Joraku Deluxe Edition Game Review

Written by Chris Lowry

What is Joraku?

Joraku is a game of territory-holding, trick-taking and point-gathering set before Japan’s Edo era. Can you unite Japan or, at least, rule over all the other lords? To gain the all-important Reputation points, you must progressively seize areas of the board with your army of Samurai. Blending several common mechanics into one tight little game, Joraku is a unique and refreshing experience; quite unlike anything else I’ve ever played.

How to Play Joraku?

The board is split into seven areas, beginning with Kyoto at 0, then moving up in number order. Play starts with each player getting assigned a number to place their “Daimyo” (a regional feudal warlord). This location is important, since the Daimyo counts as two pieces for the purposes of holding a majority, and can also remove opposing Samurai pieces.

Turns involve playing a skirmish card, numbered 0-6 in three coloured suits. Aside from some simple rules regarding card selection, you either win with the highest number or with the “Ninja” card, which is the only thing that can beat a “6”. Winning the hand pays out Reputation points for the majority holder in the winner’s Daimyo’s territory; and yes, that does mean you can win the hand, but actually not get any points if your Daimyo is outnumbered in their location!

Players also use the number on their card to either place new Samurai down in the matching territory, or take a number of actions matching the number; options include moving your Samurais or your Daimyo, and removing an opposing Samurai. “Ninja” cards don’t get to take an action, but they can place up to three Samurai tokens anywhere on the board; even directly in the numberless Kyoto space.

The broad structure of the game falls into three rounds, each broken into five or six card turns. At the end of each round, majorities are counted up, with Reputation points for first, second and third place in each. In the first round, points are highest in territory 6, then in territory 2 in the next, and 0 in the final. This causes a conundrum; do you deploy troops early in a concentrated manner at one end of the board, or bide your time to dominate in later rounds? Do you remove enemy Samurais, or is that actually an advantage for your opponents, free to redeploy them in another, more valuable area?

The satisfaction opportunities in Joraku are many and varied; placing down a single Samurai in three territories on the last turn of a round to swoop up the third place points; defeating an apparently unbeatable “6” card with a “Ninja”; removing all the enemy Samurais from Kyoto and storming through the final round with a monster 15 victory points; even if you don’t win overall, there are lots of smaller victories to provide some conciliatory dopamine.

Joraku Review

Kudos to Moaideas for putting this game into a smaller box than most European publishers would have done. Taking up half the space of Ticket to Ride, with piles of variability too, with a set of rules variants that subtly shift the mechanics in tilting but not game-breaking ways.

I’ll admit the game has two main weaknesses. Firstly it’s a little challenging to teach; lots of vital concepts to convey, even if the core game is actually very easy to get your head around once the pieces fall into place. Secondly, going last during later rounds can be very powerful; although players do have quite a lot of control over that order with their card choices. Even so, this game is superb; many paths to victory, and lots of moments of deep contentment - Joraku deserves a place in every home. 

This is a must-play game. 

I think there’s something here for gamers at almost any level; I’ve introduced beginners and advanced euro-heads to Joraku, and all of them have had a great time.

You should try this if you like Root. There’s very little asymmetry in Joraku, but both include area control in a style you’ve never seen it before. I probably prefer Ninjas to foxes too, although Samurai-Otters might be the perfect collaboration between the two games…

Buy Joraku on Amazon

The Box

Designer: Iori Tsukinam

Publisher: Moaideas Game Design

Time: 10 minutes

Players: 1-4

Ages: 14+

Price: £35

What’s in the box?

• 4 Player counters
• 4 Daimyo tokens
• 40 Samurai tokens
• 6 Daimyo cards
• 21 Skirmish cards
• 3 Kachidoki cards
• 6 Variant rule cards
• 8 Rules reference cards
• Rulebook
• Game board

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