How to Play Sushi Go: Rules, Scoring & 2-Player Setup
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Sushi Go at a glance
- Players
- 2–5
- Play time
- 15 min
- Age
- 8+
- Complexity
- Light
- Mode
- Competitive
- Publisher · Year
- Gamewright
- Works for
- Quick (30 min or less), Family (mixed ages), Kids
- Less suited to
- Under 8
Sushi Go is a pick-and-pass card game for 2 to 5 players, ages 8 and up. A game takes about 15 minutes. You keep 1 card from your hand, pass the rest, and build sets of sushi dishes over 3 rounds. The most points after round 3 wins.
These rules are for the original Gamewright edition of Sushi Go. Sushi Go Party, the bigger version for up to 8, has its own section near the end.
How do you set up Sushi Go?
The deck has 108 cards. Shuffle it and deal each player a hand. Hand size depends on the player count:
| Players | Cards per hand |
|---|---|
| 2 | 10 |
| 3 | 9 |
| 4 | 8 |
| 5 | 7 |
Keep paper and a pencil handy, or use the score track. Puddings stay in front of you all game, so leave a little space for them.
How does a turn work?
Everyone plays at the same time. Each turn has 3 steps:
- Choose. Pick 1 card from your hand and place it face down in front of you.
- Reveal. When everyone is ready, flip the chosen cards face up.
- Pass. Pass your remaining hand to the player on your left.
Repeat until every card is played. That's 1 round. Score it, discard everything except puddings, and deal again. A game is 3 rounds.
How do chopsticks work?
Chopsticks save a pick for later. On a later turn, when you choose, take 2 cards from your hand instead of 1 and call out "Sushi go!" Then put the chopsticks card into the hand you pass. You can only use chopsticks that are already on the table in front of you.
How is each card scored?
| Card | Points | Rule note |
|---|---|---|
| Tempura | 5 per pair | A single tempura scores 0 |
| Sashimi | 10 per set of 3 | 1 or 2 sashimi score 0 |
| Dumpling | 1, 3, 6, 10, 15 | For 1 to 5 dumplings; 5 or more score 15 |
| Maki rolls | 6 for most icons, 3 for second | Ties split the points, rounded down |
| Egg nigiri | 1 | Triple with wasabi: 3 |
| Salmon nigiri | 2 | Triple with wasabi: 6 |
| Squid nigiri | 3 | Triple with wasabi: 9 |
| Wasabi | 0 | Triples the next nigiri you place on it |
| Chopsticks | 0 | Take 2 cards on a later turn |
| Pudding | End of game only | Most: +6; fewest: −6 |
Puddings are the one card that carries over. They score only once, after round 3, and ties split the points.
A worked round
Four players, so 8 cards each. At the end of round 1 Lena has 2 tempura, 3 dumplings, a wasabi with a squid nigiri on it and 1 maki card showing 3 icons. The other players show 2, 1 and 0 maki icons.
- Tempura pair: 5
- Dumplings, 3 of them: 6
- Squid on wasabi: 3 × 3 = 9
- Maki, most icons with 3: 6
Lena scores 5 + 6 + 9 + 6 = 26 for the round.
How do you play Sushi Go with 2 players?
Deal 10 cards each and play the normal turn. The one change is pudding: in a 2-player game, nobody loses 6 points for having the fewest. The player with the most puddings still scores 6.
Sushi Go vs Sushi Go Party: what changes?
| Sushi Go | Sushi Go Party | |
|---|---|---|
| Players | 2–5 | 2–8 |
| Play time | 15 min | 20 min |
| Cards in play | One fixed deck | A menu of 8 dish types picked each game |
| Box | Small tin | Larger tin with a score board |
Party keeps the same pick-and-pass turn. Each game you choose a menu: nigiri, 1 roll, 3 appetizers, 2 specials and 1 dessert. That's how it covers 8 players and keeps repeat games fresh.
How does it compare?
| Game | Players | Play time | Age | Complexity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sushi Go | 2–5 | 15 min | 8+ | Light |
| Codenames | 4–8 | 15 min | 10+ | Light |
| Azul | 2–4 | 30–45 min | 8+ | Light |
| 7 Wonders Duel | 2 | 30 min | 10+ | Medium |
Sushi Go and 7 Wonders Duel both ask you to take a card and leave the rest for someone else. Duel stretches that idea over 3 ages for exactly 2 players.
If you like Sushi Go, try these
For a word game of the same length, read our Codenames guide. For drafting tiles instead of cards, try Azul. Everything else is in our board games section.
Sources
- Gamewright, Sushi Go! rules (current printing)
- Gamewright, Sushi Go! and Sushi Go Party! game pages (players, age, play time)
- Czech Games Edition, Codenames rules, 2nd edition (2025)
How we check rules and build the intro card: our methodology.