Shogun Game Rules

Hey there! Let’s dive into the exciting world of Shogun and learn the essential rules you need to conquer the game. Are you ready? Let’s go!

First, it’s crucial to understand that Shogun is a strategy board game where players take on the role of powerful feudal lords in Japan. As a player, your goal is to become the most influential shogun by earning victory points through various actions.

Now, let’s talk about the game board. It represents a map of Japan, divided into provinces. Each province has different characteristics like its location, income, and number of armies required for control.

To start the game, every player places their daimyo (leader) token on a province. These daimyos will act as the starting point for your conquest.

Next, you’ll have the opportunity to recruit and move your armies across the provinces. You can increase your army size by spending money, which is earned through controlled provinces. Remember, the bigger the army, the stronger your control over the land!

In Shogun, conflicts between armies are inevitable. When two armies meet in the same province, a battle occurs. Battles are determined by rolling dice and considering the number of armies involved. It’s a nail-biting moment where tactics and luck come into play!

Apart from military conquest, you can also gain victory points by constructing buildings in your provinces. These structures provide various benefits, such as generating income or attracting additional armies.

Another way to earn victory points is through alliances. You can form partnerships with other players, sharing resources and strategizing together to achieve mutual success. Be careful, though, as alliances can be fragile and easily broken!

As the game progresses, you’ll encounter events that can significantly impact the course of the game. These events could be natural disasters, political turmoil, or other unexpected occurrences. Stay vigilant and adapt your strategy accordingly!

Finally, the game ends after a set number of turns. The player with the highest number of victory points at the end is declared the ultimate shogun and emerges as the winner of the game. Will it be you?

So, there you have it – the exciting world of Shogun! Remember, strategy, cunning, and a bit of luck are key to conquering the game. So gather your armies, forge alliances, and claim your place as the most powerful shogun in Japan!

Here’s what you’ll find in the box:

– The Game Board with 2 sides (1 with a sun and 1 with a moon).

– 53 Province Cards

– 25 War Chest Cards

– 5 Special Cards

– 10 Action Cards

– 12 Event Cards

– 5 Daimyo Cards

– 5 Individual Boards

– 310 Colored Cubes representing player armies, with 62 in each player color

– 20 Green Cubes – representing neutral farmer armies

– 55 War Chests

– 5 Victory Point Markers

– 5 Rice Markers

– 80 Building Tiles – 28 castles, 26 temples, and 26 No theaters.

– 42 Revolt Markers

– 1 3-Part Battle Tower

– 1 Storage Tray

– 1 Supplement

– 1 Set of Game Rules

Let me tell you what this game is all about!

Imagine being a warlord in ancient Japan, striving to establish dominance for your clan. That’s the world you enter when playing this game. The ultimate goal is to become the legendary SHOGUN.

To achieve victory, you must not only conquer as many provinces as you can but also develop your territory by constructing castles, temples, and theaters.

There’s an additional element to consider: the player who builds the most structures in each of the five regions will earn valuable bonus points.

The Beginning

The Provinces

First, you must decide which side of the game board you want to play on: the sun or the moon. Once you choose, arrange the board accordingly. Remove any province cards that don’t have symbols matching your chosen side.

Hey there! Let’s talk about the game rules. When playing with only 3 players, we won’t be needing 8 province cards. We can simply return them to the box. These 8 provinces are easy to spot on the board – they have a special symbol and a light border.

Remember, during the game, we can’t move any armies into these unused provinces. They’re off-limits.

Your Stuff

When we play the game, we get to choose our favorite color. Then we collect all the pieces that match our color. I get my own board and 62 little cubes that are the same color as me. I also get a special card called a Daimyo card, a set of cards that have pictures of treasure chests (I can have between 0 and 4 chests), and some money to start with.

If there are 3 players, each of us starts with 18 chests. If there are 4 players, we each start with 15 chests. And if there are 5 players, we each start with 12 chests. It’s important that everyone can see my armies and chests during the game. But if we’re playing with fewer than 5 players, I have to put away any extra pieces that I don’t need.

Now that we’ve all set up our boards and collected our pieces, it’s time to claim our starting provinces and begin the game.

Hey there! Let’s get started with this awesome board game. First, we shuffle the province cards and place them face down near the board. After that, we turn up the top 2 cards so everyone can see them.

