Top 10 Ninja Games - with Tom Vasel

[@DuelistVash]

The best ninja games are the ones you don't see. So thematic you can't even find them on a shelf.

[@Dragnfly_mynamewastaken]

A friend showed me a game he was making once. You and your opponent hid your 5 ninja behind a screen on a square grid. You'd take turns calling out coordinates, trying to find where your opponent hid his ninja before he finds all of yours. So it was literally just battleship. LOL I'd love to see a ninja game where players infiltrate a castle and compete to be the first assassinate/steal/whatever. You could set traps for other players and guards to fall into. Borrow from zombie games and have it so incidents or screwing up drew in more and more guards until you just got overwhelmed. Bonus points if they're technoninja. I love me some sci-fi ninja.

[@seanmyers5718]

I played Era of the Ninja at GenCon, about being ninjas trying to assassinate an enemy Lord. The board components could use a definite upgrade but it was really fun. It's by Mythical Eras of War Games.

[@Garethadvertiser]

'...cause I want to talk about ninjas!' Made me chuckle, especially the almost Godfather like delivery.

[@MisterChris1978]

One of the most entertaining top 10's! I actually laughed out loud when you said #3! Your face! Hahaha

[@BogartFace]

Ninja: Legend of the Scorpion Clan or Rise of the Kage would have been decent picks for this list.

[@ugocimone8160]

Tom, you did the best you could! If designers don't make ninja games is not your foult. We can only hope for more and better ninja games.

[@knight4life]

One of your Agents in Specter Ops is actually a NINJA. From suit to sword, you feel like a ninja when you use him too, especially if you choose his cards. Also Tom, thanks for the try at the video. I still enjoyed it. Also, Shadows of the Past is a great game, for sure!

[@cursivecurses]

good to see Ninjato get some love

[@llyrghmnghyll]

7 Ronin Okko Yedo Samurai Spirit I think the problem here is Tom just hasn't played ninja games. I'm not sure if Yashima would count, but that's another great Asian themed game.

[@itonyhanna]

7 Ronin is an amazing little Ninja tactical war game.

[@hudsonjesse3177]

I second the vote for 7 Ronins. It's the most ninja-ish game out there...

[@tianjian97]

a bit of a stretch to include Ikusa but so glad to see that classic on any list these days.

[@denvergoudeau]

the friend dabbing in the back ground lol

[@gamecubegauntlet]

NEXT top 10: best games that play in under one hour!!

[@giovannabetancourt3064]

That's a great idea! Make it happen Tom!!!!

[@inkcoffeemarks18]

maybe someone has said it, but I have always felt that the ninjas in Smash Up perfectly represent the ideal.

[@kuremalone78]

NINJATO had to be no.1. It's one of my favorites and the theme fits really well with the game mechanics.

[@gamecadet8679]

Tom, when is the last time you played our number 1 Ninja game?

[@Fissi0nChips]

I was preparing to be disappointed that the obviously best Ninja game was not going to be on the list and then it was #1. :)

[@gamecadet8679]

same here! What a great game Ninjato is! but I have to ask is it really a bidding game? I think there is every mechanic in this game except bidding

[@TheMastermindX11]

Shinobi wat-ah, and also Ninja Shadow Forged are neat ninja games that are worth playing.

[@Ryslaw]

What about Yedo? There are definitely ninjas there! :)

[@someoneelse7695]

In Yedo you basically play a house that almost exclusively employs ninjas. It's made pretty clear that you're dealing in contraband and illegal acts. I think it definitely deserves a spot on this list (especially seeing how Tom struggles to find candidates)..

[@thedicetower]

Yeah, I forgot about the ninjas in it. Would have made the list!

[@angelaj2771]

good effort for what you had to work with

[@NoonMountain]

wait? Cobra in Specter Ops is a ninja!!!

[@matthewkolell5888]

samurai swords made it. Tom is right, bidding and bluffing on ninja is so fun in that game

[@VictorTamietti]

say bye to the villains is one of my favorites.

[@Vadjong]

I second 7 Ronin and Samurai Spirit. Also recently funded on KS: Shadows of Brimstone: Forbidden Fortress.

[@daniellipski4272]

Ghost stories ?

[@ugocimone8160]

Daniel Lipski The protagonists in Ghost story are monks not ninja.

[@daniellipski4272]

Ugo Cimone True, I checked, but I dont differentiate during play so for me It is 'near ninja' game ;)

[@ugocimone8160]

Daniel Lipski Not so much if you think they are killing ghost not people, that are the primari ninja targets.

[@Straddllw]

One is shaolin monks and the other is ninjas. They're not even from the same country. One is about being religious and facing ghosts, the other is about being stealthy and working for your shogun. They're not even remotely similar. It's like hearing Nikki Minaj singing about Samurais speaking Thai.

[@TheDavidorse123]

hey they maybe monks but hey if he included spector ops because "it felt like ninjas" ghost stories should count too.

[@MonsterX150]

And Shadowfist didn't make the cut why?

[@thomasszewczyk1923]

I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on Naruto the board game and 7 ronin.

[@ugocimone8160]

Thomas Szewczyk Ronin are essentially masterless samurai so not ninja, as for Naruto I partially agree but I'll prefer a more gruonded kind of ninja game.

[@naegling]

what about ninja all-star? I remember it was on kickstarter but never backed it, it has an average rating of 6.8 on BoardGameGeek tho

[@ArnieHorta]

Pablo Espinosa Tom reviewed Ninja All-Stars and didn't like it.

