Review
Ronin
Ronin is a thematic, satisfying area-control game that delivers about an hour of play without piling on luck or unnecessary complexity. For me, it is at its best with four or more players.
- Published
- 2025
- Designer
- Emanuele Ornella
- Publisher
- Queen Games
- Players
- 1–5
- Playing time
- 60 min
Queen Games finally seems to have exorcised the evil from its new releases. Ronin is not just another forgettable euro: it has substance, theme, and a clear idea of what it wants to offer at the table.
At its core, it is a fairly thematic area-control game. Players contest control of regions, while the game gradually builds tension without relying on random elements.
Its mechanisms are not complex, and that works in its favour: interaction comes from the fight for space rather than from a mountain of rules. The way the game unfolds reminded me a little of Franchise—not thematically or mechanically, but in the feeling it leaves behind.
In roughly an hour, Ronin manages to provide a full, satisfying experience. Although it seems able to work at all player counts, with fewer than four players I think it loses its point, and I would rather play something else. With four or more, though, it is just right for opening a game night.
Source: BoardGameGeek
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