Navia Dratp ( ja, ナヴィア ドラップ) is a
collectible miniatures game
Collectible miniatures games (CMGs) are a form of miniatures game that is also similar to collectible card games (CCGs) — the primary difference being that while CCGs are card-based games, CMGs feature miniature figures.
A popular theme for CMG ...
with similarities to
shogi, the Japanese equivalent of
chess
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...
. See also
chess variants
A chess variant is a game related to, derived from, or inspired by chess. Such variants can differ from chess in many different ways.
"International" or "Western" chess itself is one of a family of games which have related origins and could be co ...
for similar games.
Gameplay
Navia Dratp is unusual among
collectible miniatures game
Collectible miniatures games (CMGs) are a form of miniatures game that is also similar to collectible card games (CCGs) — the primary difference being that while CCGs are card-based games, CMGs feature miniature figures.
A popular theme for CMG ...
s in that it is a game of
complete information
In economics and game theory, complete information is an economic situation or game in which knowledge about other market participants or players is available to all participants. The utility functions (including risk aversion), payoffs, strategies ...
, meaning that each player knows everything there is to know about the game state at any given time. The gameplay does not incorporate random elements of any kind (e.g. dice or a deck of cards), and all game pieces are visible to both players at all times.
Rules
What follows is a general overview of the mechanics of the game.
Navia Dratp is a
board game
Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well.
Many board games feature a co ...
, played on a 7-by-7 grid (by contrast,
chess
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...
uses an 8-by-8 grid and
shogi uses a 9-by-9 grid). Each player begins the game with seven Black ''Gulled'' Stones, and two Red ''Gulled'' Stones, which can be roughly equated with the pawns of chess or shogi. In addition, each player chooses a ''Navia'' and seven ''Maseitai'' from his or her collection of pieces. ''Navias'' are pre-painted miniatures of
anime
is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
-style women. They serve roughly the same function as a chess or shogi king in that the capture of an opponent's ''Navia'' wins the game. ''Maseitai'' comprise the bulk of the collectible figures, and are generally more powerful than ''Gulled'' or ''Navias''. Each ''Maseitai'' and ''Navia'' figure has a plastic disc called the ''compass'' that indicates the piece's movement abilities. By paying ''Gyullas'' crystals, which are earned by moving ''Gulled'' stones or by capturing your opponent's ''Maseitai'', players can ''dratp'' ''Navia'' or ''Maseitai'' pieces, which allows the player to flip over the piece's ''compass'', granting it different movement capabilities or other abilities. In the ''Navia's'' case, ''dratping'' it wins the game. This flipping over of pieces to grant them additional powers is similar to promotion in the game of shogi or
checkers
Checkers (American English), also known as draughts (; British English), is a group of strategy board games for two players which involve diagonal moves of uniform game pieces and mandatory captures by jumping over opponent pieces. Checkers ...
.
Players take turns moving and/or ''dratping'' pieces. Captures are made by moving onto a space occupied by an opponent's piece, as in chess and shogi. The ''Navia'' and ''Gulled'' begin the game already on the playfield, while ''Maseitai'' start in a special area called the ''keep'' and are brought into play through summoning, which means that a player spends his or her turn by placing a ''Maseitai'' from their keep onto one of eight ''summon squares''. The ''dratped'' form of some ''Maseitai'' have special ''invoke'' abilities that offer alternatives to the basic actions of moving, ''dratping'' and summoning. A player may not take their own ''Maseitai''.
The game can be won in one of five ways:
* Capturing an opponent's ''Navia''
* ''Dratping'' your own ''Navia''
* Performing a ''Navia Goal'' by emptying your ''keep'' of ''Maseitai'' and moving your ''Navia'' over the back line of the opponent's side of the board
* If a player's ''Navia'' is repeatedly put into check such that the same board position repeats itself three times, the player whose ''Navia'' was being put in check (not the player putting the ''Navia'' in check) wins
* A player may concede the game
Product line
Navia Dratp was manufactured by
Bandai
is a Japanese multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California and Richmond ...
, and was sold as starter sets and
booster packs. The starter sets contain a board and equipment for one person to play, including a predetermined ''Navia'', a set of ''Gulled'' Stones and ''Gyullas'' crystals, seven predetermined ''Maseitai'', and cards describing each ''Maseitai'' and the ''Navia''. Boosters contain three randomly selected ''Maseitai'' or ''Navia''.
Bandai has stopped manufacturing the game, with the website (formerly naviadratp.com) now defunct and the game considered out-of-print.
Each starter set contained:
*1 Navia (N-XX)
*7 Maseitai battle pieces (M-XX)
*9 Gulled battle pieces (7 black, 2 red)
*17 Gyullas stones (10 white, 6 blue, 1 yellow)
*8 character cards
*1 game board
The Red Starter (starter 1) included:
*N-01 Estelle
*M-01 Troll
*M-02 Agunilyos
*M-03 Hamlus Garuda
*M-04 Garrison
*M-05 Netol
*M-06 Gundrill
*M-07 Tiny Kiggoshi
The Blue Starter (starter 2) included:
*N-02 Debora
*M-08 Olip
*M-09 Gilgame
*M-10 Moses
*M-11 Nebguard
*M-12 Gyullas Turtle
*M-13 Kapinah
*M-14 Koma
Each booster contained:
*3 randomly-inserted figures
*3 corresponding character cards
The first expansion, ''Unleashed Darkness'', added 17 new figures to the game:
*N-03 Io
*N-04 Krra
*M-15 Schmidt
*M-16 Matogayu
*M-17 Midrah
*M-18 Kanaba
*M-19 Sungyullas
*M-20 Tanhoizer
*M-21 Kanimizo
*M-22 Billpentod
*M-23 Hansa
*M-24 Kapinahs
*M-25 Odd DD
*M-26 Coydrocomp
*M-27 Nemchant
*M-28 Lord Kiggoshi
*M-29 Chugyullas
The second expansion, ''Resurgence'', added another 17 figures along with some redone figures in a different design:
*N-05 Chakrapicky
*N-06 Hillgao
*M-30 Chakrabat
*M-31 Papillonera
*M-32 Tagu
*M-33 Viskunmateus
*M-34 Laynard
*M-35 Nergalgamesh
*M-36 Kairas
*M-37 Ghoramedusa
*M-38 Gyullasbon
*M-39 Wishborn
*M-40 Peojin
*M-41 Neso
*M-42 Gilgame III
*M-43 Oriondober
*M-44 Sabageo
There was also a limited new Navia N-007, ''Persephone'', which was available from Bandai. It was produced in a very small number of 300 pieces.
Fan-made content
When the game was discontinued, the community started to develop new content. There are currently four fan-made game expansions:
* Maelstorm (2008): 15 new Maseitai battle pieces
* Dynatmos Gulled Recruits (2018): seven new Gulled battle pieces
* Vengeance (2018): 15 new Maseitai battle pieces
* Arcanum (2020): 16 new Maseitai battle pieces
Three- and four-player versions of the board have been developed, removing the initial limitation of two players.
References
External links
Navia Dratp on BoardGameGeekNavia Dratp fansite
{{Chess variants
Miniatures games