Onitama

Onitama

Next card

Both cards reach this square

The card you play passes to your opponent.

Invite a friend

Send them this link. The game starts as soon as they open it.

Room code

Waiting for your friend to join

勝

Victory

Way of the Stone

Next card

Your move

Moves

New game

Opponent

Computer Pass and play Online friend

Your name

You get a link to send to a friend. Rooms are kept for 30 days, so you can come back to a game.

Difficulty

During a game, you can also change the level by selecting the computer's name above the board.

Play as

Red Blue Random

Who moves first is decided by the stamp on the side card, as in the box rules.

Have a room code?

Settings

Sound effectsWooden pieces, paper cards, temple bells Koto ambienceQuiet plucked notes in the background Full animationTurn off for instant moves Danger warningsMark a master or temple that can fall next turn Show opponent's reachTint every square the opponent can move to next turn Board coordinatesFiles a–e and ranks 1–5 on the frame Draw by repetitionA position seen three times ends the game as a draw. Not in the box rules; online games always use it.

Moves

Resign this game?

The computer is credited with the win.

How to play

Two martial-arts schools meet on a five-by-five board. Each side has a master 師 and four students 弟. Every move is made with a card, and every card you use is handed to your opponent.

Two ways to win

石

Way of the Stone. Capture the opposing master.

流

Way of the Stream. Move your own master onto the opposing temple arch, the square where their master started. It is marked with a torii gate.

Setup

Five of the sixteen move cards are dealt: two to each player and one to the side of the board. The stamp on the side card decides who moves first.

Your turn

Choose one of your two cards.
Move one of your pieces to a square shown on that card. The dark square in the middle of the card is the piece; the filled squares are where it may go, with forward pointing toward your opponent.
Landing on an opposing piece captures it. You may not land on your own piece or leave the board. Pieces jump, so nothing can block them.
Your used card goes to the side of the board, turned to face your opponent. You take the card that was waiting there.

The card you play is the card your opponent receives after their next move. If you have no legal move, you must still give up one of your cards and take the side card.

Reading the table

Your cards sit below the board and your opponent's above it, turned toward them so their shapes match the board. The card at the end of a row, beside the dashed outline, is the side card; that player takes it after they move. Hover over any card to see where it reaches.

Playing online

Choose New game, then Online friend, and send your friend the link. Each of you sees the board from your own side. The server checks every move against the rules and keeps the game for 30 days, so either of you can close the page and pick up where you left off with the same link. Anyone who opens the link after both seats are taken can watch. Online games always end in a draw when a position comes up for the third time, and colours swap when you play a rematch.

Controls

click a card, then a piece, then a square. You can also drag pieces.
1 2 choose a card · arrows move around the board · Enter select
U undo · H hint · N new game · M sound · Esc cancel

The sixteen cards

The stamp in each corner shows which side moves first when that card is dealt to the side of the board.