Samurai Swords

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Shogun / Samurai Swords
Game data
author Michael Gray
publishing company Milton Bradley
Publishing year 1986
Art strategic war board game
Teammates 2 to 5
Duration 240 minutes
Age from 12 years

Awards

Origins Award 1987: Best game for the period before 1900

Samurai Swords is a strategic war game in board game form . The game was released in 1986 and was initially published under the name Shogun . Due to name conflicts with the game " James Clavell's Shogun " it was renamed and republished in 1995. In 2011 it was reissued as Ikusa by Hasbro / Wizards of the Coasts under the Avalon Hill label . In 1987 it was awarded the Origins Award / board games as the best game for the period before 1900.

scenario

Samurai Swords is set during the Japanese Civil War in the 16th century . Various princes are fighting for power. To achieve the title of Shogun , they raise armies led by powerful daimyos , build fortifications, and hire deadly ninjas . With samurai , numerous Ashigaru fighters and secret strategies , the princes try to assert themselves until only one is the ruler of Japan.

Furnishing

According to the scenario, the furnishings are also Japanese. The game board shows a map of Japan divided into 72 regions. On this there is space for the 360 ​​military units in 5 colored sets. There are also the monetary units ( koku ), 5 Japanese swords, castles and neutral ronin . Combat markers, dice and foam stands complete the equipment. The box and instructions also remain true to the scenario thanks to the interspersed Japanese characters .

Gameplay

Each player takes on the role of a Japanese prince. In his role you try to increase your tax income and influence by occupying the various playing fields. To do this, you build troops and carry out conquest campaigns typical of the genre.

At the beginning of a round, each player secretly distributes his money to various actions, such as building troops, the privilege of first turn, hiring mercenaries (ronin), buying the ninja and building fortifications in the form of castles or fortresses. In the game mechanics, all elements have their place. The ronin are needed to be able to raise troops quickly, as post-production is limited in each region. The ninja can be used to spy on the enemy or to temporarily eliminate the daimyos who lead the three armies of each player. Every daimyo gets experience through winning battles, which makes the armies stronger and more dangerous. This experience is lost in the loss of the daimyo. Generally speaking, the armies form the heart of Samurai Swords. If a player loses his entire army, he is eliminated from the game.

The battles themselves are rolled using 12-sided dice. Each type of troop is assigned a certain value with which its combat strength is represented. For example, a spearman who is only a peasant warrior has a value of 4 and the daimyos , as a trained samurai, has a value of 6. The respective value must be undercut when rolling the dice in order to achieve a loss to the opponent.

criticism

The game principle is reminiscent of risk with the conquering of regions and diced battles . Due to the hidden division of the Koku and the different types of troops, Samurai Swords appears to be more complex and tactical. Overall, Samurai Swords is considered to be a faster and more action-packed game than others from the Gamemaster Series . It is said that balancing problems can arise when playing with two or three people. The game runs optimally only for five players. Also, the starting line-up drawn should often not have an insignificant part in the outcome of the game.

Another problem arises from the strength of the armies: On the one hand, the battle between armies often leads to a long-lasting material battle, which the other players can only watch uninvolved, on the other hand, the winner of such a battle is then also worn out so that he is easy prey for the uninvolved players. This dilemma often leads to a long and boring final phase of the game in which nobody dares to take the first step, otherwise they would very likely lose. The game author Bruno Faidutti says that it is a rich and well-balanced board game.

PC conversions

Samurai Swords / Shogun inspired Shogun , the first part of the Total War series.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Samurai Swords (1986). In: BoardGameGeek. BoardGameGeek, LLC., Accessed May 20, 2011 .
  2. ↑ Robbie Robberson: Battleplan, No.7. Variants for Samurai Swords. In: BoardGameGeek. BoardGameGeek, LLC., Accessed May 20, 2011 .
  3. ↑ Mike Gray: Samurai Swords Shogun (1). In: Bruno Faidutti. Retrieved May 20, 2011 (French, also includes an English translation).