If you have spent the last decade hunting down a copy of Nippon at a sane price, good news: the sought-after Meiji-era economic eurogame is back. Crowd Games has revived Nuno Bizarro Sentieiro and Paulo Soledade's 2015 design as Nippon: Zaibatsu, a reimagined edition, and it is live on Kickstarter now alongside a chunky new expansion called Nippon: Genro.
Looking for board gamers near you? Browse local communities and find your next game night.
Find events near youNippon puts 2-4 players in charge of a zaibatsu, one of the industrial conglomerates that powered Japan's rapid modernisation after the Meiji Restoration. You invest in factories, ship goods abroad, court political influence and race to dominate the board's regions, all through a worker-placement engine known for its tight, cutthroat cash economy. The original holds a 7.75 average on BoardGameGeek and a reputation as one of the better mid-heavy euros of its era, so a fresh printing with upgraded components is welcome news for anyone who missed it first time.
The headline addition is Genro. Named for the small circle of elder statesmen who advised the Emperor and steered Japan's industrial boom, the expansion adds five advisor boards, each effectively its own mini-game triggered when you take the Local Markets action. You pick two per game from the pool of five, giving ten different opening setups. Crowd Games has been clear that Genro is meant to enrich every game without rewriting the core rules, so newcomers can start with the base box and veterans can bolt on the extra layer.
Got a regular group? Create a private community, poll for the best date, vote on games, and let your friends RSVP in one place.
Set up your group for freeThe campaign went live on 23 June and is running now. If a chunky economic euro about steam-age Japan is your kind of evening, round up your group and take a look before it closes.
Sources: Crowd Games | BoardGameGeek | Tabletopping
