Onitama

A 5×5 abstract strategy duel. Move with shared cards to capture the enemy Master or reach their temple. Beat the sharpening AI for the longest streak.

How to play

You play the blue pieces at the bottom; the AI plays red at the top. Each side has one Master (the starred piece) and four Students, plus two move cards. A fifth card waits in the middle.

On your turn, tap one of your two cards to select it, tap one of your pieces, then tap a highlighted square. Each card shows a small pattern of steps measured from your piece — that is exactly where it may go, onto an empty square or onto an enemy piece to capture it.

Here is the twist: the card you just used does not stay in your hand. It slides to the middle, and the card that was in the middle comes to you. So every move hands a tool to your opponent and takes a new one — planning which card you give away is the whole game.

You win the round two ways: capture the enemy Master, or move your own Master onto the enemy's temple arch (the marked square in the centre of their back row). If you ever have no legal move, tap a card to pass it to the middle instead.

Winning a round adds 1 to your streak and deals a fresh hand. A loss ends the game, and the AI thinks deeper as your streak grows. Goal: the longest winning streak.

Tips & strategy

The single habit that wins Onitama games is reading the card you are about to give away. Every move passes one of your cards to the opponent, so before you commit, look at where that card would let an enemy piece go on the very next turn — especially whether it lets them capture your Master or step onto your temple. A strong-looking advance that hands over a winning reply is the most common way beginners lose.

Guard your Master and the two temple squares above all. Because there are two ways to lose, you are defending two things at once: the Master itself and the path to your home arch. Keep a Student or a covering square between the enemy and your back row, and do not push your Master forward for the stream win unless the squares it must cross are safe on the cards currently in play.

Think about the card cycle, not just this move. With five cards visible, you can see exactly what you will be able to do two turns from now: a card you give away comes back to you only after the opponent uses it and you take it from the middle. Set up threats that work on the cards you will hold next turn, aim for double threats (attacking the Master and the temple at once so one card cannot answer both), and remember that trading Students is fine — only the Master and the arches actually end the game.