Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, for those of you who didn’t know, is a 1999 Jim Jarmusch film about a contract killer (Forest Whitaker) who adheres to the code of the samurai. He eventually runs afoul of the mafia and, well, hijinks ensue. But quietly and over a long period of time: its a Jim Jarmusch film, after all.

Apparently developed at the request of the film studio off a crummy VHS of the film, the game uses the Guardians of Order Tri-Stat system, which is an anime RPG that I am not familiar with. Though there is a through line there between Ghost Dog and anime that I think makes a kind of sense.

The game is a pretty simple points-buy system designed to be played by a GM and a single player, specifically because of time constraint for older players. I think this is novel and, knowing that, think Ghost Dog is an excellent property to build that sort of game around, considering the contemplative, solitary nature of the film. Even if you never play it, if you’re a fan of Ghost Dog or the Hagakure, the book is worth a read – it does an excellent job of reflecting the source material in its rules and its approach.

Wish there were more pigeon-related rules, though.

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