Hanami: Deluxe Edition (Kickstarter Pre-Order Special)

Preorder: Expected Delivery 2026-09-30
Board Game Geek Avg Player Rating: 6.88
Players: 2 to 4
Published: 2026
Content Notes: Kickstarter Exclusive Hanami: Deluxe Edition Board Game by Keymaster Games. Includes core game, upgraded components (88 wood tokens, larger game board, heavy stock player screens, bento bags, mini-expansion), and all unlocked stretch goals. Please note: unless otherwise stated paid add ons from the Kickstarter Campaign are not included.

🍱 Welcome to Hanami

Pack your bento box, grab your picnic blanket, and find the perfect spot under the treetops. The sakura blossoms are in full bloom and people from all over are gathering in parks for Hanami–or “flower viewing”—a centuries-old Japanese springtime tradition. But competition for the best spots can be fierce! You’ll need to strategically place your group near the food, flowers, and festivities of the day. Get the best spot, enjoy the most activities, and win Hanami!

🗾 What is Hanami?

Hanami is a reimagining of Reiner Knizia's classic, Samurai, a beloved tile-laying game from 1998. We fell in love with this game way back when and are thrilled to revisit this world in a new way. Here's what other folks had to say about Samurai:

With this edition, we aimed to honor the past, delight current gamers, and provide players with an easy way to introduce new friends to the world of games. Our three areas of focus were:

• New Theme - As much as we love Samurai, we want to celebrate different aspects of Japan that focuses on simplicity, beauty, and tension. Hanami rose to the top of our list as it celebrates fleeting beauty in nature, has strong ties to Samurai culture, and remains a significant part of the culture today.
• New Art - We collaborated with two amazing illustrators (Lisk Feng and Ichiraku Studio) to bring this world to life in striking detail. Their complementary styles have roots in traditional eastern cultural art with a modern sensibility.
• New Map - You will be able to enjoy all the gameplay of classic Samurai on the Nihon side of the map, but we have also added a map of Tokyo that you can enjoy on the back side the board.
• New Gameplay - On the Tokyo side, players can enjoy new actions on tiles that offer different strategies and ways to play. Players will also receive different one-time-use Special Ability Cards to mix up the game in surprising new ways.

In Hanami, you’ll be picnicking in parks all across Japan and Tokyo city in the springtime, fighting the crowds to celebrate the floral spectacle. Players will place their tiles out to reserve spots near the various activities found there.

Each tile represents a picnic blanket set out by a member of your group to claim a spot in the park. Tiles indicate the strength of your group (the number of pips on the tile), and the favored activity of the group (viewing sakura, eating onigiri, or an evening under the lanterns). You’ll collect Activity Tokens once they’re surrounded by Player Tiles, if your tiles have a higher strength than any other player’s. Earn Victory Tokens at the end of the game for each activity by having the most of the corresponding Activity Token. Earn the most Victory Tokens to win Hanami!

Hanami is a new reimagining of the classic game Samurai, designed by Dr. Reiner Knizia. This updated game tells a new story: One of relaxing picnic lunches among the cherry blossoms and paper lanterns of Tokyo city parks or the lush countryside of Japan. It brings new strategies and two distinct ways to play: The Japan map allows players to enjoy the classic Samurai ruleset, and the Tokyo setup gives players new challenges, new abilities, and new tiles.

--from the publisher

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