Now, let’s take a look at the individual boards. On the front side, you’ll find 9 countryside areas next to the Daimyo, each with a number. These numbers are important, so pay attention!

Next, we need to place our armies on our individual boards. The number of areas we use depends on how many players are in the game. You’ll need 7 to 9 areas for this.

Okay, time to deploy our army groups! Here’s how it works: starting with the oldest player and then taking turns, we choose either one of the face up province cards or we draw a card from the face down pile. Then, we pick an army group from our board and place it on the matching province on the game board. Simple, right?

Oh, and don’t forget to keep the province card you chose. It goes into your hand. You never know when it might come in handy!

If a card is face up and someone takes it, they put another card from the draw pile in its place.

We keep doing this until everyone has put all of their army groups on the game board.

The province cards that don’t belong to any player are placed near the game board where everyone can reach them.

During the game, we can conquer these provinces. After we pick our starting provinces, we turn over our boards to show the action spaces.

The armies we have left become our supply.

Markers for Winning and Rice

First, let’s talk about the markers you need to keep track of your progress in the game. Place your victory point marker on the “0” space of the scoring track. This will show how many points you have earned throughout the game. Next, place your rice marker at the bottom of the provision track. This will help you keep track of the rice you have left.

The Tower of Battle

Now, let’s take a look at the tower. This tower is where all the action happens during battles. To start, we need to put some armies in the tower. Each player should add seven armies to the tower, and there should also be a total of 10 farmer armies added as well. If any armies fall back out of the tower, they should be returned to their proper supplies. The rest of the farmer armies will form a general supply.

Chests for War

Chests are an important part of the game, as they are used to pay for different actions. Each player will start with a set of chests. Any chests that are not taken by the players will become part of the general supply, which can be used by any player.

Event Cards

When playing the game, we start with a pile of face-down event cards. These cards are important because they affect the game in different ways. To begin, we take the top four cards and turn them face up. These cards are placed next to the game board and will come into play later.

Throughout the game, we will have three rounds where events happen. Each of these rounds, one of the four face-up event cards takes effect for all players. These events can change the course of the game and present both challenges and opportunities.

In the fourth round, which represents winter, the remaining event card will show us how much rice each player loses during this cold season. Winter can be tough, but with careful planning and strategy, we can still come out on top.

We should keep the action cards and special cards within reach, as they will be crucial tools for us to navigate the game.

Tutorial Video

Gameplay

The game takes place over a span of two years, divided into a total of eight rounds. The first four rounds represent the seasons of spring, summer, and fall, while the last round represents winter.

After the initial four rounds, the sequence of four rounds is repeated again. This allows us to experience the changing seasons and adapt our strategies accordingly.

Spring, Summer, and Fall

During these three rounds, the gameplay goes through a series of steps:

• Laying Out Action Cards

A Guide to Playing the Game

Hi there! I’m here to help you understand how to play this exciting game. Let’s dive right in!

Step 1: Lay Out Special Cards

First things first, we need to set up the special cards. These cards bring some unique features to the game. Here’s what you need to do:

• Take out the special cards from the deck.
• Place them face up on the table.
• Make sure everyone can see them clearly.

Step 2: Plan Individual Actions and Bid for Turn Order

Now it’s time to plan your actions. Each player will have their own set of actions that they can take. Here’s how it works:

• Look at the actions available to you on your individual board.
• Decide which action you want to take.
• At the same time, secretly choose a number from 1 to 10, indicating your desired turn order.
• Reveal your chosen number to everyone else.
• The player with the lowest number gets to go first, followed by the player with the second-lowest number, and so on.

Step 3: Determine Events

Before we start taking actions, we need to determine any special events that will happen during this round. These events can have a big impact on the game. Here’s how we do it:

• Shuffle the event cards.
• Draw the top card and reveal it to everyone.
• Follow the instructions on the card. It could be anything from gaining extra resources to facing unexpected challenges.
• After resolving the event, discard the card and move on to the next step.

Step 4: Determine Turn Order

Now that we have planned our actions and resolved any events, it’s time to determine the turn order for this round. Here’s how it works:

• Take the 10 action cards and shuffle them.
• Place the shuffled deck face down.
• Flip over the top 5 cards and lay them out in order beneath fields 1 through 5 on the game board.
• Take the remaining 5 cards and lay them face down beneath fields 6 through 10.

