces accidentally fall off of the gameboard NOT as the result of a player pushing a piece onto the board, place those pieces in the general supply and do not give them to any player.
Wrestler Signature Moves
Signature moves consist of 3 parts: a name (1), a cost (2), and the action (3).
Cost
Most moves have a cost that needs to be paid or a condition that needs to be satisfied in order to activate the signature move.
- Give: Give the listed piece(s) from your inventory to an opponent’s inventory.
- Stack: Stack the listed piece(s) from your inventory on top of another piece their same size or larger already on the game board. Pieces can never be stacked on a wrestler piece, unless otherwise stated.
- Discard: Return the listed pieces from your inventory to the supply.
Other Terms
- Knocked Out: When a piece falls off of the gameboard.
- Touching: When a piece is physically in contact with another piece on the board.
- Gain: Take the listed piece from the supply, and add it to your inventory.
Resolve the Move
The text of the signature move will describe how it is resolved. You may only perform each signature move once per turn.
If the move states “replaces your turn,” you cannot perform any other signature moves or pushes on the same turn you perform that move.
Some signature moves break other rules of the game. This is OK. What’s wrestling without a little foul play?
Signature Pieces
Signature pieces can be pushed just like standard pieces. When a signature piece is knocked out, it is returned to the general supply rather than going into any player’s inventory.
4-Player Team Play
Team Play Rules
- Opposing teams will alternate turns with the players on each team alternating as well.
- Players on a team share their inventories and both players play pieces from it.
- A player on a team may use any signature piece in their inventory (including a teammate’s), but can only use their own wrestler’s signature moves.
Game End
Knock Out!
The player or team that pushes an opponent’s wrestler piece out of the ring wins Kabuto Sumo!
If you knock out your own wrestler piece, you are eliminated, and if there is only one remaining opposing wrestler they win.
Submission!
In a 2 or 4 wrestler game, the game ends once a player or team runs out of pieces in their inventory and cannot take their turn. The other team wins!
In a 3 wrestler game, If a player runs out of pieces in their inventory, they are eliminated but their wrestler piece remains on the board and continues to be in play as a potential “Knock Out!” victory condition for the remaining players.
Credits
This Game is For Raphael
Credits
- Design: Tony Miller
- Illustration: Kwanchai Moriya
- Graphic Design: Anca Gavril
- Development: Michael Dunsmore, John Brieger
- Production: Chad DeShon
- 3D Artist: Filip Gavril
