The Yugo Game Review

Everyone can do yoga when you play The Yugo Game. Using the game’s 96 playing cards, you’ll go through relaxing, balancing, and energizing yoga poses and actions. The first player to play all of the cards in their hand wins.

All players sit in a circle, using yoga mats or not. Each player gets a certain number of cards depending on how many players you have. There are three different types of cards, each appearing in three colors. Relax cards offer gentle poses and action to help calm the body. Balance card poses and actions are more challenging to increase focus and stamina. And Energize cards have poses and actions that build positive energy and self-esteem through larger movements. There are also four Mandala cards: fire, air, water, and earth. These cards change the gameplay a bit, requiring you to perform the last two poses, give someone else a compliment, or lead the group in the activity listed on the card. The earth Mandala card lets you pick your favorite pose or make one up. 

To start, the dealer turns one card from the deck face up. The player to the dealer’s left gets to play a card first by matching the color or symbol of that face up card. “Playing a card” means you pick a card from your hand that matches, and then pass it to the player on your left for them to perform. If you can’t play a card, draw from the deck until a card can be played. Once you complete the action on your card, it gets discarded.  No matter whose turn it is, any player can join in on the action, though it is recommended to only do poses that feel safe and comfortable.

There are two optional rules to play with. When a player has one card left, they must say “Namaste!” If they forget, they have to add one card to their hand. And if you are the only person in the circle not performing the pose, you must draw a card.

You can play the game with two to 10 players ages 6 and up.