# IKI

IKI is a board game for 2–4 players. It plays in 60–90 minutes and is meant for ages 14 and up. Ludoya players call it best with 4. It is rated 7.4 out of 10 by 49 Ludoya reviewers. The cheapest copy in stock is $55.13 (United States).

- **Players:** 2–4 (best with 4)
- **Playing time:** 60–90 minutes
- **Minimum age:** 14+
- **Complexity:** 3.1 out of 5
- **Year published:** 2015
- **Categories:** Medieval
- **Mechanics:** Rondel, Ownership, Income, Track Movement, Open Drafting, Set Collection, Turn Order: Stat-Based
- **Ludoya rating:** 7.4 out of 10, from 49 reviews
- **Owned by:** 108 Ludoya players
- **Plays logged on Ludoya:** 205
- **Unique players:** 347

**Designers:** Koota Yamada

**Artists:** David Sitbon, Koota Yamada, Dommiy

**Publishers:** UTSUROI

## Where to buy in United States

| Shop | Price | Link |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Gamers Guild AZ | 55.13 $ | https://gamersguildaz.com/products/iki |
| Cardhaus Games | 59.99 $ | https://www.cardhaus.com/iki/ |
| Board Game Bliss | 69.95 $ | https://www.boardgamebliss.com/products/iki-1 |
| Zatu Games | 29.99 £ | https://zatu.com/products/iki |
| Gamers@Hart | 36 £ | https://gamersathart.co.uk/product/iki/ |
| Magia de Tinta | 47.95 € | https://www.magiadetinta.com/es/juegos/7059-iki-8421005001519.html |
| Ludifolie | 49.9 € | https://www.ludifolie.com/11859-iki.html |
| Spielezar | 47.9 Fr. | https://www.spielezar.ch/brettspiele/iki-die-handwerker-und-haendler-von-edo |
| Nexus | 9995 kr | https://nexus.is/vara/iki/ |

## Expansions

- [IKI: Akebono](https://www.ludoya.com/games/iki-akebono-expansion)
- [IKI: Essen 2015 Promo](https://www.ludoya.com/games/iki-essen-2015-promo)

## Similar games

- [Great Western Trail](https://www.ludoya.com/games/great-western-trail)
- [Great Western Trail: Argentina](https://www.ludoya.com/games/great-western-trail-argentina)
- [Round House](https://www.ludoya.com/games/round-house-2)
- [Merlin](https://www.ludoya.com/games/merlin-4)
- [Great Western Trail: New Zealand](https://www.ludoya.com/games/great-western-trail-new-zealand)
- [Merlin: Big Box](https://www.ludoya.com/games/merlin-big-box)
- [Coimbra](https://www.ludoya.com/games/coimbra)
- [Great Western Trail: El Paso](https://www.ludoya.com/games/great-western-trail-el-paso)
- [Sabika](https://www.ludoya.com/games/sabika)
- [The Castles of Burgundy](https://www.ludoya.com/games/the-castles-of-burgundy)
- [Ostia](https://www.ludoya.com/games/ostia-2)
- [Vikings](https://www.ludoya.com/games/vikings)

## Rules questions

### Do I have to pay rice for retired characters or Kobuns on buildings?

No — only characters on the main board require 1 rice each during Food payment; retired characters and Kobuns on Building cards do not have to be fed (see p.9; Buildings note p.11).

### If I do business with my own character, does that character gain experience?

No — doing business with one of your own characters does not increase its experience; only opponents' characters you do business with gain one experience (see p.7).

### When exactly do characters gain experience and when do they retire?

All your characters gain one experience when your Oyakata passes by completing a turn in the Main Street, and any retirements caused by that experience are resolved immediately during movement, before you do business (see p.7).

### If I place my Ikizama on the leftmost "1-4" space, can I still hire a character or take income?

No — the leftmost Ikizama player goes first but must directly perform Phase B2 (move Oyakata), so they cannot choose Income or Hiring and instead gain 1 mon as compensation (see p.6).

### Who gets paid at Payday and what counts as salary?

At the end of months 3, 6, 9 and 12 (Payday) each player collects the salary printed on every character they have on the board and on retired characters; salaries may be mons, IKI or resources and retired characters always pay their topmost salary (see p.5 and p.8).

### If a character that gave me a Firefighting hiring bonus is removed (not fed or killed by a fire), do I lose that Firefighting boost?

No — if a character with a Firefighting hiring bonus leaves the game (not fed or killed by a fire), your Firefighting marker remains where it stands and you do not lose that position (see p.9).

## Links

- [This page](https://www.ludoya.com/games/iki)
- [IKI in the Ludoya app](https://app.ludoya.com/g/iki)
- [BoardGameGeek entry](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/177478)

_Data from Ludoya, updated 2026-09-18. Ratings, ownership and play counts are Ludoya's own._