Game overview:

This game is everywhere on the instasphere, but do we think it lives up to the hype?

👥 2 to 5 players
⌛ 20 minutes
🧠 8 years and up

Shadow Ninjas is a hidden movement game. 1 person plays the adorable Samurai Guard Dogs, and 1 to 4 other players are the Ninja Cats. The Ninja Cats are trying to sneak their way across the board to scoff the delicious koi fish, while the Guard Dogs are trying to catch the Ninjas before they get to the koi.

The twist is that the Ninjas are hidden amongst decoy shadow cats and are only revealed if the Guard Dogs get the Ninjas in their line of sight. The DOUBLE twist is that Ninjas players don’t know where the other Ninjas are, because they are all competing to get to the yummy koi first. The TRIPLE twist is that Ninja players can move any cat counter on the board, which might mean messing with someone else’s Ninja cat!

During set-up, Ninja cat tiles are divided amongst Ninja players: 3/4 Ninja players get 1 ninja cat each, 2 ninja players get 2 each, and 1 ninja player gets all 4. Then, each player gets 2 dice each, to move 2 tiles, regardless of player count.

Shadow Ninjas is a great introduction to the hidden movement genre.

We found this set-up changed the dynamic of the game at different player counts. It was much easier to keep track of 1 cat than 2 or 4 (or, if you’re me, impossible to keep track of your Ninja at all!). Also, fewer players meant fewer cat moves between the Guard player turns. This made it harder for the Cat player to send the dogs in multiple directions at lower play counts. In the 2 player games we played, the Guard dog player always won.

What we liked:

• Quick to set up, quick to play.
• Simple implementation of the hidden movement mechanic.
• Lots of laughs were had.
• The art and components felt high quality (clicky clacky tiles!).

What we didn’t like:

• Less fun at 2 players.
• While we like the design, we found some parts of the rulebook confusing.

Shadow Ninjas is a great introduction to the hidden movement genre. We enjoyed the higher player counts more as there was more chaos! We can see why it’s popular and had lots of fun playing it, even though bluffing games aren’t usually my thing.

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This game was kindly loaned by Outset Media Games / Cheatwell Games via the UK Board Game Review Circle. All opinions are ours and our reviews are always honest.