Armand
United States
Los Angeles
California
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Mottainai - Nothing is wasted
1. The General Idea
Discard the task you chose last round.
Discard any extra cards in your hand over the limit.
Choose a new task.
Execute the task your opponent chose.
Execute the task you chose.
That’s it. And yet this game is notoriously difficult to learn. And even when you’ve begun to absorb the rhythm of play, if you don't really lock it in, that rhythm can be easy to forget. Mottainai is a melody heard in a foreign land, an air on a wooden flute, odd and almost mystical in its otherness. Back at home you try to whistle it, and you find it’s gone…
But where does all this foreignness come from? It’s just a deck of cards!
You build works and place them in your tableau.
Not a foreign concept!
Your tableau has two sides: works on the left give you more actions, works on the right more points.
Not foreign either!
Any action can be replaced with a ‘draw’ action, where you take a card from the deck.
Definitely not foreign!
Works originate from you hand, but they must be supported with 0-2 other cards of the same type; cards which are also in your hand if you are creating the work through a smith action or cards that are in your craft bench if you are creating the work through a craft action which can be performed by any type of worker, even a smith, but only if that worker is crafting a work of the same type. In either case the supporitng cards are retained.
Wait, what?!? That was definitely foreign…
Ok, let’s take a closer look at that, but this time with the additon of theme.
Each multi-use card belongs to a suit. The orange suit, for example, is Clay (when used as a material) or Potter when used as a worker, or ‘task’. So we have this Potter who we are directing to work for us this turn. There are always three things this Potter, or any worker, can do.
1. First they have a specialty, which in the Potter’s case is to stock materials to your craft bench.
2. But all of your people, not just the Potter, are also crafty! They love to make things out of their particular type of material. Your potter loves to make things out of clay. If you have clay in your craft bench (because another potter put it there earlier) then your potter can craft clay things out of it.
3. Finally, all of your workers can pray, which simply means ‘draw one card’.
The tricky thing here is that you also have one type of worker, the Smith, who is a bit of a jack-of-all-trades. His specialty action is to make things out of any material, but only if those materials are in your hand.
And a Smith is the only person who can make things with materials in your hand.
But anyone (even a Smith), can craft works with materials of their suit in your craft bench. So, in the Smith’s case, he can ‘craft’ metal materials, using metal from your craft bench, or he can also use his specialty action to create any type of work, using materials from your hand.
Just remember, don’t discard the materials you used to support the work you built! Not from the craft bench; not from your hand. In Mottainai, nothing is wasted.
What you’ve read so far isn’t the whole game, but it’s enough to get you started. If you own Mottainai but haven’t been able to get over the learning curve, maybe try again with what you now know. Get used to the cycle of:
… stocking your craft bench (Potter),
… grooming your hand so you can build works (Talioring and praying),
… and crafting and Smithing those works into your tableau.
But one last thing before you shuffle and deal…
See all those words in the middle of the cards? Stop seeing them. You can see them again later. For now, just tune them out. Patience, friend…
Yes, I really am suggesting you ignore the text on the cards, meaning that each card only represents a 'suit', and all cards of that suit are identical. "There won't be anything left!" you may be thinking... trust me, there's plenty.
Ok, so you played a few turns and you see how the cards cycle around the table.
Now take another look at the rulebook and read about scoring points, helpers, and the concept of ‘covering’. It won’t seem nearly as overwhelming now that you’ve:
a. Simplified the game by removing the interference of the card text, which, in every case, bends or breaks some rule.
b. Witnessed the eddies of cards from your hand to the wings of your tableau, and from the floor to your craft bench to your gift shop, or from the floor to your helpers.
Little eddies of cards floating like autumn leaves on a stream of simple rules. 
2. The Review
It seems like a lot of people get stymied by this game, and it’s a shame. It really isn’t that difficult. In my experience, even seasoned gamers are greatly helped by ignoring the card text for their first game, or in some cases first half dozen games. Mottainai totally works without that text, and it is absolutely a game worth playing even with that major excission. In fact, a lesser designer than Carl Chudyk would probably have toyed with the idea of adding card text and decided it was ‘too much’.
But trust Carl. He’s the real deal. If at first the game seems too chaotic, too short, too long, too weird, just keep playing. Put yourself in his hands and relax. Pretty soon you’re going to be using the card text and marveling at how different the Stone items are from the Metal, and how they all seem just somehow right.
