Mangaka: The Fast & Furious Game of Drawing Comics

About this board game

Mangaka: The Fast & Furious Game of Drawing Comics is a creative drawing game for 1–8 players that unfolds over four rounds and takes about 90 minutes to play.

Each player begins by drawing three Theme Cards, which determine the subject matter of their comic for the entire game. Themes can include Kaiju/Giant Monsters, Robots and Androids, or Desire to be a Parent. Players then choose a title and pen name before taking a few minutes to brainstorm.

When the five-minute timer starts, the drawing begins. Players create their stories on pre-printed Comic Pages, expressing their Themes while racing to complete every panel. At the end of the timer, each player reads their comic to the group, or uses the suggested professional mode, in which the other players read it without the artist providing explanations.

• Express all three of your Themes.
• Use three or fewer Word Balloons.
• Draw something recognizable in every Panel.

Players can earn 2 Fame Tokens for following each of these three core rules. Starting in round 2, Trend Cards add more opportunities to gain Fame. Trends such as Science Fiction, Fantasy, Shojo Manga, Sports, Destruction, and Subtlety introduce additional victory conditions. Some rewards are available to everyone, while others go only to one or two winners.

The Comic Pages become denser as the game progresses: round 1 has 2 Panels, followed by 4, 6, and finally 8 Panels. The number of Trends also increases, with 1 in round 2, 2 in round 3, and 4 in round 4. When Mangaka ends, the player with the most Fame is the most successful comic artist.