Step 5: Carry Out Actions

Finally, we can start taking actions! This is where the game really comes to life. Here’s what you need to know:

• Each player gets to carry out each action in their realm once per round.
• The actions are taken in the order determined by the action cards.
• Start with the action below field 1 and move up to field 5.
• Then, move to the actions below fields 6 through 10.
• Take your actions one at a time, following the instructions on your individual board.

And there you have it! Now you know how to play the game. Have fun and enjoy the adventure!

When you play the game, we first need to shuffle the special cards. Once they’re shuffled, we’ll place them face up on the game board in the order they were drawn. There are 5 spaces on the board just for these cards. Now, here’s where things get interesting. As we play, these special cards will be auctioned off to the players. But these cards aren’t just for show – they have a dual purpose.

First, the position of each card in the row on the board determines the turn order of the player who takes it. So, if you want to go first, you better keep an eye on which card is where. Secondly, each card also has a privilege written on it. This privilege is a special advantage or benefit that the owner of the card gets to enjoy during the current round.

So, as we play the game, remember: the special cards play a crucial role. They determine your turn order and grant you unique privileges. Keep an eye on them, because they could make all the difference in your strategy!

+1 War Chest – When I collect taxes, I get an extra chest. It’s like finding a hidden treasure!

+1 Rice – When I confiscate rice, I receive an extra unit of rice. Yummy!

6 Armies – When I deploy 5 armies, I can actually deploy 6 armies instead. More soldiers, more power!

+1 Army with Attack – When I attack, I can bring an additional army to the battle tower. It’s like having a secret weapon!

+1 Army with Defense – If one of my provinces gets attacked, I can defend it by placing an extra army in the battle tower. It’s like having reinforcements!

Plan Individual Actions and Bid for Turn Order

Now, it’s time to strategize! Each of us secretly decides how to use our 10 actions across our provinces. It’s like planning a surprise attack!

Hey there! Let’s dive into the exciting world of province cards and the actions you can take in the game. It’s super simple!

First, each player chooses one of their province cards and places it facedown on their individual board.

Now, let’s explore the different actions you can take:

Build a Castle: Want to fortify your kingdom? Pay 3 chests to the general supply and place a majestic castle in your chosen province.

Build a Temple: Feel like honoring the gods? Pay 2 chests and proudly erect a magnificent temple.

Build a No Theater: Enjoy the arts? Pay 1 chest and set up a vibrant No theater for entertainment.

Remember, you can only place a building, whether it’s a castle, temple, or theater, on an empty building space. Each province has 1 to 3 of these spaces, so choose wisely. Oh, and you can’t have more than one of the same type of building in a province.

Confiscate Rice: Need some extra sustenance? When you select this action, you’ll be rewarded with rice units shown on the province card of your choice. Your rice marker on the provision track will move up accordingly, showing your delicious gain.

That’s it! You’re now ready to dominate the game with your strategic choices and resource management.

Collect Taxes – When I collect taxes, I take the number of war chests shown on the province card from the general supply.

If I collect taxes or rice from a province, there might be a revolt.

If there is no revolt, or if I successfully stop a revolt, I place 1 revolt marker in the province.

Deploy 5 Armies – To deploy 5 armies to a chosen province, I pay 3 chests from my own supply.

Deploy 3 Armies – If I want to deploy 3 armies, I need to pay 2 chests and put them in the chosen province.

Deploy / Move 1 Army – I can deploy 1 army by paying 1 chest and putting it in the chosen province.

In addition, I can also move armies from this province to one of my own adjacent provinces. But remember, no battling is allowed!

When it comes to moving armies in the game, there are a few important things to keep in mind. First of all, you can move any number of armies to a neighboring province, as long as at least one army stays behind in the original province.

There’s no limit to the number of armies that can occupy a province, so you can have as many as you want in one place. It’s worth noting that provinces connected by sea routes are considered adjacent to each other.

Battle / Move -A- – This option allows you to move your armies from one province to an adjacent province. If the adjacent province is neutral or belongs to another player, a battle will take place.

Remember, though, that the rule still applies: you must leave at least one army behind in the province you’re moving from.

Battle / Move -B- – This option follows the same rules as -A-. You can move your armies to an adjacent province and potentially engage in battle.

Hey there! If you ever find yourself not wanting to do something in your realm, you can just grab one of your war chest cards and put it on the action you don’t want to take. Easy peasy!

