Lucky First Incense
- Designer: Chih-Han Yang
- Publisher: Lilai-Lilai
- Players: 2-5
- Age: 8+
- Time: 15-25 minutes
- Played with review copy provided by publisher
Legend has it that the person who lights the first incense on the first day of the Lunar New Year will receive blessings from the Gods and have good luck for the entire year. As a result, on New Year’s Eve, hundreds of people gather in front of temples to compete for the privilege of lighting the first incense, which is known as the “Lucky First Incense.” In this game, you and your family members aim to secure the best positions at various temples in order to be the ones to light the first incense. However, be prepared for fierce competition from your neighbors who won’t make it easy for you… The game is played over 2 rounds. In the Evening Phase, players take turns sending their family members to occupy the seats in front of the temples or offering incense to seek blessings from the Gods. In the Midnight Phase, all family members rush to the front lines, competing for the opportunity to light the first incense and get the amulets (as victory points). At the end of the game, the player with the most amulets wins!
Mitchell T: The Legacy of Sid Sackson
On a cold winter day in 1975, I was wandering through the remainder section of Brentano’s bookstore in midtown Manhattan. I discovered an intriguing book filled with interesting and unusual games—Sid Sackson’s classic A Gamut of Games—for the remarkable price of one dollar. I spent hours exploring the many excellent games in Sackson’s book. The book was wonderful for many reasons including Sackson’s designer commentary, his willingness to include games from his contemporaries, the variety of types of games, and then the extraordinary (for its time) catalog of “games in print” in the back of the book. At this point, the book was six years old (published in 1969), but it’s still amazing to consider all these years later that you could list all the games (250) in print. Compare that to the annual production of games in 2023.
About thirty five years later, I was attending The Gathering in Niagara Falls when Rick and Joanne Soued (Eagle-Gryphon Games) invited me to join a group of folks who were going to the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester. The museum housed Sid Sackson’s array of design notebooks. I was blown away by the intricate detail of Sackson’s ludographic awareness. The notebooks were filled with details of his design ideas, games he played with friends, and comprehensive commentaries on all aspects of board games. It was an inspiring experience to encounter the depth, creativity, and perseverance of Sackson’s work. Sackson was probably the first modern ludographic scientist. His journals resembled the field notes of a great naturalist—serious commentary and detailed observations, interspersed with daily chat and even game gossip.
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