Onitama - Kung Fu Chess. A Review.
- Kevin
- Aug 24, 2017
- 2 min read
Every other Thursday we here at the G.T.A. Board Game Collective like to revisit older games that we really love. Some of these we have played for years, and some we just found and were surprised we never played before. As always, if you want us to review a game that you enjoy, please leave a comment below.
Number of Players: 2 Play Time: 15 Min.
Age: 14+ Complexity Rating (Lower = Easier): 2/5 Website: www.arcanewonders.com Type: Abstract Strategy Publish Year: 2014 Designer: Shimpei Sato Artist: Jun Kondo Publisher: Arcane Wonders, Dice Tower Essential Description “Carved into the crags of the mist-shrouded mountains of ancient Japan lies the shrine of Onitmama. It is a place of enlightenment and skill, a site dedicated to the spirits that guide the schools of martial arts across the land”. Onitama is a two player competitive game created by Arcane Wonders. In their words “Onitama is an elegant and simple game which captures the essence of martial arts”. On the surface the game is in essence chess but with randomization of move sets. The Review The similarities with chess are in the board itself and the fact that each side will have 4 pawns/students and 1 king/Master. The goal of the game is to defeat your opponents master or get your master in their starting square. To accomplish this you turn is composed of two steps. Play a card, recycle a card. Unlike chess each game piece does not have a set of moves. How you move your pieces will be determined by what cards you have. Each card will have move sets listed on them and the game starts with each player having two cards with one additional card being placed on the side of the board. The cards are dealt randomly but what makes the game interesting is that every time you make a move you set the card to the side of the board and replace it with the vacant card. This creates a game in which the move sets at your disposal are constantly changing and being traded among you and your opponent which means you will need to think several turns ahead of yourself before you make your move. Do you want to use this card and go for the kill? But wait now your opponent will be able to pick that card up and use it to get to your king! These are the kind of things you need to think of before making your moves. The game itself comes with 16 cards with an additional 16 available in an expansion, which is well worth it to allow an endless amount of variations to the game ensuring no two matches will be the same. Personally I have lost count of how many times I have played this game because it is a favourite with my partner and a great quick two player game that should be added into your collection especially if you like a slightly competitive date night game.
Pros and Cons Pros: Easy to learn but tough to master great quality components and box quick games. Cons: Box is a tight fit with the expansion pack cards.
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