Samurai
| Year | 1998 |
|---|---|
| Designer | Reiner Knizia |
| Publisher | Hans im Glück |
| Players | 2–4 players |
| Playing time | 30–60 min |
| Ages | Ages 10+ |
| Mechanics | Tile Placement, Area Majority |
One of Reiner Knizia's signature games. On a hex map of Japan sit three kinds of figures: helmets, Buddhas, and rice paddies. On your turn you place tiles from your hand around a figure. When a figure is fully surrounded, the player with the most influence over its kind — the sum of the tile numbers — takes it. The scoring is strict. First, you must hold the outright most of at least one kind, or you cannot win at all. Then the remaining figures are compared. The map changes with the player count: Honshu only for two players, Hokkaido to Kyushu for four. Simple turns, hard reading. In 2026 it was reimagined as HANAMI.