Haratama – 祓魂

Trying to keep Olympus peaceful is no easy task when Zeus keeps slipping away for secret meetings with the women he loves. Players act as Zeus’s servants, helping him reach the right place at the right time while avoiding the watchful eye of his wife Hera. Successful meetings bring relief, but failed rendezvous or being caught in the act will unleash Hera’s fury, so sometimes the safest plan is to spend time with Hera—or leave Zeus alone for a while.

Zeusu no Aishita Onna-tachi (“The Women Zeus Loved”) is a trick-taking game for 3–4 players with must-follow rules and no trump suit. Each round, players are dealt cards and pass two cards to the player on their left before playing a series of tricks. The highest card in the led suit wins each trick. Winning too many tricks causes penalty points, but winning zero tricks is also punished. The key twist is the “Promised Day” system: each suit has a target trick number, and when a player wins a trick with a suit whose target matches their current number of won tricks, that card is placed face up. At the end of the round, each won trick normally costs 10 penalty points, but if the player’s final won trick has a face-up card, all penalties for that round are cancelled. The game lasts three rounds, and the lowest total score wins.

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