Masuku

TheAwakening
21 hours ago
3 min read

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10YuyHMXkUk

Overview

Masuku is a card game where players use filler cards with empty spots and place them on the board to score points based on the chosen colors (red, blue, and yellow). It is a simplified version of UNO, where luck and skill determine who gets the 50 points faster. Other game modes include individual challenges. You can play a daily challenge yourself, play against the computer, or play against other players. A higher score beyond 50 points will place the player higher in the leaderboards.

Gameplay

Masuku is played between turns if playing with an opponent, whereas up to two cards can be played if one of those cards results in a modifier. Up to three modifiers are present in a classic game. These can range from scoring a color by sum or rest up to two times to multiplying or dividing. The shape can be different and can affect one of the three colors in the board. The placement of the colors, shapes, and drawing cards has a seed assigned before starting a game. You can change the seed and still earn achievements if you wish.

The goal is to use the gray card to fill in the spots and get a score based on the chosen dots. The targeted spots in a card can range from 3 to 7, always leaving a grayed segment that blocks other dots on the board. Cards can overlap the board by one tile. All the cards must have one colored dot to be placed. Blocked dots remain permanently disabled for the rest of the match. Should somehow a player manage to remain without movements, they lose and must undo a move or restart the whole game. It takes many moves in other game modes to win them. Cards can be rotated and flipped if the shapes allow them to.

There are several game modes present, but the classic game consists of scoring 50 points before your opponent. You can play solo for practice, against the computer, or with other players in a live game. Daily challenges run the same seed for everyone, and players can score to the top, showing who has the best moves. Whiteout consists of leaving a single dot on the board while blocking the rest, without getting a dead end (many dots incapable of being played because they’re separated from each other). In No overlap mode, you must score the 50 points without overlapping played cards. Pure blue is about blocking all other colors but blue; there are no dead ends here.

Because luck is in play in every match, there is no way of telling how many moves it takes for a win. Keep in mind some dots will be blocked when playing cards, and the score fluctuates for both players depending on the modifiers. One space can be played infinite times if you have similar cards, and you can’t find a place on the board. Plays are final; there is no rewind unless the move leads to a dead end. A turn can end faster by pressing the mouse wheel after playing a card. There is no time limit in Masuku; the only thing being tracked is the score and how many moves were played. A hint system is sadly not available.

Audio & Graphics

There are a pair of accessibility options, such as changing the primary colors to your liking, and a text-to-speech bot that reads any text loud. Graphic performance is okay. You can turn the main background from light mode to dark mode. There is only one music track that plays on loop.