The hit board game is back by popular demand, this time featuring a brand new, more affordable, and improved Founder Edition
JISOGI: Anime Studio Tycoon is back! Designed by Esper Game Studio with stunning art by Eisuke Gou and Senkawa Teien, our 2025 release quickly sold out globally. To meet the incredible demand, we are excited to announce a "Version 1.5" reprint. This edition is very similar to the original Founders Edition, but it features updated rules and components, allowing us to offer a more affordable price point for new players who love board games and anime.
Based in Japan, our team has strong connections in the Anime industry, hanging out with producers and artists from many studios. We heard their wild stories about the ups and downs of the business, and that is what inspired us to create this game.
"JISOGI" comes from 自転車操業 - jitenshasōgyō, an expression that refers to barely keeping a business going (an analogy that a bicycle collapses when its wheels cease rotating).
What has changed?
JISOGI rules have been thoroughly revised based on your feedback and constant playtesting. We’ve improved game balance, refined the UI, and made the rulebook even easier to understand for both multiplayer and solo mode.
Refining the gameplay led to a few component changes. The Trend board and Opportunity board have been combined into a single board, as these two aspects are relevant in the same phase of the game. This also helps save table space!
We also re-worked several Genki Staff card skills. We improved their graphic design, increasing the font size on cards for better readability. Out of 52 Genki Staff cards, 31 have been changed in one way or another. We’ve also replaced 2 new Network cards, updated the 4 Player Aid cards, and reworked the 2 Solo Challenge cards.
Big price drop
The Kickstarter discounted price will be U$D 51 / JP¥ 8000. To achieve this price point, we removed a few deluxe components that our players felt were not that important. We worked very hard to keep the essence and charm of the original design, consulting with our customers, partners, and factory. Rest assured, this will still feel like a deluxe product. By the way, we are keeping the fan-favorite metallic foil on the Trend Cards! (It was non-negotiable for us too; they are just too pretty and shiny!)
"JISOGI: Pitch Room" Game Mode
The JISOGI 1.5 Edition rulebook will now include the full rules for the Pitch Room Alternative Game Mode. Originally released as a free "DLC" on our website a few months after the game's debut. Because this mode uses the existing components from the base game, we decided to fully integrate it into the new rulebook!
From the very beginning, we wanted JISOGI to capture the wild creativity of anime. We filled the game with flavor text to give the mechanics character, but also because we knew many players love the side stories that emerge during play.
What surprised us most was how often players would pause the main game just to read their anime stories out loud. These storytelling moments became highlights at many tables, but they weren’t fully supported by the original rules until we imagined this new mode.
In Pitch Room, the focus shifts from studio management to a high-stakes creative meeting. Players debate the studio’s next big project by pitching a script composed of a Setting, Plot, and Twist. At the end, the group votes to decide which idea is the most captivating!
We’ve playtested with board game enthusiasts and anime industry insiders to strike the perfect balance between mechanics and theme. We're proud to say the game engages both groups—easy to pick up for casual players, with plenty of depth for experienced players to develop advanced strategies!
For this project, we are very proud of our artist selection. We gathered many talented and experienced professionals with many years of experience in the industry. They not only provided us with beautiful art pieces but also shared invaluable insight into the production process of Anime and the real people behind it.
Card Sleeves
Dice / Tower
Components
Organizer
Metal Coins
Mat & Board
Promos
Storage Box
