This is a list of board games invented, developed and/or published in Japan.
| Game name | Year | Publisher/Designer (Japan) | Players | Gameplay style | Similar Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Go (囲碁, igo?) | ? | Traditional | 2 | Strategic territory and surrounding game | weiqi in Chinese, baduk in Korean |
| Gomoku (五目並べ, gomokunarabe?) | ? | Traditional | 2 | Strategic abstract game played with Go pieces on a Renju board (15x15), goal to reach five in a row | Renju, Four in a row, Irensei |
| Irensei (囲連星?) | ? | Traditional | 2 | Strategic abstract game played with Go pieces on a Go board (19x19); unites elements of the game of Go with those of Gomoku | Go, Gomoku |
| Jinsei Game (人生ゲーム, jin-sei gēmu?) | 1967 | Takara | ? | Japanese adaption of The Game of Life | The Game of Life |
| Renju (連珠?) | ? | Traditional | 2 | Strategic five-in-a-row game with equal chances for both players | Pente, Gomoku |
| Shadow Hunters (シャドウハンターズ, shadō hantāzu?) | 2005 | Game Republic | 4-8 | Supernatural themed, strategic, secret team play | Bang!, Mafia |
| Riichi Mahjong (リーチ麻雀, Riichi Maajan?) | ? | Traditional | 4 | Chinese Mahjong with Japanese rules | Mahjong |
| Shogi and variants (将棋, shōgi?, generals' chess) Japanese chess | ? | Traditional | 2 | Played on a 9x9 board; can use captured pieces against opponent | Chess |
| Sugoroku (双六?) | ? | Traditional | ? | Race game, two variants | Backgammon (variant), Snakes and Ladders (variant) |
Famous quotes containing the words list of, list, japanese, board and/or games:
“Shea—they call him Scholar Jack—
Went down the list of the dead.
Officers, seamen, gunners, marines,
The crews of the gig and yawl,
The bearded man and the lad in his teens,
Carpenters, coal-passers—all.”
—Joseph I. C. Clarke (1846–1925)
“Hey, you dress up our town very nicely. You don’t look out the Chamber of Commerce is going to list you in their publicity with the local attractions.”
—Robert M. Fresco, and Jack Arnold. Dr. Matt Hastings (John Agar)
“In fact, the whole of Japan is a pure invention. There is no such country, there are no such people.... The Japanese people are ... simply a mode of style, an exquisite fancy of art.”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)
“And they heaved a mighty breath, every soul on board but me,
As they saw her nose again pointing handsome out to sea;
But all that I could think of, in the darkness and the cold,
Was just that I was leaving home and my folks were growing old.”
—Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894)
“As long as lightly all their livelong sessions,
Like a yardful of schoolboys out at recess
Before their plays and games were organized,
They yelling mix tag, hide-and-seek, hopscotch,
And leapfrog in each other’s way all’s well.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)