Onmitsu 2013

Onmitsu is a Print-and-Play "small card" game. Besides the rules, the whole game is contained in one 54-card deck of cards.

In Onmitsu, you are a spy – an Onmitsu – a sort of spy slash messenger slash ninja slash espionage secret kind of sneak. Your job is to deliver a scroll with a message to your Lord’s boss, the Daimyo. You have a sealed scroll – but so does everyone else. Nobody knows how has which one, either.

Only one message is the “real” message. Others are decoys (which need to be delivered, but aren’t worth as much) and at least “Poison” scroll – a scroll with a hidden message to kill the bearer. Someone doesn’t trust you very much…

Your job is to not only deliver the scroll, but figure out which one you and the other players have. You can always crack yours open to find out, but if the Daimyo shows up before you repair it (or pass it off on some other spy) you are in trouble.

Game play is simple – you draw and discard to form a hand of cards, each of which can be Locations or People. All of them give you the ability to perform actions like steal cards, repair broken scrolls, gain intelligence, or other forms of intrigue.

You win by having the most points, earned by delivering the most important scroll, accumulating cards, and not being the messenger who gets killed.