Onitama

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Onitama
Game data
author Shimpei Sato
graphic Jun Kondo, Mariusz Szmerdt
publishing company JapanJapan Japan : conception, United States : Arcane Wonders, Germany : Pegasus Games , France : Igiari, Spain : Maldito Games, Italy : Raven Distribution
United StatesUnited States 
GermanyGermany 
FranceFrance 
SpainSpain 
ItalyItaly 
Publishing year 2014
Art Board game
Teammates 2
Duration 15 to 20 minutes
Age from 8 years

Awards

Onitama is a strategic board game for two by the Japanese game designer Shimpei Sato , which was first published in Japan by conception in 2014 and later internationally. In Germany it was launched by Pegasus Spiele in 2017. Thematically, it is a contest between masters of different fighting styles in Japanese martial arts .

Furnishing

The game Onitama consists of a game board in the form of a rolled mat with a playing field with 5 by 5 fields and a temple field in the middle position of your own starting row as well as two sets of figures each consisting of one master and four student figures. There are also 16 movement cards on which the movement possibilities of the figures are shown.

Style of play

To prepare for the game, the playing field is placed between the two players and each player receives a set of figures consisting of one master and four student figures. These are placed next to each other in the first row in front of the respective player, with the master taking the position on his own temple field in the middle. The 16 movement cards are shuffled and each player receives two of the cards that he lays out face up in front of him. Another card is placed face up next to the playing field.

The starting player is determined by a color marking on the centrally displayed card, which is placed in front of this player to the right of the game board. The two players take turns making a move that consists of two steps ("movement of the body" and "movement of the mind").

The active player chooses one of his two cards and moves one of his figures according to the possible moves indicated on the card. Other pieces do not block the move, but it cannot end on a space with one of its own pieces. If the player moves his piece onto a space with an opposing piece, it is captured and removed from the game. The game is compulsory to move and the player must make a move if possible. Then the player takes the movement card that he has used, turns it 180 ° and places it next to his opponent to the left of the playing field. Then he places the movement card on the right of the board in the gap and can use it on the next turn. If the player was unable to make a move, he still has to pass one of his movement cards.

The game can be ended in two ways. The player who succeeds in defeating the opposing teacher wins the game on the "path of the stone" and the player who succeeds in pulling his own teacher onto the opposing temple field wins the game on the "path of the current ".

Development and reception

Onitama was developed by the Japanese game designer Shimpei Sato and published in 2014 in Japan by conception. In 2016, a newly designed version in English was published by the American publisher Arcane Wonders, followed in 2017 and 2018 by Pegasus Spiele in German, Igiari in French, Maldito Games in Spanish and Raven Distribution in Italian.

A set of two additional cards Phoenix and Turtle was released for the game in 2016 as a promo at the kickstarter fundraising campaign on The Dice Tower website . In 2017 Arcane Wonders released Sensei's Path, the first official expansion consisting of 16 additional movement cards, which also appeared in German on Pegasus, and The Dice Tower brought out the Goat and Sheep promo for its kickstarter campaign . In 2018 Arcane Wonders released a second expansion entitled Way of the Wind , which adds a neutral figure (Wind Spirit) with its own cards and two new movement cards to the game.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b c d How to play Onitama
  2. ↑ a b versions of Onitama in the board game database BoardGameGeek (English); accessed on September 4, 2018.
  3. ↑ Onitama: Phoenix and Turtle in the board game database BoardGameGeek (English); accessed on September 4, 2018.
  4. ↑ Onitama: Sensei's Path in the board game database BoardGameGeek (English); accessed on September 4, 2018.
  5. ↑ Onitama: Goat and Sheep in the board game database BoardGameGeek (English); accessed on September 4, 2018.
  6. ↑ Onitama: Way of the Wind in the board game database BoardGameGeek (English); accessed on September 4, 2018.

Web links