Tanto Cuore Review

September 6, 2019 at 3:50am
By Jason Stettner

This is a rather interesting game, definitely something different than what I’m used to playing. Tanto Cuore is a deck building game, where you play as a master of the house. Your goal is to become the greatest master, and you achieve this by collecting a series of maids. The maids were produced by a number of famous Japanese illustrators and while they feel cohesive in this package, each of them has something a little different to them which is nice.

There’s a good selection of maids present, and other cards as well. There’s a surprising amount of depth, and variation in this which is nice. It might seem like a lot to take in during the setup, but once you get going it’s a fairly streamlined experience. There’s also strategy as you build up your collection, and compete with others to score points.

This is designed for two to four players, and matches are set to last thirty minutes to an hour depending on the setup and players involved. There’s a sense of replay value here as you can swap out the maid characters for a different experience within each run. Not all maids are needed every time you play, if that clarifies the note. There’s also the variables of maids getting sick, stuck with bad habits and these situations will directly influence your points by the ending.

The Board/Pieces
This package contains 198 maid cards, featuring 32 chiefs, 156 general options and ten private ones. There are 26 event cards, 56 love cards and a singular manual. The manual is helpful for the setup, as you do need to orient these cards in a particular way to create the play field.

It might seem to be a tad overwhelming at the start, but it makes sense and is well structured once placed down. There’s some love to earn, and that was a fun mechanic of play. The cards have great illustrations on them, there’s a good variety of maids present. I do however wish the back of the cards would have had more distinction for sorting. This is a solid package, and there’s quite a bit of content to this collection of cards.

The Conclusion

Tanto Cuore is all about becoming the greatest master, collecting those maids and taking on anyone that challenges your status. It’s an interesting competitive title that might certainly get some laughs along the way. Not only are there twins, there are triplets as well and we got a good kick out of that. Jokes aside, this is one interesting title that does offer good replay value if you enjoy the core concept. The large collection of maids that are shuffled each match will keep it fresh, and the strategies will continue to evolve as you get familiar with the various small elements of play.

I don’t normally play too many deck based board games these days, but I was pleasantly surprised by this one. There are many cards, with great illustrations and it’s an interesting competition as you work against others to get these maids. It might come across as a silly came to some upon initial viewing, but once you dig in there’s some depth within this one. I also understand there are some expansions for this title, you can get out there and expand the possible employees you may be after to expand your collection.

Tanto Cuore Review
Review Sample Provided by Global Games Distribution

Rating Overall: 8.0