Bitoku FAQ
108 questions players ask · Updated Nov 10, 2026 · Full rulebook
Setting Up the Game
- Where does the neutral Kodama go in a two-player game?
- What are the Hikaru markers for, and are they needed in 1- and 2-player games?
- What do the Forest Treasure tiles in setup refer to, and what are the five Forest regions?
- Must the building, crystal, Mitama and Dragonfly tiles be laid out at setup, or can they be pre-stocked?
- Are the J, K and L area labels on page 17 of the English rulebook wrong?
Summer: The Call of the Guardians
- Can you pass before playing all three Yōkai cards and moving all three dice?
- Does an action that unlocks a die let you use that die straight away, the way discarding a Pilgrim does?
- How many Pilgrims can you discard to unlock dice in one turn?
- If you raise a die with an Amulet, is it placed at the new value, and can an Amulet be used after the die is placed?
- Can you take the Forest Action and a Building Action in either order when you place a die?
- Must you take all of a Yōkai card's actions, or can each one be optional?
- Can you play a Yōkai card you took from a Hikaru Hill the same turn?
Autumn: The Reverence
Winter: The Repose of the Forest
- At year end, how many Yōkai cards can you keep in hand for the next round?
- Which Yōkai card can you remove for VP in the Spirit's Virtue step, and how many can you remove in a game?
- Where do removed Yōkai cards go, and when is their VP scored?
- During Snow in the Forest, what happens when the last space of a tile row is already empty?
- When are the building, crystal, Dragonfly and Mitama spaces refilled?
- Can you return a 6-value die in Winter when the die icons on your board show 5 pips?
Iwakura Rocks
- Where on the Rock Path can you place a pilgrim, and what does it cost?
- How do you place a pilgrim onto the Iwakura Rock path?
- How does a pilgrim sitting next to an Iwakura Rock score?
- When a rock shows buildings, do you score per building or per pair of buildings?
- If two Iwakura Rocks both require red buildings, can one red building count for both?
- Can a wild Yama-uba or Shinigami count as a different type on each rock?
- Do the purple fish symbols next to pilgrims on the rock path score separately?
- What do the large and small symbols on an Iwakura Rock mean?
The Ascension: Final Scoring
Vision Cards
- Can one Mitama and Dragonfly pair fill two different Vision cards?
- Can one element, such as a Dragonfly or a Mitama, count toward two Vision cards, and is there a limit on how many Visions you can fulfil?
- Do Dragonflies on your board count toward Vision cards when they are not attached to a Mitama?
- Must you keep a Vision card when a Bitoku reward gives you one?
The Paths of Wisdom
- Can one player have pilgrims on more than one space of the same fork, and can other players share the fork?
- Does moving from a fork onto an Illumination or Gate space cost 1 Movement Point even if another player's pilgrim is already there?
- Where does a new pilgrim start on the Path of Wisdom, and does placing it cost MP?
- Where can a new pilgrimage start after you claim a Torii gate?
- Can a pilgrim that is overtaken on its way to the final spot of the Path of Wisdom still reach it?
- Can you return a pilgrim from the Path of Wisdom to your board to unlock a die or score an Iwakura Rock?
- Do the bridges on the Path of Wisdom cost Movement Points to cross?
- Can a pilgrim jump over an occupied space to reach a fork branch, and what does it cost?
- Can a pilgrim be placed on a Path of Wisdom space that another pilgrim already occupies?
- If a sleeping pilgrim occupies the first spot of a side branch, can another pilgrim still reach the next bonus spot?
- Must you use every Movement Point you receive?
Forest Regions and Forest Actions
- Can you use the buildings beside the Home of the Great Spirit when you place a die there?
- In the Home of the Great Spirit, do you need a higher die value than the other dice there to take its Forest action?
- Can you place a die straight from your player board into the Home, and does its value drop?
- Can a die in the Home cross the river, or can a die that has already crossed move to the Home?
- In a 2-player game, what can the copy space in the Home do?
