- BGG rating
- 6.1
Japanese: The Game – Anime Expansion
- 1–6 players
- 10 min
- Complexity 1.5/5
- 2014
- BGG rank
- BGG #27,776
- BGG rating
- 5.4
Japanese: The Game
2014
Rules assistance for Japanese: The Game
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 1–6 players
- 10 min
- 12+
- Complexity 2.1/5
Rules assistant for Japanese: The Game
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Japanese: The Game is a board game released in 2014 for 1–6 players, 10 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Bernhard Hamaker and its main mechanics are Hand Management and Open Drafting.
Expansions
- BGG rating
- 5.8
Japanese: The Game – Business Expansion
- 1–6 players
- 10 min
- Complexity 1.5/5
- 2014
- BGG rating
- 5.9
Japanese: The Game – Conjugations Expansion
- 1–6 players
- 10 min
- Complexity 2.0/5
- 2014
- BGG rating
- 5.7
Japanese: The Game – Food Expansion
- 1–6 players
- 10 min
- Complexity 1.5/5
- 2014
- BGG rating
- 6.3
Japanese: The Game – Kaiju Expansion
- 1–6 players
- 10 min
- Complexity 1.5/5
- 2014
- BGG rating
- 5.9
Japanese: The Game – Travel Expansion
- 1–6 players
- 10 min
- Complexity 1.5/5
- 2014
Japanese: The Game – Anatomy Expansion
- 1–6 players
- 10 min
- 2016
Japanese: The Game – Animals Expansion
- 1–6 players
- 10 min
- 2016
Japanese: The Game – Blank Expansion
- 1–6 players
- 10 min
- 2016
Japanese: The Game – Calligraphy Expansion
- 1–6 players
- 10 min
- 2016
Japanese: The Game – Children Expansion
- 1–6 players
- 10 min
- 2016
Japanese: The Game – Counting Expansion
- 1–6 players
- 10 min
- 2016
Japanese: The Game – Fantasy Expansion
- 1–6 players
- 10 min
- 2016
Japanese: The Game – Household Items Expansion
- 1–6 players
- 10 min
- 2016
Japanese: The Game – Martial Arts: White Belt Expansion
- 1–6 players
- 10 min
- 2016
Japanese: The Game – Respect Expansion
- 1–6 players
- 10 min
- 2016
Japanese: The Game – Slang Expansion
- 1–6 players
- 10 min
- 2016
Japanese: The Game – Bushido Expansion
- 1–6 players
- 10 min
- 2017
Japanese: The Game – Weapons and Warfare Expansion
- 1–6 players
- 10 min
- 2017
Japanese: The Game – Yōkai Expansion
- 1–6 players
- 10 min
- 2017
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About the game
Japanese: The Game is a language-learning card game. The cards in the game each have a Japanese word on the obverse. Players use these cards to build melds following a color pattern that forces the melds to be grammatically correct Japanese sentences. The game has solo, collaborative, and competitive modes to allow for play and learning in both individual and social situations. The game play in competitive mode allows for building and improving one's melds to gain points that enable the player to eliminate opponents' melds. The educational focus of the game is to practice sentence-building in a fun environment. This practice has the side-effect of exposing players to the vocabulary on the cards as well as training the mind to create proper Japanese sentences with any Japanese words they learn or already know.
Categories
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- (Self-Published)
Questions and answers
Japanese: The Game supports 1–6 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Japanese: The Game is 10 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Japanese: The Game for ages 12 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Japanese: The Game has a complexity rating of 2.1 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Japanese: The Game belongs to these categories: Card Game, Word Game, and Educational. Its main mechanics are Hand Management and Open Drafting. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Japanese: The Game are: Bernhard Hamaker. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Japanese: The Game as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.