Where this game shines are in the simple abstract strategy elements that seem basic at first but you quickly realise Senshi is a tug of war of wills and it will test your ability to think several moves ahead.
Jordan Macnab
MeepleGamers
7/10
Publisher: Arcane Wonders
Designer: Dan Manfredini
Artist: Stephen Gibson
Game Type: Abstract Strategy
Initial Year of Release: 2018
Age Range: 14+
Expected Playtime: 15-20 Minutes
Number of Players: 2-4 Players
Theme and What is it?
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7/10
In Senshi you play a warrior monk out to become the next top dog. Obviously the write up about this is far more picturesque, but I will leave it to you if you would like to know the theme with this one.
Where this game shines are in the simple abstract strategy elements that seem basic at first but you quickly realise Senshi is a tug of war of wills and it will test your ability to think several moves ahead.
Gameplay Mechanics
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7/10
To become the best, you must hone your skills. Strength, Agility, Wisdom and Honour. To do this, you have to tactically take stacks of disks and then score them when the time is right. You do this by spending an action each turn. Study to take stacks of tiles, Train to take a single tile from any stack or Test to score the stack.
Sounds simple enough right? It’ll leave you scratching your head to make the best decision while not opening up opportunities for your enemies.
Initial Impressions
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8/10
There isn’t much to see out of the box with Senshi. A pile of disks and some player boards. However, there is something very appealing and satisfying about stacking the tiles and seeing the cornucopia of colours across the table.
Game Build Quality
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7/10
Again, this being a light abstract game there are only a few components to talk about. The disks are nice and clean and they slot together perfectly and the player boards are simple but effective. It does what it needs to do.
Artistic Direction
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6/10
The art work on the box is very eye-catching to say the least. I personally love Japanese themed… anything, so this was always going to appeal to me. It has a very solid classic Edo Japan style to the design, which gives it a nice classic feel.
Fun Factor
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8/10
I have played Senshi several times and really enjoyed it each time. I can only comment on the two-player variant, but I would imagine it will play very well with more people too.
I am a big fan of simplistic abstract games that are quick to play and this ticks all of those boxes.
Age Range & Weight
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7/10
14+ is probably a little bit steep for a game like this. It has no text apart from the basic rules. I’m fairly certain I could teach this one to my 9yr old and she would be showing me how terrible I am at strategy before I knew it.
The game time is spot on. You can easily smash out a game of this in 15 mins. Maybe slightly longer for more players due to analysis paralysis but it would effect the enjoyment.
Conclusions
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7/10
Overall, I would highly recommend Senshi as a very solid filler/travel game. You could easily pack this one away in hand luggage and know you have something simple to play for all the family. It takes up very little table space and takes very little time to play and enjoy.
The depth of tactics once you have a grip of the game is surprising as well. There are several ways to win, but lots of ways to bury yourself too. It’s a lot of fun and you definitely check it out.
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