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In The Masters, you and your opponent play as martial artists returning to your hometowns to open your own schools. But before anyone can start teaching, there’s a question to settle: who’s the better fighter?
You’ll face each other in quick, tense duels built around timing, bluffing, and reading your opponent. Each move feels like a small test of control and patience. It’s about watching, waiting, and choosing your moment. The game is quick, but there’s real tension in every decision.
👥 2 players, ages 10+
⌛ Playing time: 20 minutes
📝 Designer: Tsai Huei-Chiang
🎨 Artwork: Chu Hui-Lin
🏢 Publisher: Soso Studio, distributed by Taiwan Boardgame Design (review copy provided)
Gameplay Overview
The Masters is a two-player card game played as a best-of-three series of duels. Each player picks a character representing a different martial art. Each one comes with a few unique abilities that change how you approach combat.
Here’s how it plays. Each duel starts with both players drawing five attack cards and setting their health to twelve. The player with the lower total value of cards attacks first. On your turn, you can either attack by playing one card or rest to refill your hand to five cards. Resting switches roles, so your opponent becomes the attacker.
The defender can respond in one of two ways. To defend, play one card with the same number as the attack. You take no damage and draw a new card. To counter, play two cards with the same number. You block the hit, deal one damage back, draw a card, switch roles immediately, and can use a skill if you have the right cards.
If an attack lands, the defender loses one health, draws a card, and the attacker can trigger a skill by matching the total shown on their character card. Skills can’t be blocked or countered, so they simply happen. After resolving the effect, the attacker decides whether to strike again or rest.
A duel ends when one fighter’s health reaches zero. The other player wins that round, and both reset their hit points and hands for the next. The first to win two duels wins the match.
Weapons and Movement
Once you’ve played a few duels, you can add weapons to the mix. This mode replaces your character cards with weapon cards showing sabres, staffs, nunchaku and similar weapons. You line them up so the boxes printed on the cards connect, showing your starting distance.
When a normal attack hits, the attacker can move one space forward or backward, or stay where they are. After moving, they can use the skill shown at the opponent’s position if they have the cards to do it, or they can skip the skill and attack again instead.
If the cards move too far apart and lose alignment, you simply reset them to stay connected. It’s a simple idea that adds a bit of positioning and range management to the duel, giving you one more thing to think about without complicating the flow.
Artwork, Components, and Visual Design
Let’s be honest: there’s not much in the box besides cards and two small yellow crystals. Still, The Masters has a clear visual identity that fits the theme.
The box shows two duelists facing off in front of misty mountains painted in pale grey tones. It feels quiet and balanced, very in line with the martial arts setting.
The cards continue this style. Character cards use silhouettes and soft backgrounds, with simple icons and numbers that are easy to read during play. The weapon cards follow the same design, showing martial weapons drawn with fine brush lines. When you place them together, they form a kind of path that represents the distance between fighters, which looks clever in play.
The attack cards are numbered one through six, each with silhouettes performing a move. The colours make it easy to spot what’s what, and the layout keeps things readable. Player aids double as health trackers, with those small crystals sliding down a blood-drop line. It’s not flashy, but it works.
Overall, the presentation is clean and deliberate. Everything fits the theme, even if the components themselves are minimal. It looks thoughtful, not cheap.
Our Experience
Playing The Masters feels like sparring: quick, deliberate, and just a little bit tense. There’s this nice back-and-forth rhythm where one player attacks, the other defends or counters, and roles switch constantly. You can feel the tempo of each exchange, which makes even a short match engaging.
Landing a good counter feels fantastic. You block, strike back, and suddenly the pressure flips But it can also feel punishing when you walk into one. The game quietly teaches restraint. The more you play, the more you start counting cards, spotting patterns, and recognising when your opponent might be holding a pair.
Our duels usually lasted around ten to fifteen minutes, which feels right for a best-of-three format. It’s short enough to stay tense but long enough to see strategies develop.
There’s some luck, of course. You can draw a bad hand. But the uneven spread of card numbers keeps things interesting. It’s not pure probability; it’s about adapting to what’s left in the deck and guessing what your opponent might still have.
We especially liked the variant where you switch characters between rounds. It keeps the fights fresh and lets you explore different martial arts styles. The weapon mode adds another aspect, but it also slows the game down a bit. It’s more tactical and rewarding for players who like planning a few moves ahead, though not everyone will need that extra layer.
Our Thoughts
The Masters is a small, focused duelling game that rewards timing, patience, and reading your opponent. It’s not a flashy production, but it doesn’t try to be. The minimal design suits the calm, focused feel of martial arts rather well.
The main trick is learning when not to attack. If too many copies of a number have already been discarded, it’s usually safe to strike with that one. But if you suspect your opponent has a pair ready, it’s better to rest and wait. The tension often comes from deciding whether to push your luck or hold back.
Because players draw cards whether they defend or take damage, defenders can slowly build strong hands while attackers burn through theirs. It’s subtle, but it makes pacing and card management just as important as landing hits.
The advanced mode brings some more depth, though it’s not essential. It’s great if you enjoy more tactical movement, but the base game already offers plenty to think about.
It’s not for everyone. If you want flashy components or heavy variety, you won’t find that here. And there are moments when the draw just doesn’t cooperate. But when it clicks, it’s a tight duel that feels like a proper contest of timing and nerve.
If you like small games that reward observation over luck, The Masters is worth your time. It’s calm, precise, and occasionally brutal in the best way.
📝 We received a copy of The Masters from the publisher for review.
