Have you ever wanted to learn Japanese, but couldn’t find the time or thought that learning a language might be a little too complicated? I know from personal experience that learning a language in your free time is difficult. Well, Japanese: The Game takes care of that by turning Japanese study into an entertaining card game.
Basic Info
Players: 1 – 6
Ages: Recommended for 12 and up
Time: 10 – 20 minutes
Estimated Delivery: April – June 2014
Game Overview
Forum: http://geekerskeep.com/topic/japanese-the-game/
Like Robot Turtles, Japanese: The Game offers the option of learning through game play and, as I’ve mentioned in other posts, I am quite fond of this type of learning. The game works by taking various cards which have Japanese words on them, and combining them together using indicator markings on the card to create grammatically correct phrases.
Japanese: The Game seems like it will be a lot of fun to play, but if you’re looking for something other than a card game or not interested in something directly tied to learning, but still want something “Japanese” there’s also Sakura, a Japanese themed board game.
Japanese: The Game, Example Play
Play options
There are three separate ways to play the game. The first way is solo mode where you build sentences to get to 20 points in as few turns as you can, or until you’ve used every card in the deck. The second option is collaborative mode where players build and rebuild each others’ sentences. The last option is a competitive mode where each person tries to get the most points and players can disrupt each other’s sentences.
What’s in the box
The base package for the game comes with 52 cards, which according to the game creator is enough for two players. Three expansions, each with 36 cards, are also being produced as part of this project.
Kickstarter Specifics
Goal: $5,700
Pledge Levels: Ten levels ranging from $1 to $500
End Date: Thursday Feb 6, 4:49pm EST
One option I have found backers to love in campaigns is the ability to create new content for the product. Japanese: The Game provides this by offering tiers for cards with custom vocabulary. There are options for students, classes, and teachers depending on how large of a vocabulary list you need.
Chances of success
In regards to the campaign itself, Japanese: The Game is already a success. It reached its goal within 45 hours and 28 minutes of the campaign! Therefore the only question is whether or not production will go as planned. Now while it’s difficult to say whether or not there will be issues, there is already a beta release available for this game. That definitely can help put backers at ease since they can see first hand how the game’s creator has performed so far.
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