Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Easier to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Deep strategy
More strategic control
How it plays
How does it play?
Arrange patterned tiles and move carved dolls across five linked tracks, triggering elegant chains that turn craftsmanship into happiness.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Pattern Building
Place elements to create arrangements that satisfy scoring or action patterns.
Tile Placement
Place tiles to build a shared or personal spatial arrangement.
Open Drafting
Select cards or items from a shared face-up display.
Track Movement
Advance pieces along a defined linear or branching track.
Square Grid
Use an orthogonal grid where position and adjacent spaces shape movement or placement.
Read the full game description
Kokeshi is a serene tile-placement puzzle about Japanese artisans creating traditional wooden dolls. On a turn, a player adds a tile to one of five color tracks or activates a track to move its kokeshi. Each movement can trigger another track, creating a chain of carefully sequenced actions across the shared workshop. The tiles players draft affect both immediate options and end-game scoring, while the position of every doll determines which patterns can be completed efficiently. Despite its gentle presentation and short rules, timing matters: a helpful-looking activation may hand the next player exactly the combination they need. A dedicated solo mode preserves the central planning puzzle.
