Image credits to the author
Publisher Helvetiq specializes in compact, simple games with appealing themes and stylized illustrations. Ninjan is the latest in their range of small box games, with an interesting design and a cute aesthetic. Let’s take a closer look at the ninja-themed action of Ninjan!
Getting Started With Ninjan
Ninjan’s tiny packaging contains 53 cards; a main deck of 48 cards, and five player aids. To set up, each player receives a player aid, then three cards are dealt from the main deck to the center of the table; these are the focus of the game. And though the cards themselves will constantly change, those piles will remain in play.
Players are then dealt nine cards each from the main deck. Cards are in three colors, and are numbered from -6 to 10; however, once the players are dealt their nine cards each, all remaining cards are placed back in the box without being looked at, and won’t be used in the current game.
How to Play Ninjan
The object of Ninjan is to end the game with the most points; points are won by claiming cards from the central piles. Each turn, players will choose a card from their hand and place it face down in front of them. Once all players have done so, all played cards are revealed.
The order of play is determined by the values on the cards; the player with the highest numbered card revealed goes first, down to the lowest; any ties are broken by the color. Player aids show the strength of cards in determining their play order: red (rock) is the strongest, which beats blue (paper) and green (scissors), the latter of which is also beaten by blue. In the example above, the red 9 would go first, then the red 2, then the blue 2.
The first player chooses a card to beat from the three piles. The numerical value is ignored at this stage; instead, players follow the rules of Rock, Paper, Scissors in order to beat a card. They taking a card they beat in Rock, Paper, Scissors with their played card, adding it to their score pile in front of them, and leaving the played card in its place. Following on from the previous example, we can see that the red 9 goes first and beats the blue 9, leaving the red 2 with nothing to beat. The blue 2, despite going last and with a low number, can claim the green 8. Had the player of the red 2 gone last, they would have been able to claim the blue 2!
As you’ve seen in the previous example, when a player can’t beat a card when it’s their turn, as the swapping of cards can lead to different colors being on the three central piles, they must choose a pile to add their played card to, where it becomes the card to beat. As you can see from the new example above, a red 9 was the played card, leaving the player unable to beat the red 8, red -1 and green 7; therefore, they chose to add it to the green 7. If a player beats a card on top of a multiple card pile, they take them all for their score pile; for example, if the red 9 is beaten, the player swaps their played card for that and the green 7.
Once players have played all nine of their cards, the game ends and players count up the numbers on the cards in their score piles (with negative numbers subtracting from their total, naturally), to get their final score. The player with the highest score wins.
Is Ninjan Fun to Play?
Though a bit of an odd mix of mechanics, Ninjan does have a very unique feel. It can seem somewhat chaotic at times, especially as the mix of cards in play can be very unpredictable, but there’s definitely some strategy in trying to get your pick of the cards before anyone else.
However, a bad hand of colors or numbers can really hamper a player’s chances of success, and that does seem somewhat out of their control at times. The three piles that end up in play on your turn can’t always be planned for either, though of course that’s why going as early as possible in the turn order matters, and there is a bit of bluffing or risk taking that can be done in that respect.
It’s worth noting that the theme feels thin, and pasted on, as the game is pretty abstract by nature; it certainly doesn’t seem like it’s anything at all to do with ninjas during play. It’s also disappointing that there are only three different main illustrations on Ninjan’s cards (though color swapped for the minus numbers, it’s the same overall artwork, as you can see in the image above).
All that said, Ninjan can be a fun time for three or more players (much more so than with two, and it supports up to five players); it’s easy to teach, straightforward to play, and it doesn’t outstay its welcome. Another bonus is that the game, despite its elongated cards, is also so compact that it’s practically pocket sized.
Though attractively designed, Ninjan’s theme feels irrelevant to the actual gameplay. It has a intriguing mix of mechanics which makes it feel unique, but it does sometimes seem as if the outcome of your turn can be out of your control.
Fast playing and compact, Ninjan can be fun with a higher player count, but don’t expect it to be the most in-depth or strategically satisfying experience regardless of how many players are participating.
If you want to check out other self-contained games in small boxes, why not take a look at our reviews of Gloom or Mindbug?
