Ninjan
- Designer: 6jizo
- Publisher: Helvetiq
- Players: 2-5
- Age: 7+
- Time: 15 minutes
- Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/3Ah9v9f
- Played with review copy provided by publisher
Ninjas bring rocks, scissors, and paper to a fight in Ninjan to help you recruit the strongest ninjas possible.
Each player starts with a hand of nine cards, with cards belonging to one of three suits — rock/paper/scissor — and being valued from -6 to 10. Place three random cards face up on the table in separate piles; these are your first targets.
Each turn, each player chooses a card from their hand, then reveals them simultaneously. Going from high value to low, breaking ties according to the RPS rule, players see whether they will claim one of the piles in the center of the table (always comparing only to the top card in the stack). The rank of the cards is not important in this phase, only the RPS part.
If you play 8 rock, for example, you must claim one of the piles with a scissor card on top, placing these claimed cards face up in front of you, then starting a new pile with your 8 rock. If you cannot claim a card, place your played card on a pile, leaving all numbers in the pile visible.
After nine rounds, sum the values of the cards you’ve claimed. Whoever has the highest score wins.
My thoughts on the game
Ninjan is a game from the Pocket Games line from Helvetiq – we’ve played many of these in the past: Odin, Bandido, Kariba to name a few. They all are family friendly with rules that are easy to teach and games that are quick to play – perfect for gatherings or as fillers.
Here, the game is based on Rock-Paper-Scissors, and that should be a mechanism well known to everyone. The trick here is the unpredictable nature of each round, which gets more unpredictable with higher player counts. There are always 3 stacks on offer to be chosen, but only the highest card each round knows for sure what can be taken.
You can try to predict what other people will play to get yourself in a good position, but with plenty of negative value cards possible, it doesn’t always pay off. But, for instance, if there is a valuable pile with a rock on top, you might expect someone to play a high paper to try to get it. Therefore, a medium scissor could put you in the right turn order slot to then nab the high paper. Phew, that’s a lot of strategy analysis for a 5 minute game! :)
The game plays quick with only 9 rounds; once the group has played one or two rounds, the game moves along at a lightning pace. As noted above, there is some decision making that can be done, but overall, this is one of those games where you play a card, and then hold on tight and see what happens.
It’s a game that can be played and enjoyed by all (in part due to the familiar RPS background), and one I’d be happy to play with my family at any time.
Until your next appointment,
The Gaming Doctor
Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/3Ah9v9f
