Onitama Clone

Strategy Tips

Onitama is an elegant and simple game which captures the essence of martial arts. Each game is quick, usually 15 minutes in length.

Setup

The player choose a color and receives 1 master and 4 students. The Master pawn is placed on the temple arch nearest them, and their 4 Student pawns on the 2 squares on either side of the master. Of the 16 game cards, two random move cards are given to each player, face up — this is the player’s “hand”.

One more move card is revealed, and placed on the right side of the game play area.

The stamp in the lower right hand corner of the card is used to determine the starting player. The rest of the move cards will not be used.

How do I Play?

Combat in Onitama is simple and elegant, as befits a contest between two Masters. You and your opponent will take turns following the two steps below, one for the body, one for the spirit.
- Step 1: Move and Attack
  
  On your turn, examine and choose one of the two Move cards in front of you. Then, move one of your pawns (student or master) as shown on that card. (The square grid will show you the way.)
  
  The black square in the middle represents the space your chosen pawn occupies. The colored spaces show where your pawn can move, relative to its starting position. You can move your pawn to any one of the spaces indicated.
  
  Other pawns (yours or your opponents) and Temple Arches do not block the movement of your pawn across the play area.
  
  If your pawn moves onto a square that is occupied by one of your opponent’s pawns, the opponent’s pawn is “captured” and removed from the game.
  You must actually land on the piece to capture it — moving over or through a square occupied by an opponent’s piece does not capture it.
- Step 2: Exchange Cards
  
  The move card you just used, will replace the card on the side of the playmat. The card being replaced will be added to your hand and you may use that card starting next turn as one of the two move cards you can choose from.
  
  Now it is time for your opponent to take a turn, following the same two steps. You shall continue to take turns until one of you has won the game, demonstrating mastery of your Martial Art.
How do I Win?

There are two ways to prove that your Art is stronger — the Way of the Stone or the Way of the Stream.
- To win in the Way of the Stone, you must capture your opponent’s Master pawn.
- To win in the Way of the Stream, you must move your own Master pawn into your opponent’s Temple Arch space.
What if I don't want to move?

If you have a legal move, you must take it—even if you don’t want to! Be careful that your opponent does not trap you in a position from which you cannot escape. It is possible that you will find that you cannot use any of your cards to make a legal move. If this happens —and only then— you must pass your turn. None of your pawns will move. But like the river that constantly flows, you cannot remain unchanged: you must still choose one of the two cards in front of you to be placed to the side of the play area, and receive the card from the right of the play area.