The anime adaptation of "Gods Hungry for Games," a Japanese light novel that has received rave reviews from all quarters, is scheduled to air in April of this year. The story follows the protagonists as they take on a complex game called "Gods' Play," and the series has been garnering attention even before it airs. In this article, we'd like to take a closer look at what kind of games are included in Gods' Play! We have another article that provides an overview of Gods' Play, so if you haven't read it yet, we recommend reading that first.
Self-Introduction Concentration Game
The first game that the protagonist, Faye, and the main heroine, Leoreshe, play to get to know each other is "Self-Introduction Concentration Game." There are 80 cards with words written on them, such as name, hometown, gender, and hobbies. During your turn, you flip over two cards, and if they match, you can ask your opponent a question about that topic. For example, if you get a "Hobbies" pair, you can ask about their hobbies, and your opponent will answer. Even if you get a pair, your turn does not continue, and you are always limited to one turn. Furthermore, this game isn't just a game of Concentration, but a three-dimensional version. This means that instead of laying cards on the floor, the cards are played floating in the air. Fei immediately demonstrates his genius in this game. When Leshe shows the cards face-up to explain the rules, he memorizes the entire layout and even follows the cards as they move. Each card moves at a different speed, making this a highly challenging card game.
God Play
After taking a liking to Fei during the self-introduction game, Leshe invites him to participate in "God Play." In this game, 18 people, including Fey and Leshe, must escape from the gods in a town created in a place called the Playground of the Gods. While the general rules are similar to tag, the challenge lies in figuring out the conditions for victory and defeat while devising strategies to defeat them. Players must destroy buildings in the playground, attacking and escaping from the approaching Titans, while also devising strategies to defeat them. Additionally, there's a hidden rule that anyone captured by the gods becomes their minion and pursues them, and Fey discovers this is a hidden rule.
Forbidden Words
This game involves fighting Ouroboros, the infinite god. This game also introduces a new heroine, Pearl. The rules are to win by making Ouroboros say "It hurts." Loss occurs when all participants drop out. In fact, it's considered one of the three most difficult games, and no one has ever achieved it. Ouroboros is an extraordinary giant, measuring 10 kilometers in length and 300 meters in width. Prior to this god's appearance, the largest god in history was 600 meters in length, so this incredible god has eclipsed that figure by a wide margin. The victory condition is to make Ouroboros say "It hurts." However, since there is no record of Ouroboros ever speaking human language, it's unclear whether it actually does. There's also the question of whether human and gods' senses of pain coincide. Even if the victory condition is clear, it can be difficult to know how to win. In other words, rather than forcing the god to say "It hurts" through repeated attacks, this is a genuine intellectual game. It could be said that Ouroboros is testing Fay and his friends by asking what it means to make the god say "It hurts." The joy of this game lies in repeatedly testing and considering the possibilities.
Mind Arena
Fay, Leshe, and Pearl decided to form a full-fledged team and participate in the World Game Tour. The friendly match they played was a card-based strategy game called "Mind Arena." The rules are essentially the same as regular Sugoroku, with the first player to reach the goal winning. However, there are no dice, and players can choose any number between 1 and 6 in advance. In addition to reaching the goal first, reducing the opponent's life to zero is also a victory condition. If your life drops to 0 before reaching the goal, you lose, so you need to use your attacking and defensive cards wisely. This means that it's difficult to win unless you simultaneously aim for the goal and collect cards. Another rule is that if two or more players land on the same square, you can't draw a card. With two victory conditions, the game emphasizes strategy in deciding which to aim for and psychological warfare in deciphering your opponent's thoughts.
Battle for the Sun Relay
After the Mind Arena concluded, the World Game Tour finally began in earnest. The game played there was the "Battle for the Sun Relay." The player wins if they can offer a flower called the Sun Flower to the altar at the top of the pyramid. On the way to the pyramid, they will be hindered by cat golems. Cat golems are approximately 2 meters tall and weigh over 100 kg, making them unstoppable. The biggest problem is the sheer number of cat golems: a whopping 1,667. This is far too many for the 15 human players. The key to the game is figuring out how to clear it amid overwhelming violence and injustice.
Summary of Games Appearing in Gods' Game
There are many other games, but to avoid spoilers, this article will introduce the games featured in the first two volumes of the original manga. The content is characterized by its development of familiar games like card games, tag, and sugoroku. The sight of characters like Faye, Leshe, and Pearl simply enjoying the game is very striking, making you want to enter the world of the story and play along. If you're interested, why not check out the original manga? That's all for now. Thank you for reading.