Let’s Talk Turn Order

Oh, and don’t forget about bidding for turn order and the special privilege that comes with it. It’s all hush-hush, though, so make sure to keep your bid secret. Just choose one of your unused chest cards or province cards, and place it face down on your individual board’s auction space.

You’ve got 11 spaces on your individual board, so try your best to put one card facedown on each space. And remember, no space can have more than one card. We like to keep things organized!

What’s Next? Determining Events!

When we play the game, we start by shuffling the face up event cards. Depending on the current round, there will be either 2, 3, or 4 cards in the shuffle.

After shuffling, I draw one card and place it face up on the event space on the game board. This card represents the special event that will affect all players’ actions in this round.

The rest of the event cards are then placed face up next to the game board.

Next, we need to determine the turn order for the players.

Everyone reveals their bids by showing the cards they have placed on their auction spaces. They also need to pay the amounts shown on the cards to the bank. However, if a player uses a province card for their bid, they don’t have to pay anything.

Once all the bids are revealed, we establish the turn order. The player with the highest bid goes first. Each player takes one of the special cards and replaces it with their own Daimyo card, indicating their position in the turn order. If there are any special cards left over, we set them aside for this round.

If you want to bid for a province card, you get to choose before those who played chest cards with 0 chests.

But if you didn’t bid a card and don’t have enough province cards, only then do you get to make your selection.

If multiple players make the same bid, they gotta shuffle their Daimyo cards and turn them up one at a time. This will decide the order in which they make their selections.

The positions of the Daimyo cards on the game board tell us the player turn order. Empty spaces don’t count in games with 3 or 4 players.

Time to Take Action

We carry out actions based on the order in which the action cards are lined up below the game board.

Every player executes each action in turn order before moving on to the next one.

When it’s time to take action, all players must participate. If anyone is unable to complete an action or can only do part of it, they have to skip that action for the entire round.

Once everyone has taken an action, the next face-down action card is revealed.

The round continues until all 10 actions have been taken. Each player gets their Daimyo card back and returns their special card. The event card for this round is removed from play.

The action cards get shuffled again, and the next round begins.

But if the round that just ended was the fall round, it’s time for the winter round.

Winter Round

Hey there! In this round, we’ve got a little challenge ahead of us. We need to make sure our provinces are well-supplied with rice, or else we might have to face a revolt. On top of that, there’s also scoring to keep in mind.

Keeping Provinces Supplied with Rice

First things first, we all start off with a stockpile of rice. But here’s the thing – we’re going to lose some of it. The fourth event card will tell us exactly how much rice each of us needs to give up. When that happens, we move our rice markers down on the provision track.

Now, here’s the deal. To avoid a revolt, each of us needs to have at least 1 unit of rice per province we own. If we don’t have enough rice for each province, then we’re in trouble. One or more revolts will break out in our realm.

The provisions table on the game board tells us how many provinces will revolt and how strong those revolts will be. So we better make sure we have enough rice for all our provinces!

When it comes to the game, there’s a really interesting mechanic that happens when one player is under attack. Let me explain.

Imagine you’re the player in danger. Your neighbor on the left gets to draw a random number of province cards from your hand. These cards represent the areas in your kingdom where revolts are happening.

Now, here’s where it gets tricky. The player who drew the cards gets to choose the order in which the revolts occur. They have the power to decide which province gets hit first, second, and so on.

As the revolts happen, players start earning victory points based on their provinces and buildings. It’s a race to accumulate as many points as possible! Here’s how it works:

You get one victory point for each province you own. So if you have five provinces, you’ll earn five points.

But it’s not just about provinces. Buildings also earn you points. Each building you have gives you one victory point. So if you have three buildings in your kingdom, that’s three extra points!

Now, let’s talk about majorities. If you have the most castles in a region, you’ll earn three victory points. If you have the most temples in a region, you’ll get two victory points. And if you have the most theaters, even if it’s just one, you’ll earn one victory point.

But here’s the catch: if there’s a tie between two or more players in any of these categories, each tied player receives the full number of victory points minus one. So it’s crucial to be the clear winner if you want to maximize your points.

Overall, the game rewards strategic thinking and careful planning. You have to prioritize which provinces to protect, decide when to use your buildings, and aim for majorities in key regions. It’s a thrilling challenge for any player, and it adds an extra layer of excitement to the game. So give it a try and see how many victory points you can accumulate!

