Strawberry Ninja Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Introduction
• Setup
• Game Objective
• Game Play
  • Shift
  • Shift (Again)
  • Reveal
  • Move
  • Pounce (Optional)
  • Reset (Only After Pouncing)
• Game End
• Variants
  • Custom Field
  • Difficult Game

Contents

• 21 Strawberry Field cards
• 1 Strawberry Ninja card
• 4 Movement cards
• 1 Turn Marker
• 1 Turn Tracker card
• 1 Kitty Pawn
• This booklet with all the rules

Introduction

In Strawberry Ninja, players will cooperatively try to help Kitty as she searches for the Strawberry Ninja (also known as Ichigo) while playing hide and seek. Can you find the Strawberry Ninja before time runs out and he escapes?

Setup

1. Shuffle the Strawberry Field cards together, place 10 of them at random in a deck, and the remaining cards back in the game box, as they will not be needed for the current game.
2. Shuffle the Strawberry Ninja card into the deck.
3. Using all the cards from this deck, create a 4 x 3 grid of face down cards, leaving one card space open. Place the Kitty pawn on any face down card in the grid.
4. Shuffle the Movement cards together and place them face down in a deck in the middle of the play area.
5. Place the Turn Tracker card in the middle of the play area with the Turn Marker on position 1.

The player who most recently ate a strawberry is the starting player. If there is a dispute, the player who enjoyed their strawberry the most becomes the starting player - because this is undisputable! Play commences with the starting player and continues clockwise around the table.

Game Objective

Players aim to help Kitty find the Strawberry Ninja. To do that, players peek at cards, reveal them and shift them, while guiding Kitty to its destination. When players know (or, at least, think they know) that Kitty has found the Ninja, they allow Kitty to pounce and try to catch the Ninja.

Game Play

Each turn, the active player performs all of the following actions in the following order:

Shift

• Shift a card that is adjacent to an empty space into that empty space.
• If you shift the card that Kitty is on, Kitty moves with the shifted card.
• If you shift into an open position where Kitty is, place Kitty on top of that card.

Shift (Again)

• Shift a different card that is adjacent to an empty space into that empty space.
• If you shift the card that Kitty is on, Kitty moves with the shifted card.
• If you shift into an open position where Kitty is, place Kitty on top of the card.

Reveal

• Reveal the last card you shifted.
• If that card has game text, resolve the game text.

Move

• Look at the top card of the Movement deck and move Kitty in the direction indicated by the card.
• If Kitty would move out of the grid, do not perform that movement. Kitty is allowed to end its movement on an empty space inside the grid.
• Place the Movement card face up under the Movement deck.
• Move the Turn Marker to the next position on the Turn Tracker.

Pounce (Optional)

• If the Turn Marker is on position 12 you must pounce, otherwise this is an optional action.
• To pounce, reveal the card Kitty is on (if that card is face down). If you reveal the Strawberry Ninja, you have caught him. If you reveal any other card, he has escaped.

Reset (Only After Pouncing)

• The game enters this phase only if you have caught the Strawberry Ninja or if he has escaped.
• Shuffle the Strawberry Field cards and Strawberry Ninja card together and recreate the grid.
• Shuffle the Movement cards together and place them face down in a pile in the middle of the play area.
• Reset the Turn Marker by placing it back on position 1.

Game End

Players win if Kitty catches the Strawberry Ninja twice. Players lose if the Strawberry Ninja escapes twice. It's that simple!

Variants

Custom Field

At the start of the game you may choose which 10 Strawberry Field cards to play with. If you are using Gopher Holes, we recommend using at least two copies.

Difficult Game

Play only lasts 10 turns. If the Turn Marker is on position 10 then you must pounce. This variant can be combined with the Custom Field Variant.