Oink Games brings its unique style of small-box board games to Gen Con

Oink Games is a standout in an industry that’s dominated by American companies and European companies who produce massive board and campaign games. Oink Games is best-known for its unconventional philosophy of small boxes and striking artwork. Oink’s small product line, which is aimed at attracting attention with its eye-catching designs and word of mouth advertising as modern board games become more complex every year, remains dedicated to this philosophy.

Oink’s first real North American hit came from 2014’s delightful Deep Sea Adventure, a game about pushing the limits of a diver’s oxygen tank while scooping up sunken treasure. It was a huge success, bringing attention to the back catalog of titles including New York Fake artistsThe following are some examples of how to get started: InsiderIt’s gaining traction among English-speaking consumers. Now Oink is an established brand, and it’s looking to take the next step with four new releases available at this year’s Gen Con.

This boutique publisher, from my perspective, has achieved a high degree of success. The catalog of this boutique publisher has evolved from being a small collection obscure board games to becoming a force within the industry. Since a while, its top titles have become widely accessible and the unique graphics have helped create an image that is consistent with the company. But founder and CEO Jun Sasaki doesn’t quite agree.

“I believe that we’re still operating on a small scale and wouldn’t quite consider ourselves successful,” he told Polygon in a recent email interview. We’ve been steadily creating games, maintaining the style that we want to develop, and working towards expanding our sales channels.”

Oink is a company with a distinct look, in both graphics and games. Much of this style comes from the local influences. Sasaki speaks to the origination of the company: “Oink Games is deeply rooted in the Japanese culture of ‘anyone can be a creator.’ The reason I started making board games was to participate in Game Market in Japan, an event where many people bring and sell their own board games.”

The company’s unique visual aesthetic is an identifying trademark. This vivid signature is a result of Sasaki’s origins as a graphic designer, pushing for a style that is salient and that carries across its entire line. The video games division of the company has also had a major influence.

“I don’t see these two as significantly different,” says Sasaki.

The result is a board game line which has remained consistent and focused. It’s unique. Here’s how it’s expanding in 2023.

Take the difference

Two images of the Spot the Difference game, as well as the sand-timer, are arranged on a gray-colored table.

Take the difference is a clever game that riffs on the classic spot-the-difference genre of children’s games. Oink’s design places one player in the position of actually creating those images in an attempt to challenge the rest of the participants at the table. The bigger the changes you’re able to get away with, the more points you stand to gain.

To start, one player is given two sheets and a pen and asked to alter one of the images however they’d like. The modified image was then covered in a plastic sheet that is slightly opaque to hide the pen marks. After that, the other participants have three minutes in which to locate all of these irregularities.

While this can feel a little more like a craft activity than a proper game, it’s a smart design that pushes players to take risks. There’s a creative element in that you must assess the most devious places to alter, trying to camouflage your additions in the most complicated portions of the illustration. It’s also a joy watching the group scan the page, trying their best to quickly spot all of the adjustments with time slipping away. This game is consumable, since each page must be thrown away after the session. As each image pad contains 10 sheets, the cost-to-content ratio works perfectly.

You Can Make a Difference

Price taken from the publication.

• 2-4 players, age 10+

• Playtime: 15-30 minutes

Nine Tiles Extreme

Oink Games

The Nine Tiles Extreme is a juiced version of Oink’s hit game Nine Tiles. The original game had nine tiles that were double-sided and featured different images on both sides. Three times, the images will be repeated. Each time they are paired up with something new. Next, the tiles are arranged randomly in a grid of three by three. Then, everyone gets to race. You must quickly arrange your tiles to make the matching image. The game is a fast-paced title similar to games like Find It! You can also find out more about the following: Jungle SpeedIt’s a bit quirky, but it has its own unique style.

ExtremeThis game takes it to the next level by presenting patterns with a dual purpose that include both a colour and a shape. The images have two distinct dimensions that you must assess. This is a challenge for the brain and adds a twist to it.

The game is simple and fun. It’s the type of activity that some will loathe and others will find delightful. ExtremeThis version is more interesting and entertaining, because it creates a harder baseline which results in more mistakes by players and more apprehension. The subtle tension created by this creates moments of humor.

Nine Tiles Extreme

The prices are taken at the time of publication.

• 2-4 players, age 6+

• Playtime: 10 minutes

See Whales

Oink Games

See Whales is an unusual title in Oink’s catalog, the first to be co-developed by veteran French game designer Bruno Faidutti (Citadels, Mission: Red PlanetSasaki. In this aquatic game, players take charge of tour companies that transport visitors to an orca-filled bay. The idea is to deduce where whales will show up based on looking at the backsides of tiles and extrapolating information from other player’s moves. You will then be able position your tourists so that they can see the whales and delight your passengers.

That aspect of making inferences based on limited information, provided by both the game and other players, feels strongly indicative of Faidutti’s design philosophy. This leads to amusement and moments of surprise. The presentation is charming and this creates a seamless experience.

See Whales

The prices are taken at the time of publication.

• 2-5 players, age 9+

• Playtime: 30 minutes

Tiger & Dragon

Tiger & Dragon This is an unusual release, as it was first released in Japan 2021. It’s also somewhat of a large product for this publisher. It’s still a modestly sized box compared to the typical Oink board game, but bucks the trend of its previous releases and therefore stands out. It’s similar to the Japanese traditional game GoitaYou can have players defend and attack using numbers on the tiles.

You can play an attack in the normal game mode by playing a tile out of your hand. To defend themselves, the player to your left will have to play an identical-numbered tile. In the event that they can’t, the attacker moves on to the next clockwise player. You can earn bonus points if you are able to score a successful strike that nobody is able defend. Only the player who has used up their whole hand first will receive any bonus points.

Oink Games

It is an interactive and thoughtful design where you have to take risks and judge the chances. You can infer the probability of a certain attack being blocked since the tiles pool is known and the tiles that have been played are all public. You can land an attack if you are aware that all the tiles have already been used. It is an almost meditative experience to play and counter in this cyclical manner. The game is excellent and stands out from the other four.

Fans can expect to see demos at Gen Con even though the games aren’t currently available through Oink Games.