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Shogun, also published as Samurai Swords, is a strategy game set in feudal Japan. Some of its mechanics may be reminiscent of Risk (resources per turn dependent on number of territories controlled, random first-turn setup), while other mechanics are more reminiscent of Axis & Allies (different units with varying power). Ultimately, though, Shogun is a clone of neither of these games, but a unique game in its own right.
Rules
Shogun is played on a large board that doesn't look much like Japan at first, until you realize that it's been rotated ninety degrees: North is on the right-hand side of the board, rather than the top. (Also, the island of Hokkaido is missing, and Honshu (Japan's "main" island) has been squashed and deformed a little to fit on the board). The board is divided into 68 provinces, and the player who, at the end of their turn, controls a strict majority of provinces (35) is hailed as Shogun and has won the game.
Initial setup is done randomly, as in Risk: the 68 province cards are dealt out, an equal number (or as equal as possible) to each player, and each player then places a single pikeman unit on each of their provinces. Then players take turns placing two pikemen at a time in a province they control (a different one each time) until each has placed a total of 12 extra pikemen. Then the game begins.
During each phase, players will collect a certain number of koku (coins) depending on how many territories they control. They then spend their koku on one of several things: buying units, building fortifications, bidding to hire the ninja (who can assassinate opponents' generals), hiring ronin (rogue samurai turned mercenaries, who fight for one turn and then leave) and bidding for turn order. High bidder chooses their turn order first, then next-highest, and so on; ties are resolved by random draw (although if the tied players wanted different turn orders -- one first and the other last, for example -- then there's no need for a tiebreaker).
Resolving attacks is more reminiscent of Axis & Allies than of Risk. You roll a d12 for each attacking unit and try to roll a certain target number or below. Daimyo (generals) and bowmen hit on a 6 or less, samurai (swordsmen) on a 5 or less, and lowly peasant units (pikemen and gunners) on a 4 or less. Ranged units (bowmen and gunners) resolve their attacks and remove casualties first, then melee units get their turn.
Each player has three daimyo (generals) who can control an army of up to fifteen units. Outside of armies, provinces can support a maximum of five units. As generals win battles, they gain experience, and eventually can move (and fight) twice, then three times, then as many as four times per turn. A level-four general is truly powerful, but will often be assassinated by the ninja. Assassinated generals are replaced by promoting one of your samurai-class units from the army (swordsmen or bowmen) to become the new general. Lowly peasants can never become generals -- this is feudal Japan, after all. However, if an entire army is destroyed, the general dies in battle and is not replaced. A player who loses all three of his armies is eliminated from the game, and the player who killed his last army immediately gains control of all the losing player's territories. This will often win the game, so anyone who's down to just one army is often attacked from all sides.
Gameplay and Strategy
Shogun plays best with four or five people, in my opinion. With three players, often two will gang up on the third and then turn their attention to each other once the third player is too weak to hurt them anymore. Being on the receiving end of this tactic can be very frustrating, so three-player games are less than ideal for many people.
This is a game that rewards paying attention and playing carefully. A single careless mistake -- leaving one of your generals within reach of an opponent's main army, for example -- will be swiftly punished, and you may never recover from it. The downside of this fact is that players may end up taking a long time during their turns, counting territories and movements carefully: "If I leave my general here, can his level-3 general reach him? Let's see, one, two..." There's nothing to do when it's not your turn, so expect a lot of downtime. The wise player will use that downtime to study the board and negotiate with his opponents.
Because conquering territory directly leads to getting more resources (you get one koku per three territories controlled), which in turn can be spent on more armies, Shogun is a game where the rich get richer and the poor get wiped out. Mistakes in the early game (such as spending too much on turn order or hiring ninja instead of buying units) usually leave a player falling behind on the resource growth curve, and that's a position that's hard to recover from.
The first two or three turns are usually spent in consolidating one's territory and making sure each general gets enough experience. Once at least two (hopefully all three) of your generals are nearing experience level 2, suddenly your strategic options open up. This happens at the end of the third turn, so the fourth turn of the game is usually when the first major wars are declared.
Summary
Shogun, in my opinion, takes the best ideas from Axis & Allies and from Risk and combines them into a brilliant game. By setting a movement (and battle) limit on armies, it avoids Risk's sweep-the-board-in-one-turn moves, while still leaving three- and four-experience generals a force to be reckoned with. And by avoiding a fixed initial setup, it avoids the problem that experienced Axis & Allies players face, of knowing exactly how the first couple of turns are going to be played (barring major surprises from the dice, of course). Shogun's random board setup means that no two games will start the same, and strategic planning is necessary from turn one.
If you like Axis & Allies, you'll love Shogun. If you like Risk but wish it had more "flavor", you'll love Shogun. It's not perfect -- there's a lot of downtime waiting for your opponents to play, for example -- but it has both strategic depth and replayability. I give it about an 8 out of 10 overall.
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Posted Tue Dec 20, 2005 5:31 am
