In Ninjutsu: Battle of the Ninjas, the players assume the role of ninjas and move across the board, trying to find the opposing Soke (Grandmaster of the Ninjutsu school) and defeat him. The ninjas succeed by the clever use of special dice, exciting action cards, and real ninja stars. Fight in the dojo and defeat the opposing warriors with ninja dice! A mix of strategy, action and luck decides which ninjas will claim victory in the end!
This game is reminiscent of Stratego. The game is played on a 5x8 board. Each player has fifteen ninjas: nine 1-star ninjas, five 2-star ninjas, and one Soke.
At the start of the game, each player places his ninjas on the three rows on his side of the board, in any formation he likes. The type of ninja (Soke, 2-star or 1-star) is hidden from the opponent.
Each turn, a player has zero to three moves; the exact amount is determined at random, using so-called weapon cards. He can use these moves to move one or more ninjas. If he moves a ninja into a square occupied by an opponent, a battle ensues. Each player rolls a die for his ninja. Higher level ninjas roll better dice: a 1-star ninja rolls a six-sided die, a 2-star ninja rolls an eight-sided die and a Soke rolls a twelve sided die. The ninja whose owner rolls the highest defeats the opposing ninja, which is removed from the game.
The players can further influence the game by means of five action cards, which give special bonuses, and ninja stars, which allow a player to reroll his combat die.