Haniwa – Where Clay Meets Play

Back in Japan’s Kofun period, grand tombs were built for powerful nobles. To protect and honour them, people crafted little clay figures called haniwa, standing guard around these resting places.

Fast-forward a few centuries, and now we get to do the same in Haniwa, a two-player game where we compete to impress the ancient Gozoku nobles with our finest offerings.

Spoiler: turns out impressing a noble isn’t as easy as just handing over a funny-looking statue.

👥 1-4 players, ages 6+
⌛ Playing time: 20 minutes
📝 Designer: Akira Yasunaga
🎨 Artwork: OBOtto

🏢 Publisher: Musoka Studio (review copy provided)

Gameplay Overview

In Haniwa, you and your opponent each work on your own little 4×3 grid, placing colourful haniwa tiles one by one. The goal is to win the favour of the four Gozoku nobles, who sit judging you from between the grids like ancient talent show judges.

Each noble has a “happiness die” that you want to increase. If you place a haniwa tile of the right colour in the column under a noble, you boost their happiness by the number shown on the tile.

Sounds easy enough, right?

Well, not so fast. If you get a noble too happy, the die wraps back around to one. Because apparently, even in ancient Japan, there was such a thing as being too generous.

When that happens though, it’s not all bad. You earn a kofun tile, giving you an extra point and a small trick you can use to mess with your next moves.

But that’s not the whole story. You also want to create horizontal rows where the total power adds up to exactly eight. Doing that activates a dogu, a special clay figurine that gives you extra points.

But if you go over eight, you summon a cursed dogu, and it wipes out a Gozoku you would have claimed at the end. Trust me, it hurts. It’s like baking the perfect cake and then accidentally sitting on it.

Once both players have completely filled their grids, the real judging begins. You compare each column’s total power. Whoever has the stronger column wins that happiness die. If it’s a tie, the winner is decided based on matching colours. After that, you add up all your points from happiness dice, dogu, kofun tiles, and a few smile bonuses from the Gozoku.

Highest score wins. Eternal glory (or at least bragging rights) awaits.

Our Thoughts

At first, Haniwa might not seem like the easiest game to jump into. The rules are not complicated, but they’re not completely natural either. But honestly, after one short game, it all clicks. The gameplay flows very nicely once you get going. It feels a bit like riding an old bike you found in your grandparents’ shed. A bit wobbly at first, but surprisingly smooth once you figure it out.

And visually, Haniwa is simply brilliant. The artwork nails that playful, cheerful vibe without going over the top. The haniwa figures are colourful, full of personality, and genuinely funny.

Some are flexing, some are flapping little wings, some are proudly wearing hats, and some are even riding tiny horses. It’s impossible not to smile when you look at them.

Even the tiles themselves feel nice, framed like rustic little artefacts that could have come straight from a local festival. The style keeps things light and welcoming, even when the competition heats up.

It really captures a lovely balance between the ancient theme and a modern, friendly board game aesthetic. It doesn’t feel heavy or overly serious, and that fits the gameplay perfectly.

How It Feels to Play

Playing Haniwa feels a bit like trying to build a house of cards while your neighbour is doing the same next to you. You’re mostly focused on your own structure, but you can’t help but peek at what they’re doing, and a single bad move could bring the whole thing crashing down.

At the beginning, you feel like you have all the time in the world. You’re happily matching colours, boosting happiness dice, and setting up rows for those tasty dogu activations.

But about halfway through, you realise that space is running out fast. Suddenly every tile placement feels critical, and planning just one step ahead isn’t enough anymore.

The tension keeps building. Do you keep chasing perfect colour matches, or do you sacrifice them to make sure you hit exactly eight? And while you’re worrying about your own grid, you also have to keep an eye on your opponent, because if they’re setting up to snatch a happiness die away from you, you might need to rethink.

By the end of the game, the tiniest mistake can cost you big points. One miscalculation with a cursed dogu, or missing a smile bonus, and it’s game over.

But that pressure is exactly what makes Haniwa so satisfying. Every little decision matters.

Final Thoughts

Haniwa offers a tight duel that stays light on rules but heavy on meaningful choices. It’s the kind of game that rewards players who enjoy careful planning, spatial thinking, and a bit of cheeky risk-taking.

While the basic rules are simple once you know them, mastering the timing and strategy of the happiness dice and dogu activations gives the game a surprising amount of depth.

What we especially liked is that the player interaction is always there, even if it’s indirect. You can’t just build your own little paradise and ignore what’s happening on the other side of the table. Watching, adapting, and sometimes taking a hit just to stop your opponent from scoring big is all part of the fun.

Thanks to its quick playtime and its cheerful presentation, Haniwa is easy to pull off the shelf whenever you want a tight little battle of wits without getting bogged down. And because of how the tiles come out differently each time, and the small decisions you have to make along the way, it stays fresh every time you play.

📝 We received a copy of Haniwa from Musoka Studio to review.