Ninja Taisen Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Overview and Goal of the Game
• Game Elements
  • Ninja cards
  • Battlefield tiles
    • Village tiles
    • Path tiles
  • Dice
• Setup
• Gameplay
  • Overview of a Turn
  • Ninja Movement
  • Combat
  • End of the Turn
• Example of a Game Turn
• End of the Game
• Credits

Contents

• 3 dice (red, blue, and green)
• 20 Ninja cards:
  • 3 Ninjutsu "Hidden in the Shadows" - Scissors (red)
  • 3 Youjutsu "Unknown Arts" - Paper (green)
  • 3 Kenjutsu "Strength of the Sword" - Rock (blue)
  • 1 Shogun - Joker (red, green, and blue)
  • (x2, one set per village)
• 11 Battlefield tiles:
  • 9 Path tiles
  • 2 Village tiles
• 2 Player Aids

Overview and Goal of the Game

Each of you control 10 Ninjas recruited to defend your village and assuage your thirst for vengeance. Carefully place your Ninjas on the path leading to the enemy Village according to their strengths to prepare for battle. Command your Ninjas along the path to your opponent's Village and capture it to emerge victorious from this battle.

There are two ways to win the game:

• be the first to reach the enemy Village and take control of it,
• or eliminate all enemy Ninjas.

Game Elements

Ninja cards

Ninja cards represent your best warriors who are ready to defend your Village and take control of the enemy Village. They each have a different combat category (Rock, Paper, Scissors, or Joker), strength (1, 2, 3, or 4), name, and Village symbol on the back (Monkey or Wolf).

Battlefield tiles

Village tiles

The two Village tiles represent the villages each player will defend and control. They have a name and a Village symbol (Monkey or Wolf) on the back that indicates which player leads the Village.

Path tiles

Path tiles represent the path to follow to reach the enemy Village and on which your Ninja warriors will fight. They all have two Village symbols (Monkey and Wolf) and dots on the back, which suggest how to orient the cards on the table during Setup.

Dice

The dice come in three colors (green, red, and blue) that correspond to the combat categories of your village's Ninjas. They represent your Ninjas' possible movement on the Battlefield.

Setup

1. Line up the 9 Path tiles in the middle of the table.

2. Add a Village tile at each end of the Path tiles.

   Note: To have a balanced path, choose one Village symbol and place the Path tiles in the corresponding ascending order according to the dots. Otherwise, you may orient the tiles however you like. This does not affect gameplay.

3. Each player chooses a Village and takes the corresponding 10 Ninjas.

4. Place your Shogun below your Village.

5. Shuffle the rest of your Ninjas and randomly place them face-up, as follows:

   • 3 on top of the Shogun
   • 3 below the 1st Path tile
   • 2 below the 2nd Path tile
   • 1 below the 3rd Path tile

6. The most silent player takes the dice and becomes the first player.

Gameplay

The game plays over several rounds made up of two phases: Ninja Movement and Combat. You take turns being the active player until one player wins the game.

Overview of a Turn

On your turn, roll the dice then take the following actions:

1. Ninja Movement
   • Choose a die to determine your movement.
   • Move one or more Ninjas toward the enemy Village (following the direction of the path).
2. Combat
   • Resolve combat if you encounter enemy Ninjas on the Battlefield.
   • If you want, choose an unused die and repeat these actions.

Ninja Movement

1. Choose a die

   • The number on the die corresponds to the total movement (1, 2, or 3) you must perform with one or more of your Ninjas.
   • The color of the die corresponds to the color of Ninja (Rock, Paper, or Scissors) you can move.

   For example, if you choose the green die with the number 3, you may move one of your green Ninjas exactly three tiles on the Battlefield, following the direction of the path.

   You can only use each die once per turn.

   The Shogun can be moved with any die, but only once per turn.

2. Choose one of your Ninjas in the color of the die. The chosen Ninja cannot have more than two Ninjas on top of him in the stack.

3. Move the chosen Ninja along the direction of the path as many tiles as shown on the die.

   • If one or more other Ninjas are on top of the chosen Ninja, move them all without changing the order of the cards.
   • If one or more Ninjas are already on the destination tile, put the new Ninjas on top of them.
   • If you reach the enemy Village, your Ninja stops on the tile and any extra movement is lost.

