The Samurai Game® is a challenging and psychologically intense simulation game in which participants cross a psychological boundary where they operate under unfamiliar modes of relationship, governance and consequences.

Requiring no special equipment and no advance preparation (other then a willingness to learn), participants in The Samurai Game® come face to face with their personal integrity, their commitments and habitual ways of dealing with challenges and uncertainty.

Participants in The Samurai Game® find themselves asking…

  • When the going gets tough, rules do not easily apply, and the future is unclear—how do I show up as a leader? 
  • When distractions are rampant, how do I remain present and focused on what matters most?
  • When no one is watching and the consequences are uncertain, do I act with integrity?
  • When my team’s integrity is tested to the limits—does it crack or get stronger?
  • When I encounter challenges, can I tolerate the discomfort of new learning or do I retreat to the known and familiar?  

The Samurai Game® allows you to safely cross a border beyond your everyday life, from which you may see yourself, your priorities, your habits with greater clarity. As a simulation game, The Samurai Game® has rules and consequences, choices and results, risks and rewards–just like life.  But because it’s a simulation, you can make mistakes, explore new ways of being and acting, and learn without all of the risk.  Participants in the Samurai Game® cultivate awareness, resourcefulness and decisiveness in challenging situations marked by uncertainty, ambiguity and chaos.

The Samurai Game® involves no significant physical contact.  It simulates the intensity and immediacy of battle, but unfolds within a carefully designed and secure environment, providing participants with fertile opportunities for self-reflection and insights that apply to business, government, community and daily life.

Participants in the Samurai Game® routinely experience…

  • The power of team commitment and collaboration
  • A new understanding of the value of trust and integrity for leadership performance 
  • The difference between “talking the talk” and “walking the walk”
  • The power of meeting challenges in a centered and grounded way

The Samurai Game was invented in 1977 by George Leonard (1923 – 2010), journalist, Aikido instructor, musician, public speaker and author of numerous books including: Mastery, The Silent Pulse, The Ultimate Athlete, Education and Ecstasy, The Way of Aikido: Lessons from an American Sensei, and others. The Game was copyrighted in 1977 and is owned By The Leonard Family Trust (# TXu 1-626-797, international copyright secured, all rights reserved). The trade name “The Samurai Game” holds US Trademark Registration #2,630,801.

Grayson James learned to facilitate The Samurai Game® with George Leonard, under whom he apprenticed and studied Aikido for many years.  Grayson is one of only two individuals worldwide who are authorized to train and certify Samurai Game® facilitators.

Click here for the official Samurai Game® website, or call us at 888-851-3747 to learn more about The Samurai Game® for your team or organization.

What participants say about The Samurai Game®

“Through the Samurai Game I learned that my actions, even the small ones, have a huge impact on the success of my team. A very profound, eye-opening experience.”

“What I learned in this one weekend about my abilities as a leader would have taken me years to learn. It will stay with me always.”