Nippon: Zaibatsu
Industrial-age Japan as a tight economic knife fight, where when you pause for income matters as much as what you build.
Who it's for
Experienced euro gamers who love Brass-style tight economies and want a two-hour brain-burner with real scoring decisions.
Not for you if…
Heavy economic optimization with multiplier math sounds like homework rather than a hobby to you.
Vibe's take
crunchy, tense, economic, brisk for its weight, competitive
About this game
Nippon: Zaibatsu drops you into industrializing Japan as the head of a sprawling conglomerate, and it wastes no time. You snap up workers, fire up factories, lay rail and flood local markets with your goods, but every worker you take nudges you toward an income turn, and timing that pause is where games are won. The area-majority scoring rewards showing up in the right regions with the right industries, not just building big. It is the beloved original Nippon rebuilt with modern polish: dense, fast for its weight, and quietly cutthroat.
Get it
from €36
Mechanics
Categories
By the numbers
Players
Duration
60–120 min
Ages 14+
Complexity
3.6 / 5 — HeavyBGG Rating
7.0/10
Rank #529
2.5k ratings
Published
2026
Designed by
Nuno Bizarro Sentieiro, Paulo Soledade
Published by
Grok Games, Boardgame Atelier, Czacha Games, Maldito Games, HIT Games, CrowD Games, Cranio Creations
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