Godori, easier than you think?

     Godori is a deceptively easy game. No, I’m not pulling your leg! People look at the collection of cards and pictures, the fast pace, and confusing directions and feel defeated. DON'T! This game is just a clever mix of Cheat and go fish. Kind of. So the premise of the game is to match up two (or four) of the same card type to collect the stack. You must draw a card after you've placed one. Simple right? Well, there are definitely tricks you need to master to win against your pet.

     Remember how I mentioned this game is like Cheat? Guessing what cards your pet has based on your cards, the cards on the board, and the collected card stacks allow you to twist things to your advantage. For example, you have three cards of one type and there are none on the board. That means either your pet has it, or the deck has it. So instead of placing one of those three cards, you hold them. Then when the fourth card is pulled from the deck or placed by your pet you know you'll get all four! If you don't hold them and you place one card on the board, your pet could then place a matching one or pull the matching one from the deck, thus claiming two cards you could have had. See? Little optimization tips like these will have you winning every hand!

     The scoring system is a bit confusing. Have no fear! You really only need to pay attention to a few key details. Blank cards (cards with no flags, pets, or stars) are the worst. Avoid matching two blank cards if at all possible. Hold them so you can match them with a better card later on. Next the best card, star cards. Star cards are the cards with a teeny tiny little star in the corner. If you see one of these cards on the board nab it stat or surely your pet will. Flying petpet cards are the next group to focus on. Then those wavy flag cards. They look like flags blowing in the wind. That’s it! The rest of the cards are kind of whatever. You just need to know that any card with SOMETHING on it is better than a blank card. First nab star cards! Always look for them first at the beginning of a game. Next, flying petpet cards, and finally wavy flag cards. Yes, there’s more complicated scoring, and yes certain combos of these cards make more points. However, the odds you can get these cards are slim. I never bothered and I got the avatar just fine!

     So you’ve run out of matches and need to place a card. What do you do? Well if you must, place a blank card. But not just any card! No no. You must play this game strategically. Pay attention. Again back to the idea of Cheat. Knowing which cards you pet might hold means avoiding putting down an easy match for them. Granted you can’t always know...just like Cheat! Then you just have to take a gamble and hope for the best. Sometimes you won’t have a blank card. You’ll have to put down a flag or petpet card. Again same ideas apply. With a little luck your pet won’t have what’s needed. Pay attention to what cards they seem to avoid placing. If a desert card has been lingering for multiple turns odds are they don’t have a matching card! Pay attention to these little details.

          Now best scenario. You have three out of four necessary cards. Your pet places or draws the fourth card! Aha! You now know where all the cards are within the game. You might hop to placing a matching card right away! DON’T! This doesn’t benefit you. You should play every other card you have. You heard me right. You control that stack already. Your pet can’t win them because you hold the cards. Instead, focus on winning the stacks you don’t control first. When you’re out of playable cards, then you use those. You don’t waste any turns that way! Sneaky!

          Don’t quit early. In the beginning your pet might nab 8 or 9 points. Thinking you can’t catch up you quit and lose out on some NP. I was tempted too! However, I found when I just waited and kept playing, by the end of the first hand I had 20+ points! The thing to remember is that the combination of different cards grants you points. By the end you might have a combo that boosts your score. If your pet has 20-30 points by the end of the first hand it might be worth sacrificing a few NP to restart.

          Rolling in blank cards? Have no fear! You can use these cards strategically to your advantage. Let’s say you have a star card in your hand and you want to stack it ASAP. Try placing a blank of the same type on the board. If your sneaky pet snaps it right up with a petpet card or a flag card there’s a lower chance they have the fourth card. This means when it’s drawn (or they place it because who knows maybe they did have it!) you can get your star card guaranteed! You can also use them to make you don’t have to place a good card. You want to avoid sacrificing good cards to the luck of the board. It’s not always bad to have a hand of blank cards.

          That’s it for my tips for now. Hopefully, they help you beat your clever pet and win some hands! Remember it’s 250 hands, not 250 games for the avatar. Don’t let the set up confuse you! Play a few hands on slow to get a feel for it, then you’ll be breezing through games on the fastest mode, complaining to yourself that it’s too slow! Yes, you will lose some hands, but don’t let it get you down! You can do it! I believe in you. Good luck getting the avatar and have fun!