Onitama is a two-player-only abstract from Arcane Wonders, listed at 15 minutes for ages 14 and up. Five move cards are in play at once on a 5x5 grid, and using a card passes it to your opponent. The rules explanation takes under two minutes.
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Onitama has the shortest honest rules explanation of any game on this site. Move a pawn according to a card, then give that card to your opponent and take the waiting one. Win by capturing the enemy master or reaching their starting square.
That is genuinely all of it, and the game that comes out is far better than a two-minute explanation has any right to produce.
01
Card passing is the whole design
Five of sixteen move cards are in play in any given game -- two for each player and one waiting to the side. When you use a card it does not go to a discard pile; it goes to the opponent, and the waiting card comes to you.
This means arming yourself always arms them. The devastating move you have been setting up is a move you are about to hand over. Good play is largely about sequencing so that the card you release is the one that helps them least right now, and that calculation is present on literally every turn.
Because only five of sixteen cards appear, each game has a genuinely different feel. Some sets are fast and aggressive, some are cramped and positional. That is where the replay value comes from in a box this small.
02
Why it is a strong second game rather than a first
The rules are short enough for a first game and the experience is not. It is perfect information and zero luck, which means losses are entirely attributable and visible in hindsight -- you can point to the exact move.
Some people find that clarifying and some find it demoralizing, and you generally do not know which you are until you have played a few games of something. Buy Jaipur first, find out how the two of you handle losing, and come back to this.
03
Who should skip it
Skip it if you dislike losing to a mistake you can see clearly afterwards. Nothing is hidden, so every loss is yours and it is legible.
Skip it if you want a game to fill an evening. Fifteen minutes is accurate, and while you will play several in a row, this is a filler-length game rather than a main event. And skip it if you need a rigid surface -- the roll-up mat wants somewhere flat, so it is a worse lap game than the card games in our travel list.
What we would buy
Picks drawn from the games covered on this site, chosen against the criteria above.
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Perfect information, sixteen move cards, and a rules explanation that takes under two minutes.
A two-player-only abstract on a 5x5 grid. Five move cards are in play at once and they physically pass between the two of you, so arming yourself always arms the opponent.
Players
2
Playing time
15 minutes
Age
14+
Publisher
Arcane Wonders
Who should skip it
Skip it if you dislike losing to a mistake you can see clearly in hindsight. Nothing is hidden, so every loss is yours.
Chess without a board, in tactile tiles, and it survives the hundredth game better than most.
A two-player-only abstract strategy game with no board: 22 tactile tiles that build the playing surface as you place them. Surround the opposing queen bee to win.
Players
2
Playing time
20 minutes
Age
9 and up
Publisher
Gen42 Games
Box size
210mm x 210mm x 50mm
Who should skip it
Skip it if abstract games leave you cold. There is no theme here to carry you through a bad position.
The best-looking game here, and the god powers turn a simple abstract into dozens of different games.
A supports-more abstract that plays well at two. Move a worker, then build. First to step onto a third level wins -- and each side draws a god power that bends one rule.
Players
2-4
Playing time
20 minutes
Age
8+
Designer
Gord Hamilton
Publisher
Roxley Games
Who should skip it
Skip it if you want your two-player game to be two-player only. It supports up to four, and the base rules are thin without the god powers.
Only in which five of the sixteen move cards appear at setup. Once the game starts there is no hidden information and no randomness at all.
+−How long does it take to learn Onitama?
Under two minutes. Move according to a card, pass that card to your opponent, and win by capturing the enemy master or reaching their starting square.
+−Is Onitama better than chess for two players?
It is far quicker to learn and finishes in 15 minutes, which makes it much easier to get to the table. It is not trying to replace chess, and its shallower depth is the trade.
