Goooood morning, campers! I hope you got plenty of sleep last night, because Sensei Saru has a full day of training in store for you! So study your lessons well, and be quicker and craftier than your fellow campers, as Sensei only invites the best to be his personal apprentices. Will it be YOU?! One of the Small Box/Big Fun line of games from Action Phase Games, Ninja Camp pits animal martial artists against one another in a training exercise where the best will become the personal ninja apprentice of Sensei Saru. Each player starts with two cards, each representing a ninja skill, with the rest of the deck making up the game board. By using the cards in their hand, players navigate the board, adding new skills to their hand as they do—and leaving fewer movement options for their fellow campers. Each player also has a unique ninja ability that he can use once per game to try to turn the game in his favor. A game that sets up and plays in thirty minutes or less, Ninja Camp is sure to provide hours of fun for families and future ninjas!
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Game intelligence
1. Shuffle all animal cards and deal them face-up in a 4x4 grid to form Ninja Camp. 2. Place the remaining animal cards face-down nearby as the draw pile. 3. Each player takes a starting hand of cards (typically a small set of basic move cards). 4. Each player places their ninja token on any card along the outer edge of the camp grid. 5. Determine a first player.
On your turn, you play cards from your hand to move your ninja token across the camp grid, then collect the card your ninja lands on (adding it to your discard pile). After moving and collecting, you draw back up to your hand size. The camp grid shrinks as cards are collected. When the grid can no longer be refilled or a trigger condition is met, the game ends and players count their points.
Most total points from collected animal cards wins. Scoring sources: Point values printed on collected animal cards
Source: Rulebook
The most useful rules for getting a first game right.
Shuffle all animal cards and lay them out face-up in a 4x4 grid. This grid is called Ninja Camp. Place any remaining cards face-down beside the grid as the draw pile. Gaps created during play are filled from the draw pile.
Each player starts with the same small hand of basic move cards (e.g., cards that allow movement of 1 step orthogonally). These cards form the nucleus of each player's deck and determine initial movement options.
Before the first turn, each player in reverse turn order places their ninja token on any face-up card along the outer edge of the 4x4 camp grid. Multiple ninjas may not start on the same card.
A player's turn has three steps in order: (1) Play one or more cards from your hand to move your ninja token across the camp grid according to those cards' movement abilities. (2) Collect the animal card your ninja token ends its movement on — take it from the grid and place it in your personal discard pile. (3) Draw cards from your personal deck (shuffling your discard if needed) back up to your hand size limit.
Each animal card has a movement ability printed on it describing how many steps and in which directions your ninja may move (e.g., orthogonally, diagonally, any direction, leap over cards, etc.). You play cards from your hand before moving; the combination of cards played determines the total movement options available on that turn. You must move at least one space and may not stay on your current card.
Cards that allow orthogonal movement let your ninja move to cards directly above, below, left, or right of the current position. Cards that allow diagonal movement let your ninja move to cards at the four diagonal corners. Some cards specify 'any direction', allowing all eight neighbors. Movement is always within the current state of the camp grid; gaps (empty spaces) count as impassable unless a card ability specifically allows leaping.
When cards are collected from the camp grid, gaps form. A ninja cannot move through or land on an empty gap during normal movement. Certain animal cards grant the ability to leap over gaps or other ninjas; these exceptions are printed explicitly on the relevant cards.
After completing your movement, remove the animal card your ninja token is standing on from the camp grid and place it in your personal discard pile. This card becomes available to draw into your hand in future turns, granting you its movement ability.
Because cards cycle through your deck and you draw a fixed hand each turn, targeting high-movement and high-value animal cards early pays double dividends: better mobility now and more points at game end. Avoid collecting low-value cards just to fill your deck, as they dilute your hand with weak movement options.
Strategically collecting cards to create gaps can cut off routes for opponents, since gaps are impassable. Position your ninja to exploit mobility while limiting where rivals can land.
The game ends when the draw pile is exhausted. Aggressively collecting cards accelerates the end — useful if you are ahead. Slowing your collection rate can give you more turns to build a stronger deck if you are behind.
Choosing your starting position on the outer edge wisely matters. Position yourself adjacent to high-value cards you can reach with your limited starting movement cards on your very first turn.
No. Empty gaps are impassable by default. Your ninja cannot move through or land on a gap unless you play a card with an explicit leaping ability that allows crossing gaps.
You cannot end your movement on an occupied card, but whether you can pass through one depends on the specific card ability you are playing. Most cards do not allow passing through occupied spaces; only cards that explicitly grant leaping allow it.
Immediately shuffle your personal discard pile to form a new draw deck, then continue drawing until you reach your hand size limit.
Yes. If the draw pile is exhausted, the gap remains unfilled and becomes a permanent impassable space. This can also trigger the game-end condition.
No. The collected card goes directly to your discard pile. It is only available to play once it has been shuffled into your deck and drawn into your hand on a future turn.
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