Martial Art: the feudal Japan card game
- Released: 2016
- Publisher: Spider-Goat Games (Tucson)
- Cards: 60 Battle, 12 Land
- Weight: Light filler
- Expansion: Battlefields (2018)
Martial Art is a light card game from 2016 in which players secretly choose a battle card, reveal at the same time, and the strongest card picks the best land. It has 60 Battle cards and 12 Land cards, each illustrated with a historical Japanese painting. It was funded on Kickstarter in July 2016 and is out of print.
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Martial Art was the second and best-known game from Spider-Goat Games. Players lead rival clans in the Sengoku period, Japan’s “age of the country at war”, and fight a series of quick battles to win land such as Kyoto and Edo.
How it plays
Each round, one to three Land cards are turned up, depending on how many people are playing. Then:
- Every player chooses one Battle card from their hand and places it face down.
- Everyone reveals at the same time.
- The highest strength picks a land first, then the second highest, and so on.
- Everyone draws a card, and the next battle begins.
The player with enough land points at the end wins. The rules fit on a card, and the depth comes from the card effects. A Ninja forces you to commit another card after the reveal. Cavalry adds strength after the cards are shown. A Geisha cancels the text on one card. The Apprentice brings one of the powerful Legend cards into your hand. Because everyone picks at once, the game is mostly about guessing what the others will risk on each land.
What’s in the box
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| Battle cards | 60 (strengths 0 to 14) |
| Land cards | 12 |
| Rule booklet | 1, small enough to fit the tuck box |
The full list of Battle cards and how many of each are in the deck is on the Martial Art FAQ page.
The cards were printed on 300 gsm stock, the usual weight for good playing cards, with no borders. Before buying sleeves for any old game, measure a card; our card size guide shows how.
Expansions
- Battlefields (2018) added terrain and weather, and split the Geisha into two weaker cards because the original was too strong.
- Clans was announced in December 2019 for early 2020. Each player would take a historical clan with its own power and leader card. We found no record of it being released.
Why it worked
Martial Art’s Kickstarter beat the publisher’s first campaign by a wide margin, and the publisher put that down to the art more than the gameplay: most backers said they found it while browsing Kickstarter. We cover what that means for your own campaign in Kickstarter mistake #2: the art isn’t good enough.
Questions people ask
How many cards are in Martial Art?
72: 60 Battle cards and 12 Land cards, plus a small rule booklet. The Battlefields expansion adds 24 more.
Is Martial Art still in print?
No. The publisher’s last game came out in 2019. Used copies turn up on the BoardGameGeek marketplace and eBay.
What art does Martial Art use?
Historical Japanese paintings, often called Nihonga, printed borderless so the image runs to the edge of each card. The game's name is a play on that art.
Who is Martial Art for?
The publisher designed it as a quick game for couples and casual groups, with enough card interaction to keep experienced players interested.