Katana - A two player highly thematic samurai duelling card game self published by Tracy Alan
Channel: Tabletop Bellhop
Date: 2020-07-24

Katana was designed and self-published by Tracy Alan. It was originally funded through Kickstarter in 2019. This game plays two players only with a single duel taking under 30 minutes. The theme here is two samurai facing off against each other with only the spirits (the Kami) to guide them.

This review is one segment from The Tabletop Bellhop Gaming Podcast Episode 100.  You can catch the full episode after July 28th here: https://youtu.be/IAuCHHqxPUU

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Disclosure: I was provided with a review copy of Katana from the publisher. No other compensation was provided. 

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From the publisher:

Katana is a two-player only game with battles that last 15–35 minutes. The game is suitable for ages 8 and up. Gameplay is handled through cards. You are samurai on a quest to become supreme military commander of Japan. To do this, you must defeat the other player by eliminating their 4 armor and 4 health tokens.

Use cards to inflict damage and defend. When taking a turn, you may attack by playing an offensive card. To defend, play a card with a defensive value and subtract it from the attack value to determine if the hit landed.

After taking an action, you may play an action card face down. This is your defensive stance during your opponent's turn. When your opponent takes an action, you may reveal your stance card. However, if your opponent chooses to attack, your stance will break and any benefit to be gained from it will be lost.

Divine beings and forces of nature called kami provide crucial support in battle. Every kami possesses two abilities: an active one that requires playing a purify card and a passive ability that is "always on." Not only do kami provide game-changing special powers, they can be called upon to sacrifice themselves in kamikaze attacks that inflict massive damage (crab bosses beware). Each time you activate a kami power, though, you must draw a shrine card. A mixture of good and bad events, shrine cards are yet another element of risk to think about when considering use of kami powers.


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Katana Unboxing Video: https://youtu.be/dvpZkcJr_2s
Katana Written Review: https://tabletopbellhop.com/game-reviews/katana/
Buy a copy of Katana: https://www.katanacardgame.com/

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