Micro Dojo: The Review
Micro Dojo is a tiny game where players move retainers around their town to ensure their dojo is the most impressive and prosperous. It's travel-friendly with colourful pieces and a great theme.
Micro Dojo: Quick Summary
Score:
6.5/10
Number of Players:
1-2
Time to Play:
15 minutes
A colourful, characterful game with a great theme, Micro Dojo has reasonably fun gameplay and can be tactical but suffers from a limited appeal before boredom or sameyness sets in.
What we loved:
The theme is really cool
The small, compact design is fab for travel
The pieces are wooden and more sustainable than other games
Low cost (under £15 currently)
What could be improved:
It's not the simplest game to understand
Not necessarily great for younger players because of moving complexity
The games tend to become the same after a while, which stops it from being a bingeable game
Micro Dojo: Have ninja, will travel
One of the reasons board games have become so popular, and why we keep adding to our collection, is because of the seemingly limitless variety in themes, styles, settings and play styles. This is exemplified in Micro Dojo, a tiny game set in feudal Japan that would literally fit in your pocket!
How to play Micro Dojo:
Micro Dojo is a two-player game, where you are competing to create the most impressive dojo and become the next daimyo of your town. To do this, players must move one of four characters around the board and collect food, money, build buildings and take an action. Once that character has been moved, it gets a daimyo piece placed on it, and then it can't be moved again that turn by either player. This adds a tactical level to the game where you need to work out which piece to move at the right time to get in the best position on the board. Adding buildings provides extra actions and bonuses, plus crucial victory points. Players also need to achieve objectives determined before the game begins. The first player to reach 7 points or complete the objectives is the winner.
The movement mechanics give depth to a game that would otherwise prove a little shallow or predictable. Moving the right piece to both achieve your target and block your opponent is tricky and requires planning, and is satisfyingly challenging. Once you take an action, the decisions revolve around whether to unlock bonuses to benefit yourself, or again, block your opponent so they can't use that building or action. Every move needs consideration, and it takes a few play-throughs to start unlocking the best strategies to get the most points or deny them.
There is a solo mode, which is a brilliant addition, which relies on a few tweaks to the rules but means you can play quietly on a commute home or take with you for a quiet game over a coffee in a cafe somewhere.
Great board game production values
The design of Micro Dojo is great; there is always space (both actual and figurative) for smaller board game designs, and this one is a really good example of how to do it well. The box is only the size of a drinks coaster, and everything needed to play the game fits in a space only slightly larger than that. The character artwork is fun and cartoony but still easily recognisable, plus they aren't made of plastic. If you're in a difficult space or playing on a small table, then there are cardboard tokens instead of the wooden characters, and they sit well on the board.
The commodity pieces are also easy to recognise and are beautiful too; the ramen bowls in particular are clearly food, but also clearly Japanese. Designing pieces this way always makes it easier to pick up the game and play quickly, because you're not trying to interpret the iconography on the playing components.
Everything from the artwork on the box, to the instructions and the game pieces have been designed to be attractive, cute but still functional. Very well done for such a small game.
The pros and cons in detail
What we liked:
The design and theme are so cool. The Japanese historical elements are recognisable without being stereotyped, and it's been created very sympathetically for the culture. The size of the game is perfect as a travel game and won't take up much room in your hand luggage if you're flying somewhere on holiday. There is virtually no plastic in the production of this game, too, which is satisfying and on trend with many other board games released recently. Finally, we love that all this is in a package that is less than £15 and on some sites (such as Chaos Cards) is as low as £11.
What we didn't love:
On initial opening and working through the first play, the overall aim and how to move each of the characters isn't the clearest. It's not rocket science, but it could be explained slightly better; new players may get put off if they can't pick it up and play immediately. If players stick with it, they will be rewarded, however. This initial complexity will be difficult for younger players to pick up, and they will need extra help to learn how to play Micro Dojo strategically and still have fun, too.
Our main criticism of Micro Dojo is that after a number of plays, including different objectives and variants, we found the gameplay became too similar across the games. After a while, it became easy to spot how the game would finish as the movement of characters played out, and this meant one player would inevitably start to switch off as they ended up in a position that wasn't recoverable. We now play Micro Dojo every now and again, taking it on holiday or just when we don't want a huge gaming session. It still sees table time, but not as often as Next Station: Tokyo or Ganz Schon Clever.
Micro Dojo: A summary
Micro Dojo is well put together and is brilliant as a small game to play on the move. It suffers from a lack of replayability over time, but if you're looking for a tiny, low-cost game for holidays and commutes, Micro Dojo is a great option.
Expansions and Related Games
Expansions
Micro Dojo Loyalty and Deceit is an expansion that replaces the board with a modular layout, adds extra buildings and loyalty tracks that provide additional bonuses. There are more pieces and the modular board provides additional ways to play, but it isn't as convenient to play on the move.
Related Games
If you're looking for a thematic small game then you have a number of options. If you're looking for more Japanese themes then take a look at Whale to Look. If you want an easy game for solo or holiday play then Bananagrams is an excellent game.
Other Games You May Like
Next Station: Tokyo
Next Station: Tokyo is a roll and write style board game where players draw the Tokyo Metro line using coloured pencils, depending on which cards are flipped over each turn. It's fun, really easy to pick up and play and very repeatable, plus it has a solid theme. A very good game and worth popping on the board game shelf.
Micro Dojo: Frequently Asked Questions
Is Micro Dojo good for children to play?
Micro Dojo has appealing graphics and design, but is deceptively complex in places. If your child loves chess, then it's worth taking the time to teach Micro Dojo to them. If they prefer quick card or movement-based board games, then this would be one to avoid.
Does Micro Dojo require a large area to play on?
Some board games come in tiny boxes and then require a large space to play on. Micro Dojo comes in a small box and plays on a small board. You will need a little space around the board for buildings and objectives, but even then, the playing area is only the size of two drinks mats.
Does Micro Dojo have a long playing life span?
Micro Dojo is fun initially; however, after a while, the games become very similar, especially if you regularly play the same person. Considering the cost of the game, however, (less than £15), Micro Dojo is still a game that provides great value compared to the expense.
Transparency Notice
This review contains affiliate links to Amazon, Zatu Games, and Chaos Cards. When you purchase through these links, we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps support our independent reviews while keeping our content free. We only recommend games we genuinely believe in.