[@naegling]

I forgot that XD

[@DarthSironos]

Make some more ninja game, everyone loves ninjas.

[@FurchtbaresGaming]

Ninja Night came out this year

[@EurojuegosBsAs]

So... Top 1 Ninja Game + 9 non-honorable mentions :D

[@TheDavidorse123]

what about yedo, naruto the board game or samurai spirit?

[@laughingbandit33]

Man. Not all these lists are winners but this one was really phoned in. Could we get back to real top tens!

[@FiLtheThriL]

ninja burger

[@caseymckay5660]

Phil H my very first thought

[@sebastiang.5032]

What about Samurai Spirit?

[@ugocimone8160]

Sebastian G. As the title say it is about samurai not ninja they are very different!

[@ugocimone8160]

keating tufts What! Samurai where real and where warrior that followed the bushido (way of the warrior) so they where trained in the use of the sword, in the tactical/strategical art of war and in etiquette becouse they were the ruling class of Japan. Ninja are a literary invention and stealthy assasin which isn't onorable at all, if they really exitsted they would be at the same level of the unclan class (butchers, gravediggers etc...). So no they are not the same at all.

[@ToBeVerified]

If you really want to make a list, but struggle to fill it, maybe cut down on the total number of titles? A top 5 would have been plenty.

[@wyndlpoons76]

No Ninja Burger? :(

[@Ataraxy123]

Samurai Battles?

[@IamNOTaBirdplane]

Hey Tom, does the list really have to be a top 10? If you only find 8 good games, why not do a top 8.

[@Coastercinder]

This list comes off like you just wanted to talk about Ninjato.

[@madifinley7018]

That's not fair. I'm sure he is dying to talk about Dice Masters and TMNT: Shadow's of the Past as well.

[@BCMac87]

Ninja Burger from Steve Jackson Games

[@Steve-L]

So far not too much garbage about this list. That's cool. I enjoyed it, mostly because you knew and comment on the fact the list was poor.

[@JaKamps]

Disappointing list. Wouldn't Samurai Sword be close enough to be considered or included in this list?

[@Patronux]

Jake Kamps Absolutely not.

[@Fissi0nChips]

Ninja...not Samurai.

[@JaKamps]

Apocrypha2012 I believe Ninja's are a role in the game. (It's basically Bang! 2.0) There's also Curse of the Scorpion Clan, but I recall Tom saying he liked Nuns on the Run better.

[@PyramidofGeezer]

7 Ronin, anyone? There's 50 ninjas in that game! Also, Shinobi Wat-aaa by Iello games

[@richardshort2001]

Face it, Tom. You are just doing a top ten list for every Smash Up faction. XD

[@thedicetower]

Never said I wasn't! ;)

[@christophfait9677]

ja what is with Ghost Stories? and with Ninja Arena, a German Kick Starter with no Plastik

[@Jesperoldenburger1]

Dead of winter has a ninja ;) Go Mike Cho

[@HaloBrock99]

7 Ronin?

[@pgaboury]

Ninja All-Stars?

[@naegling]

Doesn't Naruto suppose to be some sort of ninja with spernatural powers? There is Naruto Deckbuilder by cryptozoic and Naruto Shippuden the boardgame

[@kathleencampbell3296]

honor of the samurai?

[@Jeff321]

Pirates > Ninjas confirmed!

[@superbellchan]

I know this video is a year old but Did anybody ever recommend Era of the NInja? boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/141300/era-ninja

[@joelpettit25]

YEDO, Tom! C'mon. Spectre Ops?

[@jerrodwarr9706]

If Ikusa made the list then Shogun would have been a better choice than many of these.

[@CapriciousIntent]

Shinobi WAT-AAH

[@ugocimone8160]

CapriciousIntent This is good, better then some games on Tom list.

[@Rex__Danger]

CapriciousIntent I agree. Shinobi WAT AAH! is a really good ninja game, which deserved much more love than it actually had... discovered it 3 years ago at the bg cafe and bought a copy instantly. It should have been in this list.

[@joycapponi5931]

Are you kidding me!!??? Where is 7 RONIN o this list. A disgrace that it is not here when it IS available through Coolstuff Cmon TOM!

[@jasonsmith1133]

7 Ronin

[@ugocimone8160]

Jason Smith Again Ronin are not ninja but masterless samurai.

[@jasonsmith1133]

Ugo Cimone I understand that but it fits this list more than Specter Ops.

[@ugocimone8160]

Jason Smith That it certenly do.

[@llyrghmnghyll]

7 Ronin is a ninja game, because the thieves are implied to be ninja (i.e. they are represented by ninja stars). So yes, 7 Ronin is definitely a ninja game.

[@ugocimone8160]

Yes there are ninja in 7 Ronin Bur they are not the main character, the ronin are and they are not ninja.

[@seawurm]

Rise of the Kate didn't make it?

[@madifinley7018]

Rise of the Kate? This sounds like a horror game about my ex-mother-in-law. Her name was Kate. She was much scarier than a host of ninja.

[@brownrhythms]

Rise of the Kage.

[@HeadCannonPrime]

Oh the Cringe! The name is pronounced "Ninja-To'(e)". 'To' means sword. Ninjato means sword used by a ninja.

[@morganchidester5323]

ninja camp should have been higher

[@kawauti]

Thanks for not putting Ninja All Stars in this list. This game is terrible!

[@dabearz27]

Yeah...maybe not such a good idea for a top 10 list...

[@williamwilting]

Isn't Onitama a ninja game?