- When a die is placed in a Forest region, must its value match each die already there, or their total?
- Can a die lower than the others in its region still use that region?
- Can you take a Forest action whose listed value is lower than your die's value?
- How do the Forest regions work in a two-player game, where each region has only one space?
- If a 6-value die takes both rewards in a region, does the 1-resource discount apply to both?
The River and Hikaru Hills
- When several dice share one location, can a die in the left space cross the river?
- In a 2-player game, which Hikaru Hill can a die reach after crossing, and can you take cards from either hill on that side?
- Does a Forest space become available again after a die crosses the river?
- Do dice that have already crossed the river count when checking the Forest action value?
Buildings
- Can you use a building in your own region, or can only other players activate your buildings?
- Can you use a building you have just constructed in the same turn?
- When can you construct a Building, rather than only use one?
- If the building you want has no free space on the board, what do you get from the Forges?
Kodamas and the Treasures of the Lake
Crystals
- Can you use a pink Ingenuity crystal's action on the turn you buy it next to the Yōkai card you just played?
- Does a yellow crystal's 2 VP for taking a Vision card still score if you reject both Vision cards and take a Resource instead?
- Does a crystal's own bonus score when you place that crystal, such as a yellow or amber crystal that pays for placing another crystal?
- Do crystal bonuses for obtaining a Yōkai or Bitoku card count when the card came from a Hikaru Hill rather than a deck?
- Can you use a Memory Crystal's bonus in the same action in which you obtained it?
- Do Memory Crystal bonuses count for actions taken before you acquired the crystal?
- How does a Memory Crystal trigger and score?
- Does a purple Dream Crystal pay its reward only once, or every Spring?
- If a purple crystal gives an extra Yōkai card in Spring, how many can you hold?
Mitama Spirits and Dragonflies
- Can you keep several unpaired Mitama Spirits or Dragonflies on your board, or more than one of each?
- When you obtain a Mitama or Dragonfly, which unpaired tile on your board can it pair with?
- Must you pair a Dragonfly with a Mitama right away, and can you choose which tile to pair?
- When do Mitama and Dragonfly bonuses trigger?
- In the Lands of Yomi, which purchases get the 1-resource discount?
- Does the leftmost Mitama tile still score its 5 VP when you pay its sake and jade cost?
- Does a Yōkai card's Mitama or Dragonfly purchase icon give that tile for free?
Resources, Costs and Amulets
Rise of the Tengu — Solitaire Play
- Does the Tengu get a crystal's printed benefit in Spring, or only Movement Points?
- When the Tengu's movement reaches a Gate space, how is the Tengu Action card it draws resolved?
- Can the Tengu place a die on a crossing where its other die already sits, and which die crosses the river?
- Which location does a Tengu card naming a favorite Mitama or Building use?
- How does the Tengu spend its movement points?
- Does the Tengu score every Bitoku card it passes on its path?
- When the Tengu can cross for a favorite Yōkai or a rare Bitoku, which does it take?
- When is the Tengu's action deck reshuffled in solo play?
- What do the Tengu's die values do?
- When does TAC step E apply to a contested crossing?
- Can every Forest location be occupied when the Tengu reaches the location step?
- What makes a crossing contested in solo play?
- Do Yama-uba cards count toward the Tengu's favorite Yōkai when its main Yōkai is unavailable?
- How do you randomly choose the Iwakura Rock the Tengu loses in the Winter phase?
- What happens when a Tengu TAC step's conditions are met but it cannot perform the action, such as having no buildings left?
Bitoku: ResutoranExpansion
- Can the Tteokbokki festival card put your pilgrim on top of another player's pilgrim on an Illumination space?
- Does the White Lake tile score pilgrims on Torii Gates and Illumination spaces together?
- If a Kodama is moved backward onto a Lake reward space, does the player gain that reward?
- How does Festival card 53 (Nasi Goreng) work when you discard Amulets as Resources?
- Do Yōkai Alliance cards score their VP when discarded in Winter?