Reiner Knizia’s ninja card game, for 2–6 players
Meister Makatsu is a card game by Reiner Knizia, published by AMIGO in 2025. Every player takes an identical deck, so nothing is left to the deal — the entire game is about which two ninjas you commit each round, and which two you hold back. Because the ones you hold back are the ones you will be stuck with later.
Each player starts with the same 24 ninjas: values 1 to 8 in blue, yellow and purple. Nobody has a better deck than anybody else, and everyone knows exactly what everyone else could be holding. What they do not know is when it will be played.
You draw a hand of four cards and play two of them face up. Then Meister Makatsu inspects the results, and somebody pays.
| Colour | Who takes the penalty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Blue | highest blue card | 1 penalty token |
| Yellow | highest yellow card | 2 penalty tokens |
| Purple | highest purple card | 1 token and Meister Makatsu himself |
Ties are settled in the cruellest way available: if two players tie for highest, the one who played that card last takes the tokens. Going early is safer than going late, which quietly turns every round into a game of nerve.
The two cards you did not play go face down beside you as your reserve. At the end of the phase, that reserve is shuffled into your new dojo deck for the next one.
So dumping your low, safe ninjas now means your future deck is nothing but eights — and you will be playing them when penalties are worth two and three times as much. Every comfortable round you buy is borrowed from a later one.
The game runs three phases, and your deck shrinks each time as only your reserve carries forward: 24 cards, then 12, then 6.
A penalty token taken in phase one costs 1 point. In phase two it costs 2. In phase three, 3. The rounds get shorter, the hands get worse and the prices go up all at once.
Fewest penalty points after three phases wins. If two players tie, the one holding Meister Makatsu loses the tiebreak — so the little figure you have been passing around all game gets the last word.
Two to six. Every player uses an identical 24-card dojo deck, so the game scales without anybody being advantaged by the deal.
The two cards you choose not to play each round. They go face down beside you and are shuffled into your deck for the next phase — which is why playing all your low cards early is a trap.
Each round the highest blue card takes one token, the highest yellow takes two, and the highest purple takes one token plus Meister Makatsu. Tokens are worth 1 point in phase one, 2 in phase two and 3 in phase three.
The player with the fewest penalty points after three phases. On a tie, whoever is holding Meister Makatsu loses.