Thoughts on Rising Sun: The more I play it the more I like it

I've noticed that **Rising Sun** has followed an "OMG hype" to "that game is a big ball of fail" trajectory here on r/boardgames. I had a very satisfying gameplay with it last night (about #5 for me) and the more I play this game the more I like it. Full disclosure - I *like* games that involve a bit of bluffing, I like "mean" games and I like games with player negotiation. Rising Sun very much satisfies that itch. I played it very wrongly my first few rounds and just chased battle victories, with hilarious results. It took me awhile to see how you balance your clan ability, the gods, the bonus cards, map domination during peacetime and wartime to generate victory points. Now that I get it I find it to be a very nicely balanced experience. There hasn't been much Catan-style wheeling and dealing in any of the games I played but I think that's been because nobody yet really knows what to bargain *for*.

I've played it at 3,4,5 player and honestly I think I like it at three. Everyone gets to do more stuff. And I really like playing as a non-allied player - a non-allied Lotus Clan turns out to be pretty fearsome in a three-player game as it can really choke out the opposing alliance with betrayals and burying the "good" cards without losing honor.

Anyway I just wanted to put in a positive word for the game. Of the dozen or so games I've played in the last three months this one is giving me the most satisfaction. It's a little intimidating for newbies because so many rules are "it works this way except in this circumstance" but overall it's not that hard to pick up. And the variety of Gods, Clans, cards and monsters is doing a good job keeping it fresh. I feel like I'll get plenty more plays out of it.

It is a super PITA to track the parts and pack them all back into the retail box though. Along those lines I didn't like the plastic coins in the [non-kickstarter] retail game. The plastic ones do not stack very well and are just too lightweight so they are rather fiddly. Last night I found that the [metal coins from Tokaido](https://www.miniaturemarket.com/fnftkdcoins01.html) make a perfect substitute for the plastic ones in the retail game. They are almost exactly the same size and a lot more pleasant to play with. I recommend this upgrade if you get the retail box.

Overall it's a good game if you like strategy, negotiation and bluffing. I haven't played any of the expansions yet. So far we've been content with the base game and it seems like most games I have a few newbies. I am not sure I will ever want the expansions to be honest - once we get to that point we will probably just move on to something like *Spirit Island*.