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?
You and your friends have decided to journey to the Antarctic harbor of Neko in hopes of seeing the cute penguins living in the backdrop of the stunning glacier landscape.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Auction/Bidding
Bid against other players to determine who receives an item, action, or priority.
Dice Rolling
Roll dice to introduce uncertainty into actions, production, movement, or resolution.
Hand Management
Time and sequence a limited hand of cards to preserve future options.
Network and Route Building
Create connected routes that improve reach, delivery, control, or scoring.
Point-to-Point Movement
Move along explicit connections between named locations or nodes.
Read the full game description
You and your friends have decided to journey to the Antarctic harbor of Neko in hopes of seeing the cute penguins living in the backdrop of the stunning glacier landscape. To get to Neko smoothly, you each try map out the stops along your journey in order to see the most penguins. Your chances improve the farther your ships travel, the more harbours you visit, and the more goods you deliver. But avoid doing things that interfere with the Antarctica ecology and cause the penguins to move away! Will you be the one that sees the most penguins? A Pleasant Journey to Neko is a dice strategy game for 2-4 players. The game plays in four rounds across two periods, each with a mid-game scoring phase. In each round, players roll and draft their dice, which are used to exchange resources, activate existing card abilities, or bid on more cards. Players can also take a number of free actions, including exchanging resources, adjusting their dice, buying and moving ships, and opening harbors to build more ship lanes. Try to plan ahead by building ship lanes that create custom hubs! These spaces give you additional locations to trigger powerful new actions. But don’t forget about advancing your ships too! Not only do they score you points, but they can combo with the dice in the hubs you have created. A Pleasant Journey to Neko has a unique dice drafting mechanism and card laying system. Over a hundred card combinations exist, making each game different and surprising. Also, don’t forget about the advance mode, where you will face more challenges on your way to Neko. Are you ready to go see the penguins? We wish you a pleasant journey to Neko!