   You cannot voluntarily retreat and move a Ninja backward along the path. You must always advance toward the enemy village.

Combat

If your Ninjas stop on a tile on which one or more enemy Ninjas are already present, you trigger combat, which continues until one stack of ninjas is defeated.

Only the topmost card of each stack of Ninjas is involved in combat, which is resolved in this way:

• If both Ninjas have different combat categories (colors):

  • Rock beats Scissors
  • Scissors beats Paper
  • Paper beats Rock

  The Shogun is always considered to have the same color as the enemy Ninja.

  The winning Ninja remains on the Battlefield and the loser is removed from the game.

• If both Ninjas have the same combat category (color) and different strengths. The Ninja with the highest strength wins.

  The Shogun begins combat with a strength of 4. After each victory during combat, his strength is temporarily reduced by as much strength as the defeated Ninja. For example, your Shogun battles a Ninja of strength 2 and wins. His strength is therefore reduced by 2 to 2 for the next battle. During the same combat, he then battles a Ninja of strength 1. He wins the battle and his strength is now reduced by 1 to 1.

  The winning Ninja remains on the Battlefield and the loser is removed from the game.

• If both Ninjas have the same combat category (color) and the same strength: they tie.

  Both Ninjas retreat and move one tile toward their respective Villages. Other Ninjas on the stack remain.

  If they are fighting on a Village, the Ninja who cannot retreat loses the fight and is removed from the game. The winning Ninja remains on the Village.

  If there are still Ninjas on each side of the Battlefield tile, combat continues. Compare the new top card of each team of Ninjas.

  When retreating a Ninja, a new combat can be triggered. In this case, resolve the combat in progress before resolving the newly triggered fight. If multiple combats are triggered as a result of the same retreat, begin with the combat closest to the active player's Village.

You cannot move other Ninjas before resolving Combat.

Combat ends when there are no more Ninjas facing off on the Battlefield.

At the end of combat, if the Shogun survived, his strength is restored to 4.

After resolving the Ninja Movement and Combat Phases with the chosen die, you can repeat these Phases with another unused die.

End of the Turn

Your turn ends when you have used all your dice or when you decide to stop without using the remaining dice. Give all the dice to your opponent, who becomes the active player.

You must use at least one die before choosing to end your turn.

Example of a Game Turn

1. You roll the 3 dice.
2. You choose the blue 3 die and decide to move your Shogun (and the two Ninjas that are on top of him) three Battlefield tiles, following the direction of the path. No enemy Ninjas are on this tile, so nothing happens. You could stop your turn here, but you decide to continue.
3. You choose the red 1 die and move your Ninja of strength 1 (with the Ninjas on top of him) one Battlefield tile, following the direction of the path. Two enemy Ninjas are on this same tile, so combat is triggered.
4. To resolve the combat, you compare your top Ninja card with your opponent's top Ninja card:
   1. Your Ninja of strength 2 is stronger than your enemy's Ninja of strength 1. The enemy Ninja is defeated and removed from the game.
   2. Then, your Ninja of strength 2 has the same strength as the enemy Ninja of strength 2. It's a tie and both Ninjas retreat one card towards their respective Villages.
   3. Finally, your Ninja of strength 1 battles the enemy Ninja of strength 3. The enemy Ninja is defeated and removed from the game while your Ninja stays on the Battlefield tile where the battle took place.
5. You can only play the green 2 die. You can move your Ninja of strength 1 or your Ninja of strength 3. However, you cannot move your Ninja of strength 2, because there are already three Ninjas on top of him, or your Shogun, since you already moved him this turn.
6. You decide not to play the green 2 die. You give the dice to your opponent, and your turn ends.

End of the Game

You win the game as soon as one of two situations is met:

• One of your Ninjas is on the enemy Village at the end of your turn.
• All enemy Ninjas are eliminated.

Credits

Designer: Katsumasa Tomioka

Illustrations: Shigeto Murata

Cover: Florent Maudoux

Project Manager: Virginie Gilson

Series Manager: Ludovic Papaïs

Translation: Danni Loe-Sterphone