Makatsu is a card game for two to six players by Reiner Knizia, published by AMIGO in 2025. Every player takes an identical dojo deck of 24 ninjas — values 1 to 8 in blue, yellow and purple — and plays two of them face up each round.
Meister Makatsu watches for the slightest mishap. The highest blue card takes one penalty token, the highest yellow takes two, and the highest purple takes one token and Meister Makatsu himself. A tie is settled in the cruellest way possible: whoever played that card last takes the tokens.
The twist is the reserve. The two cards you do not play each round go face down beside you, and at the end of the phase they are shuffled into your new dojo deck — for a phase where every token is worth two points, then three. Play your low ninjas now and you will be holding nothing but eights when the penalties triple.
Fewest penalty points after three phases wins. Ties go to whoever holds Meister Makatsu.