Social Deduction in Tofu Kingdom: Princesses, Spies, and Intrigue

Prince Mochi seeks Princess Tofu, but the Pudding Empire plots against him and Queen Tofu wants the prince for herself! What’s a mochi to do?

In this social deduction game from Blue Orange Games, the prince must focus on asking the right questions as he tries to sort out who’s who, while the other players either lead him to the princess or try to mislead him, depending on what side they’re on.

Gameplay

Tofu Kingdom is a social deduction game. You play with different roles depending on player count, but one person is always the prince. The prince is attempting to locate the princess who might be a player or might be the tile in the center of the table. Players take turns being the prince until everyone has played the role a certain number of times.

At the start of each round you take the character tiles you are playing with and deal one facedown to each player. If playing with three to six players you place one in the center of the table facedown as well.

The prince then closes his eyes and all other players show their character tiles to each other and memorize who is who. Once the tiles are facedown again, the prince can reopen his eyes. The prince then asks each player one question. After he has asked each player a question he may choose one player of whom to ask an additional question. He must limit his questions to three possible choices: "Where is the princess?", "Who are you", and "Who is that person?" (while pointing either to another player or the tile in the center).

Each character tile instructs its owner to answer all questions truthfully, with a lie, or choose whether to lie or tell the truth.

After asking his questions the prince announces his guess as to where the princess tile lies and everyone reveals their tiles. There are three factions in the game. Each tile shows what faction wins if the prince guessed that tile and which faction has to win in order for that player to score a point.

After a certain number of rounds, the player with the most points wins the game.

Review

Tofu Kingdom is a great introduction to social deduction games — the rules are easy to learn and each round is short and sweet. If you don’t quite know how to play at the start, you’ll have it figured out after one or two rounds. Also, since the questions the prince can ask are limited and since players are repeatedly switching teams, players can’t fall into the heated discussions that occasionally occur during other social deduction games.

The whole game comes packed in a neat little pouch that’s perfect for portability, taking on trips, and slipping into your pocket or purse.

While there is a nice player count range from three to eight, the game really shouldn’t be played with either the minimum or maximum player count. There is definitely a sweet spot to be hit when it comes to how many people you play with.

If you enjoy logic puzzles, Tofu Kingdom offers a really fun one. The prince or the players who can lie are the more interesting roles to be dealt, but since rounds are so quick you never have time to get bored with who you’re playing. Whether you’re looking for a good introductory game to the genre, or simply want something light and quick, Tofu Kingdom is a great fit.

Pros: Quick rounds, minimum confrontation, portable, good introduction to the genre

Cons: Not as fun when playing with 3 or 8 players

Disclosure: we received a complimentary review copy of this game.