Shōbu: Abstract Board Game

Shōbu is a abstract strategy game designed by Jamie Sajdak and Manolis Vranas (our fictional archaeologists mentioned below).

The game's name comes from the Japanese word shōbu, which means "game" or "match".

It's a newer game, Shōbu is designed to evoke the feel of ancient games like Go and Chess. The game's components are made from natural materials like wood, stone, and rope.

How the game works:

• Players take turns moving one of their stones up to two spaces in any direction
• Players then make an aggressive move on the opposite colored board, matching the direction and distance of their first move
• Players can push their opponent's stones off the board
• The first player to remove all four of their opponent's stones from one board wins

What makes it unique?

• Shōbu is a game of mirror moves, where players make corresponding moves on opposite colored boards
• The game's simple rules can be learned quickly, but it has strategic depth
• The game's components are made from natural materials, including wood and river stones

This game is fun, quick paced, and has lots of planning put into it as well as that ancient game feel.

My favorite mention of the game comes from a Meeple Mountain Review by Kurt Refling:

"In early 2019, two archaeologists working a new dig site in Kyushu uncovered a peculiar relic: a series of tablets inscribed with the rules of an ancient game. These rules, nearly complete, describe a game played using river stones and a length of rope. Inspired by their discovery, the archaeologists made it their mission to revive this forgotten treasure and bring it to the modern global board game market.

Well, not really. But looking at a copy of SHŌBU, it’s not hard to feel that there must be some far-off origin to what is ⁠— in reality ⁠— a very young game.