Our Favourite Board Games Set in Japan
Japan is quite simply breathtaking. Its scenery is stunning; wherever you travel, the people are delightful, and the food is exceptional. So it's no wonder that there are some brilliant board games set in Japan.
We've put together this guide to look at a few of our favourites.
There is a massive variety of board games set in Japan
So we've decided to choose board games with different playing styles, so whatever your favourite game mechanic, there's something for the Shinnichi (Japanophile) in you!
Our criteria for entry include either board games set directly in Japan, or Japanese board games that we've played and enjoyed (and could be set in Japan with a little imagination).
Nippon Zaibatsu: The Economic Board Game in Japan
Nippon Zaibatsu is a beautiful, very well-balanced, and fun heavy economy game from CrowD Games. Set during the Meiji Restoration, players must guide their Zaibatsu (conglomerate) through the Industrial Revolution, gaining influence across Japan's regions and ultimately becoming the largest organisation in the country.
Why do we love Nippon Zaibatsu?
We played the Emperor's edition of Nippon, and everything about it was incredibly clever, without being overly complicated. This is essentially a grand worker placement game, and players must place workers until the labour pool dries up. Each turn is therefore a calculated effort to increase production, research markets, gain resources, or exert influence across Japan's geographical regions.
Nippon never feels like it drags; turns don't feel weighty and the game is fun, while requiring serious thought. Plus the components are superbly designed, and everything fits in the box perfectly. If you've ever watched Japanese artisans make a teapot, or their carpentry, then this feels very familiar. Everything fits just so, and the attention to detail for every aspect of the game is excellent.
A worker placement game with style and speed
Some worker placement games can feel cumbersome, but not Nippon. Gameplay is relatively fast, even though you have tons of options or where to place workers in each turn.
It's also beautiful. The game board features the islands of Japan, and they look glorious, with lots of details across the regions, not just focusing on Honshu or Kyushu.
We recommend Nippon Zaibatsu
Please read our full review of Nippon, including why the Emperor's edition is a worthwhile investment, here.
Where to buy Nippon Zaibatsu: Emperor's Edition
We recommend buying Nippon from Chaos Cards - simply click the button below
Let's Go To Japan!: The Card Drafting Game
Let's Go To Japan! is a card drafting and engine-building game from AEG in which you plan the perfect tour of Kyoto and Tokyo. Each turn, players draft cards that will help them plan a fun, diverse and efficient tour, hopping between Kyoto and Tokyo as few times as possible. The trick is to cram as many sites into each city before taking the Shinkansen across the country to the next city. Travel too many times, and you cause stress that loses you points; don't travel enough and you won't fulfil the different criteria of food, culture, religion, etc.
Why we love Let's go to Japan!
This is a very cutesy, fun game with a lovely premise. As you take cards, you have to start making snap calls about whether you want to stay in a really nice hotel in Tokyo or visit the Kyoto Railway Museum. You might want to spend the evening in a karaoke bar or visit a cat cafe.
Each decision has to add to the balance of your tour, making sure you are scoring points for each day's activities and keeping the travel and walking to a minimum, because that will tire and stress out your holiday goers.
This is a very easy game to learn, and each game is different because of the nature of the drafting mechanics.
Does it feel like Japan?
This game represents the classic tourist view of Japan. It only focuses on two cities, and the activities (visiting temples or torii gates, for example) are the usual things you will see on Instagram. It doesn't do this in a kitsch or disrespectful way, but at the same time it doesn't reflect the quieter, less seen side of Japan, like the northern cities or the prefectures in general.
However, that said, we played it and reminisced about our time in Japan, how much we loved the different temples in Kyoto, or the Tokyo Tower. So it might be touristy, but the game does it in a good way.
We Recommend Let's Go To Japan!
We gave this game 8/10 in our full review. Please read it here.
Where to buy Let's Go To Japan!
Buy this game from our affiliate partner Chaos Cards by clicking the button below.
Three small but mighty games about Japan
Our next recommendations are three small games set in Japan that have more depth than their size implies. Each game is small enough to sneak into a suitcase ready for your holiday in Japan!
Micro Dojo: Tiny sliding meeples
Micro Dojo is an interesting little game from Prometheus Game Labs. Players must move characters around a very small board while collecting items they can add to improve their Dojo. The aim is to become the best dojo in Japan.
The meeples look great, and the movement mechanic, in which the same meeples can't be moved each turn, means there is strategy and thought required. Players must complete purchases for their dojo by collecting rice, gold or bonuses, and each upgrade unlocks more gameplay for that player.
It's a very small but well-produced game, which makes it great for a holiday, but there are too many pieces to play well just on the sofa.
We gave it 6.5/10 in our review because it lacks replayability, but we think its size means it's a great game to sneak into a suitcase and play on the lap tray while flying on holiday.
You can buy Micro Dojo from Chaos Cards by clicking the button below:
Next Station: Tokyo
Next Station: Tokyo, from Blue Orange Games, is a delightful game where players must draw the most connected tube system they can under Tokyo. This is a flip-and-write game where each turn, cards are flipped and then players must draw a connecting line on their network using coloured crayons. Each player must create four different sets of connections (in four colours); the more interchanges they have, the higher the number of tourist stamps they collect, and the more points at the end of the game.
Next Station Tokyo is small, fast and lovely to play. The connection to Japan is only through the gamepad, which is mostly geometric shapes, but the gameplay is so good that it doesn't really matter. We gave it 9/10 in our review because it's such a cosy game, where you can wile away an afternoon playing on the sofa.
It's a well-priced game that will fit in your suitcase, or you can play on the bullet train to your next destination!
Buy Next Station Tokyo from Chaos Cards by clicking the button below:
Whale to Look: Look, there's a Whale!
Whale to Look from Oink Games is a game full of Whales or Orcas hiding beneath the waves. Players take the role of a tour company, organising whale watching trips out to sea. The players never know which area the whales are hiding in, or if there are whales or Orcas below the surface.
The game is full of charming little boats, wooden whales and cardboard meeples. To find the whales, players must guess by the number of fish in an area, and then place their boats in the place they think will score a sighting. Gameplay revolves around taking turns to flip tiles and find out the concentration of fish in an area. The longer you leave your decision-making, the more accurate you will be, but the more likely you are to miss out on the best spots. Move too early though, and you'll be stuck in the doldrums, with no whales to look at.
This is such a nice game, but considering it's so small, it takes up a lot of room! We gave it 7.5/10 in our review and would recommend it just for the charming little pieces; thankfully, the gameplay stands up too.
You can buy Whale to Look from Chaos Cards through the button below:
Five great board games set in Japan
Japan is a country rich with culture, scenery and food for board games to pull on. These five are just a small selection of games we could have chosen, but each one shows the diversity in gameplay while all being fun.
We recommend taking Next Station Tokyo or Whale to Look in your backpack as you board the plane. When you get home, pull out Nippon or Let's Go to Japan! to help you get over the post-Japan blues!
