ボブジテン (Bob Jiten)

About this board game

ボブジテン (Bob Jiten) is a Japanese word game for 3–8 players, with a playing time of about 45 minutes. Players try to discover a hidden Katakana word while describing it entirely without using Katakana words.

Katakana words are common in everyday Japanese and are often of foreign origin. However, they are frequently explained using other Katakana words, making this challenge especially difficult for Japanese speakers. The game turns that linguistic problem into a tense word-association contest.

One player secretly identifies the hidden word from a deck and becomes the master. The master gives clues to guide the other players toward the answer, carefully avoiding forbidden Katakana vocabulary. Everyone else listens closely, trying both to solve the word and to catch the master making a mistake.

• Identify a hidden Katakana word from the deck.
• Describe it without using Katakana words.
• Watch for forbidden words while searching for the answer.

When a player guesses correctly, the master gains 1 point and the successful guesser becomes the new master. If someone calls out the master for using a Katakana word, the accuser gains a point and takes over as the new master.

That changing role creates a distinctive balance between clever explanation, careful listening, and linguistic knowledge. Bob Jiten was created by the publisher and design group Decoct Design, inspired by the idea of making a dictionary that explains Katakana words using Japanese alone.