So, in conclusion, what will you find once you’ve learned to speak this foreign language?
1. Tight competition! Actually, here’s another suggestion: break out some poker chips and build stacks as you score points. It really helps to have a visual reminder. You have to stay on top of the score! Ponder the ways you can end the game if you think you’re ahead. Fear the handful of unexpected ‘backorders’ - hidden points that turn victory into defeat. Start paying attention to what your opponent reveals when she uses a Smith, and what she does afterward.
2. Concentrated decisions! Take a mid to heavy weight euro with a sizable array of decision points. Put it in whatever machine they use to make concentrated things like orange juice. (I wanna say ’concentrator’?) Out comes Mottainai, the disitlllation of euro-ey goodness in space (one deck of cards) and time (20 minutes, then shuffle and deal again. And again…)
3. Spirit! When you start to use the card text, what do those little pictures and powers add to the game? They add place and people and an array of charming objects, hand-made by you. Dolls and umbrellas and bangles and flutes. Swords and shurikens and powerful rings. Everything has a soul, and everything has a use.
And the use of this little deck of cards is to make you gasp. Mottainai is a brilliant game from a brilliant designer. Give it some time and it will give you joy.
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Adam Daulton
United States
Indianapolis
Indiana
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It is a brilliant game. It also does need some time to really understand it more. I have played it a decent amount and still haven't fully gotten to know it as well as I could. Better than Glory to Rome, though I do really enjoy both.
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I do not log my plays, but if I did Mottainai would probably be on top. I can't think of another game I have played as many times as Mottainai yet still find new strategies to explore. So worth playing through those first few games to get comfortable with the flow.
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I don't get it to the table often due to the lack of willing opponents. However it's reviews like this one and the fact that they fuel my hopes for this game that makes it a potenial Top10 game for me.
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Ronald Tang
United States
Honolulu
Hawaii
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I want to get this to table the most of my shelf of shame but I am still wrapping my head around it myself. Your review is excellent! Can you elaborate a little on what gameplay mechanics you are looking to stall introduction of by not "reading the text" on the cards? Or are you just talking about ignoring the name and flavor?
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Armand
United States
Los Angeles
California
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tryp09 wrote: I want to get this to table the most of my shelf of shame but I am still wrapping my head around it myself. Your review is excellent! Can you elaborate a little on what gameplay mechanics you are looking to stall introduction of by not "reading the text" on the cards? Or are you just talking about ignoring the name and flavor?
No, not just the name and flavor; I'm suggesting you don't use the function of the individual card. So each card is strictly a suit and all cards of that suit are identical.
It is a major cut to make, but it really helps if people aren't familiar with GTR and Mr. Chudyk's unusual ways...
Your agenda for your first play is therefore:
1. Taking actions (opponents and then your own, extra actions for helpers and covered helpers),
2. Triggering endgame,
3. Scoring points for works, covered sales and backorders
Remember that each play is only 15-20 min!
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doctoryes0 wrote: Mottainai is a melody heard in a foreign land, an air on a wooden flute, odd and almost mystical in its otherness.
Nice review! You have captured the spirit of the game with a poetic touch which befits the game, and have nicely summed up its basic concepts.
I agree, learning Mottainai is all about becoming familiar with the unique flow of this game. There is a definite rhythm to things: stocking up on helpers (for bonus actions) and materials (for crafting) in the early game, building progressively more powerful works as you go, then transforming those materials into sales in time to score points.
The richness and complexity of the game lies in the card effects, and at only 54 cards, it isn't long before players become familiar with the composition of the deck and can begin exploring the rich and varied range of card effects and combinations.
Here are some basic game concepts that I like to point out when teaching Mottainai (in addition to things you mentioned). Although none of them is spelled out as such in the rules, they become clear after a few plays:
- each card in the game belongs to one of 5 suits, each of a different color and corresponding to a distinct "task" (or action)—"material" (or resource) set. The card effects (Works) themselves on each card, however, are unique.
- Each card in your hand can be used for one of two things: to take an action on your turn, or as a "work" that you can build, which will give you a special power and points. Herein lies one of the most interesting decision points in the game: once a card has been used to take an action, it will never be built as a Work.
- Cards on the floor can serve only as either materials or helpers; once they hit the floor, those lovely works will never be built (so the card text can be ignored).
