悪霊退治 (Akuryō Taiji)

The trick-taking game 悪霊退治 (Akuryō Taiji), roughly translated as "Demon Extermination", was released as part of the publisher ruri ruri games' (るりるりゲームズ) Autumn 2019 box of trick-taking games, titled トリテセット５ (Trick Taking Set 5). It is a solo trick-taking game for one player against a "demon" character. The game consists of 1-9 in four suits and 9 "seal cards". The suit of the cards is shown on the back, and the first hand is played with only the green and yellow cards. The blue cards are added for the second hand, and the red cards are added for the next hand. The player's goal is to seal a certain amount of the seal cards, which have conditions such as "three cards of the same value" or "two cards from each of two suits". It is a "may follow" game, where the "demon" will play the top card from a stack of cards representing their hand, and the player will choose their card. If the player wins, the cards may be used to help satisfy a seal card. Depending upon the cards played by the "demon", special effects may be activated, such as causing the player to discard their highest ranked card. Once a player has satisfied all face up seal cards, they win. If the game reaches a state where they cannot, they lose.