Hanabi is a Spiel de Jahres winner for good reason; it requires strategy, teamwork, and trust– all while players have a limited knowledge pool. The game is difficult but rewarding and has great flavor for such a simple concept. The players are setting up a fireworks display which has to be assembled on the spot. The object of the game is that you must place cards in each of 5 colors (or 6 if you want a more challenging game) in front of you in 1-5 in order. Points are determined by the size of each display when the fireworks go off.
Hanabi is for 2-5 players but after a few games I found that the more players you have, the easier the game becomes. Each player cannot see their own hand of cards but can see that of other players, and more players means more information, which means better clues and more opportunities for teamwork.
Overall, this game is pretty impressive, just don’t make the mistake of starting out with two players like I did!
-Kiara