Overview
IKI is a strategy board game set in the Edo period of Japan (1603–1868), in the bustling district of Nihonbashi. Players recruit artisans and merchants, put them to work in the high street, and help them gain experience until they retire as masters. The game spans 13 rounds representing 12 months plus New Year. The winner is the player who best embodies “Iki” — the Edo-period ideal of refined, attractive, and socially aware living — scored through set collection, seasonal bonuses, and resource management.
Components
- 1 Game Board (Nihonbashi street layout with nagaya houses)
- 56 Occupation cards + 6 Construction cards
- 4 Oyakata (Boss) meeples
- 16 Kobun (Townspeople) meeples (4 per player)
- 4 Cylinders (Way of Life track markers)
- 13 Marker discs
- 15 Lumber octagons
- 24 Rice bale hexagons
- 50 Money tokens (32 one-Mon, 18 four-Mon)
- 8 Koban gold coins
- 20 Sandal tokens
- 8 Fish tokens (seasonal)
- 4 Pipes
- 4 Tobacco pouches
- 4 Fire tiles
Setup
- Place the game board centrally.
- Each player chooses a starting occupation card (salt peddler, boiled egg peddler, cotton peddler, or eyeglass peddler).
- Each player receives: 4 Kobun meeples, 1 sandal token, 1 rice bale, 1 four-Mon coin, and 4 one-Mon coins.
- Place Oyakata meeples at the center starting point.
- Shuffle occupation cards and lay out face-up cards as the hiring pool.
- Set the round marker to January (round 1).
Turn Structure
The game lasts 13 rounds. Each round has two phases:
Phase 1: Way of Life
All players simultaneously place their cylinders on the Way of Life track to determine:
- Turn order — The leftmost position goes first.
- Movement distance — How far the Oyakata meeple will move.
- The leftmost position grants first action but requires skipping income/hiring actions.
Phase 2: Action Phase
Each player performs two actions in turn order:
Action A — Choose one:
- Hiring: Pay the cost shown on a face-up occupation card. Place it in a nagaya (row house) space with one of your Kobun meeples. Corner houses cost 2 additional Mon.
- Income: Receive 4 Mon from the bank.
Action B — Movement & Deals:
- Move your Oyakata meeple counterclockwise around the street by the distance chosen in Phase 1. Sandal tokens and the ox-cart ability can add extra squares.
- At the destination, make optional business deals with shops and occupation cards in the nagaya behind that square. Each deal grants benefits, and the occupation card used gains experience (levels up).
Actions
Hiring Artisans
- Pay the card’s cost to recruit an occupation card from the display.
- Place it face-up in an empty nagaya house with one of your Kobun meeples.
- Corner nagaya houses require an additional 2 Mon surcharge.
Income
- Take 4 Mon from the bank instead of hiring.
Business Deals
- When your Oyakata stops on a street square, you may interact with occupation cards in the adjacent nagaya.
- Each occupation provides a specific benefit (resources, money, special abilities).
- Using an occupation card causes it to gain experience and level up.
Occupation Card Levels
- Cards start at level 1 and can advance to levels 2, 3, and 4 through use.
- Higher-level cards provide better benefits and are worth more at retirement.
- When a card reaches level 4, it retires and becomes a set collection scoring card.
Scoring / Victory Conditions
The winner is determined by the highest IKI point total at game end, calculated from:
| Scoring Category |
Points |
| Set collection (occupation types): 1 type |
1 point |
| Set collection: 2 of same type |
4 points |
| Set collection: 3 of same type |
9 points |
| Set collection: 4 of same type |
16 points |
| Set collection: 5 of same type |
25 points |
| Fish tokens: 1 season |
3 points |
| Fish tokens: 2 seasons |
6 points |
| Fish tokens: 3 seasons |
10 points |
| Fish tokens: 4 seasons |
15 points |
| Tobacco pouch (without pipe) |
Face value |
| Tobacco pouch (with pipe) |
Doubled |
| Construction cards |
Points as marked |
| Koban gold coins |
3 points each |
| Lumber |
1 point each |
| Every 5 Mon remaining |
1 point |
Tiebreaker: Most firefighter power, then position on the firefighter marker track.
Special Rules & Edge Cases
- Closing Periods (March, June, September, December): Players receive salary from their occupation cards, calculate nagaya bonuses (same-color occupations multiplied by meeples in group), and must pay rice bales to maintain occupations. Cards without rice payment are excluded.
- Fire Phase (May, August, November): Fires occur with increasing power (5, 8, 10 respectively). Players with firefighter power equal to or exceeding the fire strength save their occupations; others lose cards. Fire spreads through connected nagaya houses if uncontained.
- Seasons: Spring = January–March, Summer = April–June, Autumn = July–September, Winter = October–December (lunar calendar).
- Two-Player Variant: Corner houses are unusable. After each round, players alternately place neutral occupation cards on empty houses (neutral cards do not level up).
- Final Round (New Year, Round 13): Skip Phase 1. Move Oyakata to any square without meeple advancement.
- Set collection scoring: Uses a square progression (1, 4, 9, 16, 25) rewarding concentration in fewer occupation types.
Player Reference
| Round Event |
Timing |
| Regular round |
Months 1–12 |
| Closing period |
March, June, September, December |
| Fire phase |
May, August, November |
| Fire power |
5 (May), 8 (August), 10 (November) |
| New Year |
Round 13 (final) |
| Starting Resources |
Amount |
| Kobun meeples |
4 |
| Sandal tokens |
1 |
| Rice bales |
1 |
| Four-Mon coins |
1 |
| One-Mon coins |
4 |