Nippon

Japan during the Meiji period — a closed, isolated, and feudal country — decides to change into a modern westernized state. The Empire sends emissaries to foreign nations, brings technicians and scholars from the west, builds a network of railroads, and achieves an outstandingly fast industrial revolution.

The nation and Emperor count on the support of the Great Four, the big conglomerates that emerge with great power and massive control over the Japanese economy. They are called Zaibatsu, and their influence on the Meiji Emperor and importance on the fate of Japan is incredibly high.

In Nippon, players control Zaibatsu and try to develop their web of power by investing in new industries, improving their technological knowledge, shipping goods to foreign countries or using them to satisfy the local need, and growing their influence and power as they oversee the era of rapid industrialization in Japan. The foundations of the big Zaibatsu were the traditional silk workshops, but soon the conglomerates diversified their influence and power, building a complex structure of interconnected companies that made them giant players in the world’s new industrial era.

Players take the reins of these big corporations and try to develop them in order to grow and achieve power. To win the game, players must carefully choose which type of industry to invest in and get the most influence over the Japanese islands. Every time a player builds something, they are forging their own path to new opportunities.

Nippon is a fast-paced economic game with challenging decisions in which players oversee the birth of a new great nation.

Components: 1 Game Board, 4 Player Boards, 48 workers, 4 Tracking discs, 90 black cubes, 1 Scoring Marker, 24 Train tiles, 24 Ship tiles, 40 Influence tiles, 24 Factory tiles, 24 Machinery tiles, 32 Contract tiles, 16 Blueprint tiles, 9 City tiles, 24 Reward tiles, 4 VP Multiplier tiles, 1 cloth bag, Yen notes

Players: 2-4
Suggested Ages: 14 and up

Language(s): English/German