A TREASURE HUNTERS GAME

Gameplay Basics
The first player with 21 or more points
(17 or more points in a 5-player game)
A game of chaos and subterfuge for 2-5 players at the start of their turn is the winner!

by Peter C. Hayward and Kelly Jo On their turn, players must do one of the following:
Ninjutsu: Noun. The Japanese art of stealth and sabotage. - DRAW 2 cards from the deck
Ninjitsu: Noun. The same, but with squirrels and birds. - PLAY a card from their hand, either:
- for its Action, into the discard pile
Your Mission - as a Secret, face-down into their collection
- as a Treasure, face-up into their collection
You are the head of a noble Ninja House,
competing to collect great treasures - STEAL a secret from another player’s collection
and hide valuable secrets.
EXAMPLE
Components OF A GAME IN PROGRESS
41 cards DECK
DISCARD
PILE
Rulebook

PLAYER 3’s HAND

PLAYER 1’s HAND

COLLECTION
PLAYER 3’s
COLLECTION
PLAYER 1’s
EMPTY
Setup
Shuffle the cards together to form the deck. PLAYER 2’s
COLLECTION
Do not include any expansions for your first few games.
Deal 4 cards to each player, then
place the deck in the middle of the table.
PLAYER 2’s HAND
The player wearing the darkest clothing takes the
first turn and play continues clockwise.

1 2
 Cards Gameplay
1. 2. Each turn, you must either
Draw, Play, or Steal.

DRAW
THE TOP 2 CARDS FROM THE DECK
There is no hand limit. If the deck is empty,
shuffle the discard pile to form a new deck.

3. 5.
4. PLAY
A CARD FROM YOUR HAND
1. The card’s point value. This adds to your point Cards can be played in one of three different ways:
total while the card is in your collection.

2. Cards without a number (King, Queen, Jack,

Ace, Joker) have no point value.
1. FOR THEIR ACTION

3. The card’s effect. Cards with lightning bolts Cards with lightning bolts can be
are action cards. Their effect only applies played straight into the discard pile for
when they are played into the discard pile. their action. When you use a card this
Cards with gear icons have ongoing effects. way, ignore its points.
4.
Their text tells you when they apply. They
If you can’t complete a card’s entire action, do as
must be played as secrets or treasures.
much as you’re able to.
The card’s suit and art. These have no
5.
in-game significance. For example, if your hand is empty, ignore any part
of an action that lets you play a card.
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 Cards with the key icon have an altered
point value while they are face-down as
secrets in your collection. If they are turned
2. AS A TREASURE
face-up, this effect no longer applies.
Cards which have a point value can be played
You may look at or rearrange your secrets at any
face-up into your collection as treasures. When you
time, but not the secrets of other players.
play a card this way, ignore its action.
Cards with the treasure chest icon have
an ongoing effect as long as they are STEAL
face-up as treasures in your collection.
A SECRET FROM AN OPPONENT
Cards with no point value (Ace, King, Queen, Jack,
Joker) may not be played as treasures. Steal an opponent’s secret by moving it into your
play area and turning it face-up.
Only secrets may be stolen this way.
If a stolen card has no point value (Ace, King
3. AS A SECRET Queen, Jack, Joker), discard it after resolving
any traps. Otherwise, it remains in your play area
All cards, even those without a point value, can be as a treasure, even if it was trapped.
played face-down into your collection as secrets.
When you play a card this way, ignore its action. Cards with the bomb icon are trapped. When
they are stolen by an opponent, that player
Every face-down card in your collection is a secret, must immediately resolve the card’s effect.
regardless of how it was turned face-down.
Cards without a bomb icon have no effect when
When a secret is turned face-up, it becomes a stolen. When a trapped card is affected in any
treasure. If it has no point value, discard it. other way (discarded, moved, or swapped) its
While face-down, secrets are not treasures. They effect does not trigger.
can only be affected by cards which specifically Traps trigger when stolen by any method, on any
target secrets. player’s turn.
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 TIP
New players often underestimate the power of
stealing secrets from an opponent. After stealing Ninjitsu! can be played with other games in the
a secret, you get to keep it as a face-up treasure, Treasure Hunters series. Shuffle them into the
contributing towards your points. Ninjitsu! deck and play by the rules of Ninjitsu!
Traps apply whenever a trapped card is stolen,
WINNING THE GAME whether it is a secret or a treasure at the time.
If you have 21 or more points (17 or more in a Non-Ninjitsu! cards played as secrets are worth their
5-player game) in your collection at the start of printed value. Their effects do not apply while they
your turn, you win! are face-down. Secrets in play cannot be affected
by any non-Ninjitsu! cards (they’re too secret!).
Points on both treasures and secrets count towards
your total.
If you miscount and incorrectly declare that you’ve
won, turn all of your secrets face-up and skip your turn.

When the term destroyed appears on a card,

it means discarded from play.
When a card is protected, it cannot be stolen,
Created by Peter C. Hayward. discarded, moved, or swapped. Secrets can never
Art and Graphic Design by Kelly Jo. be protected.
Developed by Tom Lang.
Whenever a card refers to cards in front of a
Special thanks to Roxy Hayward, Scott Nicholson,
player, treat it to mean in that player’s collection.
Christopher Dennett, Donald Dierks III, all our
playtesters, the entire Jellybean Games team, and Permanents do not count as treasures. When a secret
everyone who supported us on Kickstarter. is turned face-up, it always becomes a treasure or
gets discarded; it never becomes a permanent.
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 SAMPLE GAMEPLAY Glossary
Kelly plays a Bo Staff face-down into her collection
as a secret. It has a printed value of 4, and also Cards with lightning bolts can
gives her +2 for every secret she has in play. be played for their action,
which triggers immediately.
Peter draws 2 cards.
Cards with a gear icon have
Roxy plays Explosives face-down into his collection an ongoing effect, and
as a secret. It has a printed value of 2. cannot be played to the
discard pile for their action.
At the start of Kelly’s second turn, she has 6 points
in her collection, although no one knows this. Not Whenever a card is discarded, move it
enough to win! She decides to steal a secret. She face-up to the top of the discard pile.
steals Roxy’s secret without knowing what it is. Kelly
moves it into her collection and turns it face-up. It’s When cards are discarded from play, the
Explosives, and it’s trapped! current player chooses which cards are
discarded.
The trap means that Kelly must discard her hand.
When cards are discarded from your hand,
She keeps the Explosives she stole as a face-up
you choose which cards to discard.
treasure.
Effects which say “any” card can target
At the start of Peter’s second turn, he has 0 points cards belonging to anyone, even yourself.
in his collection. He plays a Katana into the
discard pile for its action. It allows him to discard A player’s collection consists of the treasures
an opponent’s treasure from play and then and secrets they have in front of them.
play another card. He discards Kelly’s face-up
Explosives, and then plays another Katana as a All cards in players’ collections are in play.
treasure, giving him 6 points. Cards in the discard pile or players’ hands are
not in play.
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 HOW TO PLAY
QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE
SETUP:
Shuffle all the cards together to form the deck.
Deal 4 cards to each player.
EACH TURN, EITHER:
- Draw 2 cards from the deck
- or Play a card from your hand
- or Steal a face-down secret from
another player
CARDS CAN BE PLAYED:
- for their Action, into the discard pile
- or as a Secret, face-down into your collection
- or as a Treasure, face-up into your collection

WINNING
If your collection has 21 or more points
(17 or more when playing with 5 players)
worth of secrets and treasures
at the start of your turn, you win!

Visit ninjitsugame.com for a How

to Play video.

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© 2018 Jellybean Games