Of Knights and Ninjas
Blue Fox Games
2-6 Players
Playtime: 15-30 Minutes
Of Knights and Ninjas is a hand management card game in which 2-6 players will compete to tear down each other’s walls. Players will send their own units to break into the kingdoms of other players to steal each other’s gems. The first player to steal ten gems wins.
Players will use a variety of cards throughout Of Knights and Ninjas to fortify their own defenses and break those of other players. Fortify cards are represented by units like castle and archers, while attack cards are the knights and ninjas. Every card is unique and handles attacks and fortifications a little differently. There are also special cards like princesses and dragons that can change the way players approach the game, adding a bit of depth it all.
When a player decides to attack, they will play a card which has the ability to take a certain amount of gems from the opposing player. The opposing player will need to play an attacker of their own to negate a certain amount of gems. If the attacker’s card has a higher gem value, the difference is stolen from the defending player. Fortifications can slow down attacks, but there are naturally counters to those as well.
The game is incredibly simple and can be understood by all ages. It’s not quite a fully realized strategy or party game, making it accessible to everyone. The cards don’t have any text on them, so new players will constantly be referring to the reference card for ability descriptions. With everything in front of players, it’s easy to focus on the game and the other players rather than rule memorization. The name of the game is hand management. While there is a certain amount of luck involved in Of Knights and Ninjas, the majority of a player’s success will rely on their ability to decide when to lose gems and when to protect them.
While Of Knights and Ninjas is a lot of fun, after a few game a few of its flaws do start to show. The biggest offender is that there isn’t too much variety in the gameplay. After a few games are played, players will find that there isn’t too much strategy involved. There aren’t too many ways to pursue victory, resulting in players using the same road map to winning. Still, this game is enjoyable when played in groups and isn’t taken too seriously. It just doesn’t succeed as a competitive game, which will be fine for most players.
Of Knights and Ninjas features adorable art that is both simple and expressive. The clean character designs and bright colors make the game appealing to children. The simplicity of the cards also makes it easier to remember what each role does. Everything is easy to process thanks to the card design. Overall, this is a nice looking card game that should have mass appeal aesthetically.