- every turn, you're going to choose an action from your hand (the "Task" on the left side of the card). You can use that action to do 2 things: either to take the action itself (nicely summarized on the player mat), or to "craft" a work in the matching material type.
- In addition to the action you select, you will be able to mimic your opponent's action each turn, a "free" action so to speak. Don't forget to consider how your own action may benefit them on their turn.
doctoryes0 wrote: It seems like a lot of people get stymied by this game, and it’s a shame. It really isn’t that difficult.
I agree, it isn't all that difficult It takes a little time to wrap one's mind around the multi-use nature of the cards, but after a few plays, everything begins to make sense...
My sense is that success in this game is all about timing and the artful use of card effects. Another basic game concept in Mottainai is that victory rests not on scoring a huge number of points, nor building the most Works (you can do so and yet lose), but on triggering endgame when you are ahead.
But beware of those backorder points! 
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Peter Bhat Harkins
United States
Chicago
Illinois
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Mottainai
» Forums » Reviews
Re: Mottainai - A Brief Introduction and a Glowing Review
doctoryes0 wrote: And yet this game is notoriously difficult to learn. And even when you’ve begun to absorb the rhythm of play, if you don't really lock it in, that rhythm can be easy to forget. Mottainai is a melody heard in a foreign land, an air on a wooden flute, odd and almost mystical in its otherness. Back at home you try to whistle it, and you find it’s gone…
But where does all this foreignness come from?
It comes from the theme being really bad. Rather than reinforcing the rules, it distracts. I enjoy the rules and the artwork is lovely, but it's not helpful.
Don't Buddhist monks try to get rid of possessions and attachments? Why does a temple have a gift shop? What does it mean to "cover" a sale, and doesn't "covering" for someone at work mean replacing them rather than doubling up wit them? Why is a card sometimes a person (helpers, actions) and sometimes a thing (building, sale) and why does it change from one to the other? If I have to set cards out on the bench to craft, what's the metaphor for them being in my hand when I smith, is my hand a forge? Then why do I count it against sales at the end of the game? If the players are different temples, why does a building repeat another's actions (or have actions in the first place). Why does a tailor have a waiting area - or a temple have a tailor in the first place? Why are temples in competition at all?
Mottainai is lovely, but the reason it's hard to learn and easy to forget is that the theme doesn't relate to the gameplay on any level. Which is a loss, because the gameplay is a jewel of design, but it's too complex to be a totally abstract game. The theme should be building on the gameplay so the players can develop an intuition for the rhythm of a turn, the paths cards move, why abilities are what they are, and it reinforces nothing.
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Harkins wrote: Don't Buddhist monks try to get rid of possessions and attachments? Why does a temple have a gift shop? What does it mean to "cover" a sale, and doesn't "covering" for someone at work mean replacing them rather than doubling up wit them? Why is a card sometimes a person (helpers, actions) and sometimes a thing (building, sale) and why does it change from one to the other? If I have to set cards out on the bench to craft, what's the metaphor for them being in my hand when I smith, is my hand a forge? Then why do I count it against sales at the end of the game? If the players are different temples, why does a building repeat another's actions (or have actions in the first place). Why does a tailor have a waiting area - or a temple have a tailor in the first place? Why are temples in competition at all?
It's unrealistic to expect every rule in a game to be thematic. Mottainai's thematic envelope is what it is: the Japanese theme of the crafts and art comes across nicely, monks in monasteries (not sure about buddhist temples, but I've seen benedictines and dominicans do so) are known to craft goods for sale.
To be fair to the game, I find that the Works and their effects in particular are thematically strong (the special benefits are often nicely thematically tied to the artworks themselves): Sword, Shuriken, Dice, Frog, Gong, etc. etc.
What comes first in game development, I suspect, are the mechanisms and gameplay. A game's thematic trappings are secondary, but I agree, it's great when games are immersive and their rules are thematically meaningful.
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Harkins wrote: Don't Buddhist monks try to get rid of possessions and attachments? Why does a temple have a gift shop?
I don't have a source to quote but I've heard Asian temples are often quite focused on selling stuff to tourists. Maybe Chudyk's closer to reality than we wish 
Also other aspects of the game have been explained thematically by users. Covering was explained as "inspiration" for example.
I don't think it's as bad as you suggest
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