alternative names: Ninja Go-den, Ninja Assault
We were talking about a variant called Micaël Go and I came up with this idea. It’s a team game that supports an imbalanced number of players on each team. It’s designed to be played in-person or OTB (over-the-board).
The rules are as follows:
- team formation: All participants split into two teams. Each team chooses a leader to play 1 vs. 1, normal Go. The rest of the participants are ninjas.
- preparation: The ninjas each hold one stone and stand around the board. Teams with less players are compensated with extra stones equal to the number of missing players. The leader decides which ninja(s) hold the extra stones, but each ninja can hold no more than 3 stones.
- The game between the leader begins, using standard Go rules.
- handshake: At any point in the game, a leader can offer a handshake to the opponent. If accepted, once both players sit back down and one leader shouts “Hajime (はじめ)” or any code word agreed upon, the assault begins. If not accepted, the leader who initiated the handshake gets +1 extra stone that can be given to any of his ninjas.
- ninja assault: All ninjas are now allowed to place their stones freely at the same time, within 10 seconds. The assault ends when all ninjas at the board have placed their stones. Ideally, unintentional mistakes and stone displacements should be accepted as part of the chaotic nature of the game. If two groups of stones end up capturing each other, both teams lose – zero survivors. If there are any unresolved conflicts or arguments, the game ends and both teams lose – zero survivors.
- If there are no disputes, the game continues and is scored normally. Only one assault can happen per game.
Additional rules for strategic depth:
- ninja abilities: Each ninja can choose a special role, which comes with a special ability. Each role cannot be assigned to more than one ninja per team. Special abilities cost 1 stone unless otherwise specified, which usually means a ninja cannot participate in the assault after using their ability.
- assassin: can play his stone at any point in time
- bandit: can remove a stone off the board. This ability can be extremely disruptive, so it costs two stones.
- spy: can convert to the other team at any point in time by secretly holding a stone of the opposing color, but if caught, he is disqualified.
- promotion: Ninjas can choose to withdraw from the assault, stepping away from the board. By doing so, they are granted a special ability.
Feel free to come up with your own house rules, but for example, having more than 3 special roles can overcomplicate strategy and confuse beginners.
conclusion
This game variant encourages active communication for coordinating the assault and usage of abilities, but it’s also advantageous to hide information from the other team. Teammates standing closer together will be able to communicate more easily through whispering and murmuring, but spreading out enables a more global assault.
If any of you try this out at home or a local Go club, let us know how it goes. 
(AI generated depiction of Ninja Go)
