While browsing Kickstarter, as fans of board games often do, I came across something pretty unique. Mokuru takes the idea of a desk toy and turns it into a fun, competitive game of dexterity that you can play alone or with friends.
Desk toys can be helpful for anxiety, focus, meditation, and more. The fidget spinner is probably the most popular example of this, but a stress ball also comes to mind. There’s probabally 1000 different desk toys, but most of them stop there. What makes Mokuru really cool is that there’s a game here, too.
I’ve had a desk toy that’s similar to the Mokuru, but it wasn’t weighted the same and it wasn’t as well-made, so you couldn’t really do a whole lot with it. The toy included with this game, however, is balanced and weighted in a way that lets you learn all sorts of cool tricks and patterns.
The name Mokuru comes from a combination of two Japanese words that mean wood and flipping. It’s made from Japanese Beech and silicone, which is worlds better than the cheapo plastic version of this desk toy I’ve had in the past.
You can play with this just casually on your desk, and it’s a top-tier version of this type of fidget toy, but the game created around is what really makes this such a cool concept.
The Mokuru card game includes a board for keeping track of progress and a series of cards. The cards have different tricks and challenges on them that will test your control over the toy.
The card game is simple to pick up, but fun and difficult to master.
- Draw a card
- Complete the trick that’s shown on the card
- Advance on the board as you complete each trick, overcoming challenges along the way
- There’s a bit of random luck involved, but it’s mostly a game of skill
There are difficulty levels that dictate how you’re able to handle the Mokuru toy. It’s designed for 2-8 players, but you can flip cards on your own and practice anytime, and easily adapt this for 1-player gaming.
The original Mokuru desk toy has been out for a couple of years already, and it’s great to see this game coming along to give extra value to everyone who already owns one of these toys.
Here’s the Kickstarter page for the Mokuru Card Game. Coming from an experienced team, this one feels like a safe bet, and looks like it’ll be a blast to play! The team has been helpful and responsive, and we’re confident that they’ll deliver.
Is this game on your radar, are you thinking of picking up the Mokuru Card Game on Kickstarter? Get your pledges in before it’s too late, and let us know what you think in the comments!
