Karesansui

About this board game

Karesansui is a competitive Zen gardening game for 3–6 players, played in about 60 minutes, in which monastery initiates create rock gardens while competing for the best stones.

Each morning, Grade One initiates arrive with rocks they have gathered. They also haul away the rocks that players no longer need, but their limited availability creates fierce competition. The Grade Ones give their new rocks to the initiate who gives them the fewest old rocks to remove.

Building a garden requires more than simply collecting attractive stones. Certain combinations of rocks are forbidden, and the Feng Shui Masters inspect each garden every afternoon. Players receive demerits for forbidden combinations, but they can also be penalized for laziness if they fail to add new stones during the day.

• Compete for the best selection of newly gathered rocks.
• Give away unwanted rocks to improve your chances of receiving new ones.
• Avoid forbidden combinations in your growing garden.
• Add new stones each day to avoid laziness demerits.
• Prepare for a final evaluation that arrives without warning.

The central challenge in Karesansui is finding the right balance between growth and restraint. You must continue adding stones while carefully managing the combinations in your garden, all while ensuring that rival initiates do not gain the advantage in the daily competition for Grade Ones.

When the Masters conduct their final evaluation, the initiate with the fewest demerits advances to Grade Three. The one with the most demerits is sent back to Grade One, joining the others in the daily search for new rocks. Released in 2013, Karesansui turns the serene image of Zen gardening into a cutthroat contest for rank and recognition.