Onitama

Onitama is an abstract strategy board game for two players created in 2014 by Japanese game designer Shimpei Sato and first published by Arcane Wonders, with a German-language edition released by Pegasus Spiele in 2017 and a digital version following in 2018. The game is thematically framed around the differing fighting styles of Japanese martial arts schools, with each player controlling a set of student pieces and one master piece on a small five-by-five grid, aiming either to capture the opponent's master or to maneuver their own master onto the opponent's starting temple square. Movement in the game is governed by a shared, rotating set of movement cards, each depicting a distinct pattern borrowed from a named martial arts style, so that the available moves change every turn as cards are used and replaced, giving Onitama a compact rule set with a surprising depth of tactical possibility for a game that can be learned within minutes. Its combination of minimalist components, quick playing time, and chess-like strategic depth earned it strong recognition within the modern hobby board game community following its release.