Cerealian
With a game design made by Hugame and artwork by Crocotile, published by Mamé Wasabi, Cerealian is a neat, small trick-taking game built from a tiny deck and one bright idea: you can play not only from your hand but also take cards from any player’s face-up “area” during a trick. That steal mechanic creates tense little decisions '- and the game is light enough to teach in five minutes. Below I’ll show how it plays, an example trick (because that rule is the heart of the game), scoring, quick strategy, and my honest impressions.
Components & setup (quick)
The components of Cerealian
12 cereal cards (numbers 1–12) in three suits / flavors (wheat = orange, corn = green, oat = blue).
4 scoring cards (track 0–7 by rotating; if you pass 7 use a substitute).
Setup:
Shuffle and deal all 12 cards evenly to players (each player holds their cards hidden).
Give each player one scoring card set to 0.
Whoever most recently ate cereal goes first.
How to play - the short version
Each trick: players, clockwise from the starting player, play one card. The starting player may play any card from their hand.
Other players must follow the color (suit) if they have it in their hand. If they don’t have that color in hand, they may either:
play any card from their hand (any color), or
play a face-up card from any player’s area (including their own area).
(Important: cards in areas are visible and previously claimed - they can be reused in tricks.)
After everyone has played, determine pick order for the trick:
Cards that matched the starting player’s color rank first, ordered by value (highest value among matching color picks first).
Then all non-matching cards are ordered by value (highest to lowest).
Following that order, each player picks one card from the played pile and places it face-up into their own area (visible to all).
The round ends immediately when someone has collected three cards in their area. Also the round ends if a player runs out of hand and there are no more tricks to play.
The next trick (if any) starts with the player who was second place in the previous trick (see example).
Example trick (to make the weird rule clear)
Four players: Alice (starting), Bob, Charlie, Dany. Alice leads 4 (Orange).
Bob plays 11 (Green) from his hand.
Charlie plays 10 (Orange) from his hand.
Dany plays 3 (Blue) from his hand.
Resolution:
First look at cards that followed the starting color (orange): only Charlie’s 10 and Alice’s 4 - Charlie’s 10 is highest, so Charlie is first pick, then Alice (second).
Then non-matching cards: Bob’s 11 and Dany’s 3 - Bob’s 11 is higher, so Bob picks third, then Dany fourth.
Each picks one of the four played cards and places it in their area (face up). If someone reaches three cards in their area at that moment, the round ends immediately.
Cards in areas: what they are and why they matter
An area is where you place cards you’ve collected from tricks (face up, public).
Area cards count toward end-of-round scoring, but importantly they can be played into tricks by any player (if allowed by the follow/no-follow condition) - so areas are both currency and bait.
Because you can play cards from someone else’s area, those face-up cards become strategic resources - you can steal a useful color/value back into play to change who takes the trick.
Scoring
When the round ends, score as follows:
Fewer than 2 cards in area: 0 points.
Exactly 2 cards: compute the absolute difference between the two card values. Compare differences across players:
Largest difference → 3 points, second → 2 pts, third → 1 pt, fourth → 0 pts.
Ties get the lower point (e.g., two players tied for largest difference each get 2 points in the example rule set).
Example: Alice diff 5, Bob diff 5, Charlie diff 2 → Alice & Bob each get 2 pts, Charlie 1 pt.
Exactly 3 cards: if the three values are consecutive numbers (a run, e.g., 4–5–6 in any order), that player immediately scores 7 points for a serial bonus. If not consecutive → 0 points for that player from the 3-card set.
Note: 1 and 12 are not considered consecutive (no wraparound).
Track scores by rotating the scoring card. First player to reach 7 or more points wins the game.
Tie at end of game:
If tied and someone achieved the serial bonus in that round, that player wins.
If no serial bonus, tied players share victory.
If tie continues and you need a next starting player, use highest round points, then total points, then random draw.
Strategy tips
Steal smart: area cards are public - leaving a high-value matching color in your area invites others to use it to follow-suit and capture a trick. Sometimes you want that: bait others into taking cards that hurt their scoring.
Balance vs. greed: two-card difference scoring rewards extremes; three-card serial bonus is a big payoff. Decide early whether you chase a run (risking leaving big differences for others) or go for a big two-card spread.
Watch pick order: winning the trick (first pick) is powerful because you get first choice of the pile. Sometimes playing a slightly lower card that still follows color can be better than being greedy with a top number and giving someone else access to picks later.
Where the rules overcomplicate
The rule that players who do have the led color in hand must still follow suit, but players without that color may either play from hand or play any face-up card from any player’s area (not just their own) is elegant in concept but makes the legality checks and decision space more fiddly than necessary.
Concrete confusion: when it’s your turn and you do have the led color in hand, you must follow from hand. But if you lack the led color, you suddenly have to consider the entire table of area cards (every other player's face-up cards) as additional legal plays. That means at every single trick you may be evaluating 1–8 extra options (depending on how many area cards exist) besides your hand - and other players must keep their areas perfectly visible and trackable. For new players this extra step (is it legal? is this from hand or area? whose area?) slows down the game and increases bookkeeping.
Simpler alternative: allow playing only from your own area (not others’), or restrict using area cards only when you have no legal follow. Either change keeps the steal mechanic but cuts down on bookkeeping and cognitive load.
Other stylistic notes:
The minimalist visual design is clean and functional, but it can feel a little too stark - a touch more color or cute character art on the cereal suits would add personality without clutter.
Mechanically, the game leans on a single clever twist (stealing from areas) but otherwise recycles common trick-taking ideas; it’s charmingly small, but not groundbreaking.
The card setup of a hand of Cerealian
Who will like this game
Players who enjoy microgames and concise, tactical trick decisions.
Fans of quick, portable titles you can play between larger games.
Not ideal for players seeking deep strategy or lots of variety - this is a tight, focused experience.
Final thoughts & rating
Cerealian succeeds as a compact, novel little trick-taking snack. The steal-from-areas idea creates interesting interactions and thefty moments, and rounds move fast. That said, the rule allowing any player to use any area card expands decision complexity for only a modest payoff, and the visual presentation errs so heavily on minimalism that it sometimes feels flat.
Overall: 6.5 / 10 — a worthwhile curiosity for collectors of small games and a pleasant quick filler. With a tiny rule tweak to simplify area usage and a bit more visual charm, it could be a stronger recommendation. We can professionally playtest your game and advice you on improving your game. Contact us now!
