How the Naruto anime timeline game works

The cards cover Naruto's animated life: the TV series, a comedy spin-off, the run of feature films and a pile of short OVAs. Each one carries a quick note on what it is and what happens in it. Your task is to order them by the year they premiered in Japan. One card opens the timeline with its year shown, and every card after that needs a gap. When you choose well the year appears; when you don't, the card still settles into its correct slot and one of your three lives is gone.

Most of this deck lands in a fairly tight window, with a new film arriving almost every year while the shows were on air, so neighboring cards are often very close together. The plot notes are your real help: ask whether Naruto is still a kid in Team 7, chasing the Akatsuki, or already a father. The OVAs are the hardest, because many are small side stories that could fit almost anywhere, and a few were bonus extras tied to games or film screenings.

Want a longer game? On the deck tree you can tick this deck alongside any other one measured in release years and dates, and they shuffle into a single timeline together.

What's in the deck

Here are 26 of the 26 cards you might be dealt. Their values stay hidden until you place them.

Naruto TV series, Team 7 and the Chunin Exams
Naruto: Shippuden TV series, Naruto takes on the Akatsuki
Rock Lee & His Ninja Pals TV series, super-deformed comedy spin-off
Boruto: Naruto Next Generations TV series, Naruto's son Boruto
Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow Film, guarding an actress who is secretly a princess
Naruto the Movie: Legend of the Stone of Gelel Film, armored warriors and a sacred stone
Naruto the Movie: Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom Film, escorting the Land of the Moon's prince
Naruto Shippuden the Movie Film, the priestess Shion foresees Naruto's death
Naruto Shippuden the Movie: Bonds Film, Sky Country ninja attack the Leaf
Naruto Shippuden the Movie: The Will of Fire Film, Kakashi offers himself to stop a war
Naruto Shippuden the Movie: The Lost Tower Film, Naruto meets his father Minato in the past
Naruto the Movie: Blood Prison Film, Naruto framed and locked away
Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie Film, an alternate world made by Tobi
The Last: Naruto the Movie Film, Naruto, Hinata and a falling moon
Boruto: Naruto the Movie Film, Boruto trains with Sasuke
Find the Crimson Four-Leaf Clover OVA, Konohamaru and a wish-granting clover
Mission: Protect the Waterfall Village OVA, escorting Shibuki home
Hidden Leaf Village Grand Sports Festival OVA, a ninja sports day
Jonin vs. Genin Grand Melee Tournament OVA on a bonus disc with a PS2 game
Naruto: The Cross Roads OVA, Team 7 after Zabuza and Haku
Naruto, the Genie, and the Three Wishes OVA, a bottle on the beach holds a genie
Chunin Exam on Fire: Naruto vs. Konohamaru OVA, screened alongside a Naruto film
Hashirama Senju vs. Madara Uchiha OVA, the founding of the Leaf Village
Sunny Side Battle OVA, Itachi makes Sasuke breakfast
The Day Naruto Became Hokage OVA, Boruto and Himawari wake their dad
Road of Naruto Short, a montage of memorable scenes