Samurai Spirit

About this board game

Samurai Spirit is a cooperative game for 1–7 players that takes about 45 minutes to play, challenging a team of samurai to defend a frightened village from a horde of bandits.

The game unfolds over three turns. Players take turns drawing bandit cards and deciding how to respond: fight the enemy, defend the village, or let the bandit pass to help another samurai. Every choice can affect both individual survival and the fate of the whole village.

Combat brings you closer to unleashing your powerful beast abilities, but it also brings you nearer to death. Focusing on defense or assistance can protect your companions and the villagers, yet remaining human for too long may leave you weaker when the lieutenant and villain bosses appear.

• Cooperative play for 1–7 players
• Three turns of bandit attacks and difficult decisions
• Choices to fight, defend, or assist fellow samurai
• A village to protect, including farms and farmers
• Beast powers and the possibility of an ultimate sacrifice

At the end of each turn, farms and fences are destroyed. These resources are limited, and victory requires finishing the game with at least one undamaged farm and enough farmers to tend it. The team must balance combat, support, and protection before the village is overwhelmed.

Released in 2014, Samurai Spirit asks whether you can fight with courage, work smartly with your allies, and unleash the warrior spirit within. When everything seems lost, choosing to sacrifice yourself may be the final act needed to save the village.