When we play the game, every time we earn a victory point, we get to move our victory point marker forward on the victory point track. It’s exciting to see our progress!

Once we finish the first 4 rounds, something special happens. We reveal 4 new event cards, and all the rice markers go back to 0. Also, any revolt markers that were in the provinces are removed.

Then we have four more rounds: spring, summer, fall, and winter. Finally, we end the game with the second and final scoring round in winter.

Battles and how to resolve them

Here are some general rules for the Battle Tower:

In every battle, the battle tower is your trusty aid. You gather all the armies involved – colorful cubes representing the attacker and defender – and toss them into the tower, along with any cubes already inside. This mix will determine the outcome of the battle, with some cubes staying inside and others falling out.

But beware! You must never empty the tower on purpose, except at the end of the game. If any cubes accidentally fall out during play, simply leave them in the tray. They can be thrown back into the tower for the next battle.

When Do Battles Occur?

Battles happen in the following scenarios:

Understanding Conflict in the Game

When it comes to playing the game, there are different types of conflicts you may encounter:

• Player versus Player – This occurs when a player moves their armies into a province that already contains another player’s armies.
• Player versus Neutral Province – This occurs when a player moves their armies into a province that does not belong to any player and is considered neutral.

In addition to these types of conflicts, there are also other situations that can occur:

• Rice / Tax Collection – This happens when a player collects rice or taxes from a province that already has at least one revolt marker.
• Winter Shortages – This occurs when a player is unable to provide enough rice to all of their provinces during the winter.

Who Battles and How?

When it comes to battling, here’s what you need to know:

Player versus Player or Neutral Province

In this situation, the attacker will always battle with all of the armies they move into the province.

The defender, on the other hand, will add all of their armies from the contested province to the battle.

When a province is neutral, something interesting happens – one army from the general supply is thrown into the tower instead. It’s like a surprise twist in the game! And that’s not all – every army in the tower tray also gets tossed into the tower. It’s like a big, chaotic party in there!

But what’s really cool is when the farmers revolt against a player.

When you’re the defender, your role in the game is crucial. You have to fight with all your armies from the province that’s under attack.

Additionally, if there are any revolt markers in the province when the uprising happens, you’ll get even more farmer armies from the general supply to join the battle.

Revolt in Winter

If the revolt happens during winter, there will be extra farmer armies joining the battle. The number of additional armies is determined by the provisions table on the game board.

Just like in any other battle, all the armies from the tower tray are thrown into the tower.

Battle Results and Consequences

To find out who wins the battle, you need to count the number of attacking and defending armies that come out of the tower tray. Whoever has the most armies in the tray wins.

Any armies that didn’t participate in the battle are left in the tray and don’t affect the outcome.

Player versus Player or Neutral Province

When it comes to battling it out in a player versus player or neutral province scenario, there’s something important you need to keep in mind. If there are no revolt markers in the defender’s province, all farmer armies in the tower tray count for the defender. But there’s a catch — after a battle that involves farmers, all the green cubes in the tray go back to the farmer supply. If farmers aren’t part of the battle, the green cubes stay in the tray.

Now, let’s talk about who wins and who loses. The side with fewer total armies in the tray is defeated. If you’re on that side, all your armies that fought are taken out of the tray and returned to your supply. But here’s the kicker – the victor also loses the same number of armies as the defeated side. Those armies also go back to their supply. The remaining victorious armies are placed in the contested province.

When you win a battle, you get to keep the province card. But if the battle ends in a tie, both participants have to take their armies back and start over. Any buildings, armies, or revolt markers in the province are also removed. The province card goes back to where it came from.

Players Face a Rebellion (Revolt)

If I win or if the battle ends in a tie, all the armies involved are taken off the board and put back in their respective supplies. Any buildings and revolt markers in the province are also removed. The province card goes back into the supply. But if you win, things go a little differently. You take a number of your own armies from the board, equal to the number of farmer armies you defeated. These armies go back into your own supply. Then, you can move the rest of your armies from the board into the province you just conquered. Finally, the defeated farmer armies go back into the general supply.

#image.jpg

The End of the Game

Once we reach the second winter round, the game comes to a close and it’s time for the final scoring. The player who has gathered the most victory points will be the winner.

If there happens to be a tie, the player with the highest number of war chests will take the victory.