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NARUTO CARD GAME RULES

BANDAI revealed the first rules on 29 July 2026, a day before the game made its debut at Gen Con. This page gathers everything that is confirmed and, just as importantly, everything that is not.

Confirmed rules exactly as BANDAI published them. We update this page every time new information comes out.

NINJA ACADEMY / 01 · Step-by-step tutorial

Learn to play on the table

Based on BANDAI’s official summary and the playable demo. Anything BANDAI has not published yet is marked as provisional.

Step 1 of 14

  1. 1The goal

    Two players face each other. You control the lower half of the table and your opponent the upper half. Reduce the opposing Leader’s Life to 0 to win.

  2. 2Your Leader and its Life

    The Leader starts with 15 Life, shown on its ring. It also has POW and DMG: it can attack and has its own ability. If its Life reaches 0, you lose.

  3. 3What you play with

    Each player brings 1 Leader, a 50-card main deck (Characters, EX Characters and Supports), 5 Chakra cards and 1 Summon card, kept outside the deck. The demo uses 30-card practice decks.

  4. 4Opening hand

    You start with 5 cards in hand. Your Chakra cards and Summon card are already on the table, face up and ready.

  5. 5The four turn phases

    Each turn has 4 phases: Refresh (stand your rested cards), Draw (1 card on the match’s first turn, then 2), Main (summon, set Supports and attack) and End. The exact order is provisional until the full rulebook.

  6. 6Chakra is your energy

    You have 5 Chakra cards. To pay a cost you turn them face down, like the two marked here. Spent Chakra does not come back by itself: from turn 2 you can rest your Leader to recover it.

  7. 7Summon a Character

    Rest your Summon card to put a Character from your hand into your front line (5 slots). Its three numbers are POW (orange), HP (green) and DMG (blue).

  8. 8One turn of waiting

    A newly summoned Character cannot attack that turn unless it has Rush. Also, neither player attacks on their own first turn.

  9. 9Supports

    Support cards are set face down in their row, up to 5. You activate them by paying Chakra at the timing printed on the card, often during your opponent’s attack.

  10. 10Attacking

    In the Main phase, rest a Character that can attack and choose the target: the opposing Leader or a rested opposing Character, like the one marked in red.

  11. 11How combat resolves

    Against a Character, compare your POW with its HP: if it is equal or higher, it is K.O. Against the Leader, if nothing prevents it, its Life drops by your DMG.

  12. 12Attacking has a cost

    The attacking Character stays rested until your next turn. Meanwhile, your opponent can attack it.

  13. 13EX Characters

    EX Characters are not summoned normally: they enter by meeting their requirements, for example sending your Characters to the trash. They are the most powerful cards.

  14. 14Victory

    When the opposing Leader’s Life reaches 0, you win the match. You know the basics: try it in the playable demo.

NINJA ACADEMY / 02

Quick challenge

1. Which card is rested to bring a Character onto the field?

2. What is the victory condition shown by BANDAI?

3. What resource activates support cards?

Hypergeometric draw model

Chance of drawing at least one copy

27.11% chance of at least one copy

Sampling without replacement. No mulligan, searches, extra draws or probability of winning are assumed.

P(X ≥ 1)1 − ∏ (N − K − i) / (N − i), i = 0…n−1

N = Deck size · K = Copies in deck · n = Cards drawn

NINJA ACADEMY / 03

Glossary

Leader CardLeader
The card your whole deck is built around. Its colour decides which cards you can play, and when its Life hits zero, you lose.
Character CardsCharacter
Your front line. Characters attack, and some unleash jutsu by paying a Chakra cost.
EX CharacterEX Character
Heavy hitters. They only come into play once you meet certain conditions during the match, and they can swing a game on their own.
Chakra CardsChakra
Your resource. You spend Chakra to activate ninjutsu, genjutsu and taijutsu.
Summon CardsSummon
The card that brings your Characters onto the battlefield.
Rest / Rest
Turn a card sideways; the official overview demonstrates this with Summon.
Support / Support
A card activated using Chakra; the overview shows it placed face down.
01

WHAT YOU PLAY WITH

Each player brings a Leader and a deck built around it. These are the confirmed numbers.

1 Leader Sets your colour and your Life
51 Main deck Characters, EX Characters and support
5 Chakra The resource you spend
1 Summon Puts Characters on the field

Your Leader's colour decides which cards you are allowed to include. How many colours exist, and how many copies of the same card a deck may hold, has not been announced.

02

THE FIVE CARD TYPES

Every card in the game is one of these five. The examples come from BANDAI's own sample cards.

Leader

The card your whole deck is built around. Its colour decides which cards you can play, and when its Life hits zero, you lose.

Character

Your front line. Characters attack, and some unleash jutsu by paying a Chakra cost.

EX Character

Heavy hitters. They only come into play once you meet certain conditions during the match, and they can swing a game on their own.

Chakra

Your resource. You spend Chakra to activate ninjutsu, genjutsu and taijutsu.

Summon

The card that brings your Characters onto the battlefield.

03

HOW A GAME WORKS

The four moves BANDAI has shown so far, in order.

  1. 1

    Rest your Summon card

    Turn your Summon card sideways to bring one of your Characters onto the field.

  2. 2

    Send your Characters in

    Characters are your front line: they attack, and some unleash a jutsu by paying its Chakra cost.

  3. 3

    Use Chakra for support

    Use Chakra to activate support cards placed face down. The complete timing rules have not yet been published.

  4. 4

    Empty their Life

    Both revealed Leaders start on 15 Life. The first player to leave the rival Leader at zero wins.

Try it on the table

Practise these four steps in the playable demo, with a guided tutorial and an opponent with three levels.

Play the demo
04

WHAT THE NUMBERS MEAN

BANDAI's sample cards print five figures. The labels are confirmed; the exact combat maths behind them is not.

DMG
Damage. Printed top left on Leaders and Characters alike.
POW
Power. The figure the card fights with.
HP
Hit points. Characters and EX Characters carry it; Leaders do not.
LIFE
Only on Leader cards, bottom right. Both revealed Leaders start on 15.
CHAKRA
The cost printed beside a jutsu: what you pay to activate it.
Sample cards published by BANDAI
Card Card type DMG POW HP / LIFE
Naruto Uzumaki N-001 Leader 1 3 LIFE 15
Sasuke Uchiha N-012 Leader 1 3 LIFE 15
Naruto Uzumaki N-003 EX Character 3 11 HP 10
Sasuke Uchiha N-014 EX Character 3 10 HP 11
Gamabunta N-005 EX Character 2 10 HP 8

Examples use the current catalogue of revealed cards. Unconfirmed values stay unknown; this is not a complete combat rule.

STILL UNANNOUNCED

WHAT WE STILL DON'T KNOW

No full rulebook has been published. The Gen Con games were guided demos with pre-built decks. This is what is still missing.

  • The turn structure and its phases
  • How damage is worked out between POW and HP
  • How many colours the game has
  • How many copies of a card a deck may hold
  • Starting hand, drawing and mulligans
  • Complete card lists and prices for the Starter Decks and first booster

Three Starter Decks and Booster Pack 01 are announced for June 2027. Japanese demos begin in January and the English programme begins in February. The next major reveal is planned for Jump Festa in December 2026. Our news links to regional sources and participation conditions.

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Rules and diagrams published by BANDAI. NARUTOMARKET is an independent fan site. Source: naruto-cardgame.com ↗