2022Robert Geistlinger, Collin Meller, Bryan Pope, Shimpei Sato
- Videos
- 7
- Creators
- 2
2 players15 - 20 minHeavy weight

2014Shimpei Sato
Mostly reviews and how-to-play. Onitama is covered on BoardGameVideo.com by 30 reviews, 18 how-to-play guides, 10 recorded sessions, and 5 other videos.
From BoardGameGeek
Onitama is a two-player, perfect information abstract game with a random starting set-up. On a 5x5 board, both players start with five pawns on their side, with the main pawn in the middle. Each player has two open cards that each display a possible move for any of her pieces. There is a fifth card that cannot be used by either player. On a player's turn, she chooses one of her cards, moves one of her pieces according to the chosen card, then replaces the card she used with the fifth card. The other player then chooses one of his cards, moves accordingly, and exchanges that card with this fifth card - which is, of course, the card the first player just used. Moving onto one of the opponent's pawns removes that pawn from the game. Taking the opponent's main pawn, or moving your main pawn into your opponent's main pawn's starting space, wins you the game.
Learn to play
Watch it played
Onitama has 63 videos from 21 creators: 30 reviews, 18 how-to-play guides, 10 playthroughs and 5 other videos. They date from 2014 to July 2026.
To learn the rules, start with "Onitama - How To Play, by Watch It Played", which runs 3 min.
For an opinion before you buy, start with "Dice Tower Essentials # 2 - Onitama". 10 creators have reviewed it. To see it played, watch "Sweethearts or Rivals Play-Thru: Onitama", one of 10 playthroughs.
If you like it, try Onitama: Light and Shadow and Eggs of Ostrich, also by Shimpei Sato, or SHŌBU and Checkers, which share several of its mechanics. It appears in convention videos from GAMA Expo 2016, Gen Con 2015 and Spiel Essen 2014.
8 of 21
2022Robert Geistlinger, Collin Meller, Bryan Pope, Shimpei Sato
2 players15 - 20 minHeavy weight
2019Jamie Sajdak, Manolis Vranas
2 players15 - 30 minLight weight
From BoardGameGeek:
Onitama is a two-player, perfect information abstract game with a random starting set-up. On a 5x5 board, both players start with five pawns on their side, with the main pawn in the middle. Each player has two open cards that each display a possible move for any of her pieces. There is a fifth card that cannot be used by either player. On a player's turn, she chooses one of her cards, moves one of her pieces according to the chosen card, then replaces the card she used with the fifth card. The other player then chooses one of his cards, moves accordingly, and exchanges that card with this fifth card - which is, of course, the card the first player just used. Moving onto one of the opponent's pawns removes that pawn from the game. Taking the opponent's main pawn, or moving your main pawn into your opponent's main pawn's starting space, wins you the game.
Designer
Shimpei Sato
Artists
Jun Kondo, Mariusz Szmerdt
Publisher
Arcane Wonders
Categories
Mechanics