Shadow Duel

Mission briefing

A one-on-one ninja duel drawn in ink and moonlight. Read your rival, guard, then strike back: every defence opens a counter, and a run of good defence triggers your ninja's own counter cinematic (一二三) that ends in a finishing strike. - 13 ninjas with their own weapons: katana, nodachi, twin tanto, naginata, kusarigama, bo staff, war fans and a bow, each with a signature kick and ki technique - Knock the sword out of your rival's hands and fight on with fists and kicks, or flick your blade back up from the floor - 7 arenas that hit back: waves, gales, falling beams, runaway carts, snow slides, lightning and leaf storms, with slippery floors, walls and props you can use - An eight-fight journey for every ninja with its own ending, mastery stars and Legacy colors - A monthly tournament, a Dan rank trial from Kyu 10 to Dan 10 and the Shadow Pass - Japanese announcer and voiced fighters - Training, combo trials and a short tutorial - Two players on one keyboard or two gamepads, or fight the AI on three difficulties

Field manual

Win the duel by reading your opponent: after every attack, guard. Player 1: A / D walk, W jump, S guard (tap S just before a hit lands to parry, then strike back at once), F light slash, G heavy slash, R kick (hold a direction for a sweep, spinning or disarming kick), T shuriken, Left Shift dash, E ki technique. Player 2: arrow keys, K / L / O / I / Right Shift / U. P or gamepad Start pauses. On phones and tablets: a d-pad on the left (▼ guards) and attack buttons on the right; turn the device sideways.

Launch orders: press Launch mission above and the game loads on this page itself — nothing downloads and no form stands between you and the first move. It is designed for a landscape (wide) screen and takes its orders from mouse, keyboard or touch, depending on the mission. It is built wide, for a landscape screen — rotate a phone sideways, or give it a tablet or monitor to stretch out on. If it offers a fullscreen control, use it — a fight this size deserves the whole screen.

Field notes for fighting operations

Blocking is a move, not a pause. Most fighting games reward the player who defends deliberately — the opening you need usually appears while you are not pressing anything.
Learn one short combo properly instead of five long ones badly. A reliable three-hit string you can land under pressure out-damages a spectacular sequence you drop twice a round.
Watch the feet, not the health bar. Fighters telegraph through their stance and spacing; the bar only tells you how the last exchange went, not how the next one starts.

Shadow Duel — questions from the ranks

What does it cost to play Shadow Duel?

Nothing at all. The mission is free from the first order to the last — no sign-up, no download, no paid tier guarding the good levels. The advertising around this page is what keeps the board free.

What sort of mission is Shadow Duel?

Shadow Duel is filed in our Fighting theatre. Like every operation on this board, it is a browser game — read the briefing above for the publisher's own account of what you are deploying into.

Can I run Shadow Duel on a phone or tablet?

Yes. It plays in the browser on phones and tablets exactly as it does on a computer. It is built wide, for a landscape screen — rotate a phone sideways, or give it a tablet or monitor to stretch out on.

Do I have to install anything before playing?

No installation of any kind. Shadow Duel is an HTML5 game: press the launch button and it loads on this page, and closing the tab leaves nothing behind.

After-action

Mission complete, or still pinned down? The full Fighting theatre is one click away — Forty-three close-quarters operations — brawls, duels and arena scraps where range is measured in arm lengths and rounds end quickly.