En-nichi! - A Cozy Festival Board Game

En-nichi is a cozy and charming game inspired by Matsuri (Japanese festivals). Already popular in Japan, it is now being localized to English by Mugen Gaming along with two brand new standalone expansions!

Explore the festival and wander between charming stalls playing fast-paced mini-games like:

🎯 Shooting Gallery (Shateki, 射的) 

🐟 Goldfish Scooping (Kingyo-sukui, 金魚すくい) 
🎈 Yo-Yo Balloon Catch (Yo-Yo Tsuri, ヨーヨー釣り)
🎭 Mask Vendor (Omen-ya san, お面屋さん )

As you wander from game to game, you will collect colorful prizes to charm the villagers. Win their favor and they will join you for the grand finale. Bring the most joy to the festival through winning prizes and befriending villagers, and win En-nichi!

If you visit Japan in the summer, we recommend attending a summer festival (Natsu Matsuri or En-Nichi) to experience a fun part of Japanese culture. During the summer, parks and shrines across Japan host these lively festivals, filled with food stalls and small game booths. 

Originally, summer festivals began as ceremonies meant to drive away evil spirits during the hot season, when illness was more common. Today, they are joyful community events where people gather to enjoy time together with traditional games, Japanese folk dances, fireworks, and delicious festival foods. 

We hope this game gives you a little taste of the excitement and charm of a Japanese summer festival!

How to Play

Choose from one of four stalls to visit: Yo-Yo Balloon Catch, the Mask Vendor, Goldfish Scooping, or the Shooting Gallery. On your turn, place your meeple on a game stall to play a game! 

Play the game for the stall you are visiting. If you win, collect your prizes! If you lose, take a Temple Charm for that game instead. You can exchange this Charm for a boost of good fortune whenever you visit this stall again.

Use the prizes you have won at the festival to charm Villagers so they'll join you during your visit to the festival! Each Villager comes with a Fireworks Preference. If their favorite Fireworks Display appears at the end of the festival, you will receive bonus Festival Points.

When the final Fireworks Display card is drawn and placed at the end of a round, the game immediately ends and scoring begins. The festival is over and it is time to determine who earned the most festival points from their efforts. 

Points are calculated by prizes won, Villagers charmed, and any extra points from the Fireworks Preferences. Whomever had the highest total points wins!

A furoshiki is a traditional Japanese wrapping cloth that is used for wrapping, carrying, and protecting everyday objects. Developed centuries ago, furoshiki are beautiful and practical cloths that can be used to wrap gifts, tied into functional bags for books, bento boxes, and everyday items, or displayed as decor in your home. 

Or, in the case of En-nichi, used as an alternative village center!

En-nichi is inspired by the joy of an authentic Japanese summer festival. Bright lights, fun little games, charming prizes, and wandering stalls full of surprises. It felt only right to launch it on Kickstarter, where a community can gather around it from the very beginning.

By backing the project, you are not just pre-ordering a game. You are helping us bring the festival to life. Kickstarter is the #1 place to bring artistic and thematic games to life, fund production responsibly, and build a community. Thank you for being here!

Pledge Tiers

Add-Ons

Videos and Reviews

Shipping and Timelines

Because shipping costs vary by location and may change over time, they will be calculated and collected after the campaign ends, closer to our November 2026 Fulfillment timeline. 

You will receive an email from our pledge manager shortly after the campaign concludes to confirm your pledge and add any additional items you would like. 

By pledging to our project, you understand that the final product may vary in some aspects from what is shown during the campaign. We are dedicated to delivering high-quality items and design, size, or content may change.

Keep your email information up to date in BackerKit to stay informed through our updates. Tracking information will be sent to the email you provide. It's your responsibility to track and manage your package's delivery. Failure to confirm your mailing address by the final deadline will be deemed your acceptance of complete fulfillment. 

Retailers

En-nichi was crafted and manufactured with retail in mind. The Retailer Tier is a $10 deposit to show your interest. 

Verification, full order details, and payment will be handled after the campaign. Retailer orders reserved in this fashion will ship at the same time as all other backers. All add-ons will be available for purchase post-campaign at 50% MSRP. 

This is for US retail stores ONLY. Hawaii, Alaska, and American territories may have additional shipping fees. Minimum purchase quantity is a case (6 Standard Editions).

If you have any questions, please email us at contact@mugengaming.com.

Credits

Original Game by Masaya Nishihara Sora Game Studios
Translation & Game Development by Malloy Quinn, Shawn Davison, Ai Namima-Davison 
Art Direction by Jake Neece
Illustration & Graphic Design by Jake Neece, Kerri Aitken, and PixelEyeBat
Plushie Development by CuddleCore 
Playtesting by  Sara Quenzer, Josh Hall, Maddy Irwin-Hall
Video VO by Maggie Borden
Campaign Managed by Grant Mielke
The Vala Marketing Team, Anthony Gulloti, Andi Hadifeld, Ashley Siery, Blake Coker, Brittany Revermann, Chris Hecox, Gretchen Boley, MJ, Rachel Perkins, Tyrell Nye, and Sarah Turner 

Vala Foundry is the board game publishing arm of Vala Marketing, dedicated to bringing exceptional games and innovative tabletop experiences to players around the world. We offer flexible partnership models and tailored collaborations, ranging from fully designed and developed titles to co-publishing partnerships. 

Mugen Gaming was launched in order to find the best games of Japan and bring them to the US market and beyond. With business experience and connections in both the Japan and the US, Mugen Gaming can help bring the infinite possibilities of gaming to life.

CuddleCore is a family-owned plush company that brings mythical, fantasy, folk, and tabletop critters to life in soft, furry friend forms for you to collect, adventure, and snuggle with!