Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Harder to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Deep strategy
How it plays
How does it play?
"What do you mean, I have to figure out the rules myself? How can I play this game if I don't know the rules?" Mao.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Pattern Recognition
Identify recurring visual, spatial, or logical arrangements.
Hand Management
Time and sequence a limited hand of cards to preserve future options.
Induction
Infer a hidden rule by comparing which examples satisfy it.
Memory
Remember previously revealed information, positions, or sequences.
Read the full game description
"What do you mean, I have to figure out the rules myself? How can I play this game if I don't know the rules?" Mao. The only game in which the rules of the game prohibit me from explaining the rules to you... Mao is a standard deck playing card game where the object is to get rid of all your cards, and this is the only thing that new players are told about this game. They are forced to figure out the rest of the rules by themselves. Every time a player breaks a rule, a penalty is called, and they must take it back and draw a penalty card. In some variants, the winner of each round makes up a new (secret) rule for the next round. Commercial versions of the game include Quao and Shut Your Mao!