Samurai Board Games are exceeding rare. In fairness, compared to how cool Samurai’s are in general, they are not spoken about nearly enough. Checking google trends, worldwide, we are twice as likely to search for topics involving knights – the Samurai’s European equivalent – than Samurais. Without significant popular interest in the topic it makes producing Samurai Board Games less attractive to potential publishers. That is not to say that it cannot be done, nor that it cannot be done well. As Samurai Board Games are so rare, it also makes them inherently unique.
Table of Contents
- Samurai (1998)
- Rising Sun (2018)
- Shogun (2006)
- Samurai Battles (2012)
- Samurai Spirit (2014)
- Samurai Board Games: Honor or Shame?
Samurai (1998)
What better way to kick off our list by having a game whose name is the topic at hand? Samurai is a medieval board game in which your aim is to unite Japan under your rule. To do this, you must gain the support of the three key factions in the game: Samurai, Peasants, and Priests.
The game is all about exerting your influence over these factions. Players start with a stack of 20 tiles. Each time a player places a tile, it exerts its influence around surrounding tiles. When a tile has been completely surrounded, the contents of that tile, a peasant for example, is given to the player with the most influence on the piece.
However, the influence of all tokens are not equal, one may have a value of four, the other two, so the player with four has more total influence. The effect of this is that players must carefully spend resources. You do not want to have total domination of a tile in one part of the map because it will spread you thinly and mean you cannot challenge the other side of the board. In addition, other token types, such as quick play, add deeper levels of strategy and tactics to the game.
Samurai is an interesting board game, but suffers from perfect number syndrome. Play in two and the board is too sparse, there is not really a challenge. Play in four and the board is too cramped. It is clear in this case, three is the magic number.
Rising Sun (2018)
While Samurai, the game we just mentioned, discusses more about map strategy in feudal Japan, Rising Sun is all about clan politics. The game is played over four rounds which coincide with the seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and when winter finishes the game is over.
The gameplay of seasons are as follow:
- Seasonal Setup – Every Season has a different Season deck with different cards.
- Tea Ceremony – Players sit down and negotiate their Alliances for the Season.
- Political Phase – Players select Political and prepare their forces for war.
- War Phase – Players battle over Provinces across Japan.
- Seasonal Clean-up – Getting ready to start all over again.
The Clans each have unique abilities, seasonal income and starting positions, so it is a slightly different game every time depending on who you play with. Interestingly, players are encouraged to use diplomacy and negotiation – the game is all about talking, but the deals they make are not binding. Betrayal and intrigue are the name of the game.
However, there are also benefits to playing a more honest playstyle. Honour is another element within the game with stats that grow and decline throughout the game. Honour is important because on any draw the clan with the most honour wins.
Shogun (2006)
Shogun is somewhat a combination of the two above, it focuses on the political side, but also growing influence throughout feudal Japan. Each player takes the role of a Daimyo which is essentially a powerful vying lord. These lords, of course seeking more power, want to become Shogun, hence the game’s title.
The game is won though victory points, these points are gained from the following, but not all inclusive, list: Owning provinces, castles, theatres and temples. Whoever has the most points at the end of the game becomes the next Shogun.
Shogun is a Samurai Board Game with a unique twist regarding its battle mechanics. It uses a Cube Tower into which you throw your cubes – which represent troops. You can then tell who has won the battle from whichever cubes remain at the bottom of the tower.
Samurai Battles (2012)
Samurai Battles is all about platoon level infantry combat. None of this, politics or map conquering nonsense. Just a player and their Samurai squads. Ultimately, the Samurai were best known as fearsome and honed warriors, so it is nice to see a board game that focuses exclusively on their more warlike side.
The game is exclusively two player, you against one opponent. What is most interesting about Samurai Battles is that it can be played in two different distinct ways.
- Art of Tactic: In this game mode you and your opponents secretly plan moves every turn, as if you were a real general. Then, the actions of your troops are resolved at the same time. This game system focuses heavily on tactics and strategy.
- Commands and Colours: This plays more like a traditional board game experience using cards to represent fog of war, special dragon cards, and fortune and honour tokens.
You also custom paint the miniatures, so there is as much customizability as you like, or as little. Specifically, fans of franchises like Warhammer 40k will enjoy this element of the game.
Samurai Spirit (2014)
Samurai Spirit focuses on the honourable nature of samurai. As skilled and deadly as they were in war, Samurai were also protectors of the peace. This Samurai Board Game encapsulates this spirit (pardon the pun). Importantly, Samurai Spirit is a cooperative experience.
You are a wandering Samurai and have come across a village under siege by bandit outlaws. You have three available actions in any given turn: Fight a bandit (which you draw from the bandit card deck), defend the village, or let the bandit pass. If you take the third option it allows you to help your fellow Samurai.
The game is all about making choices, the village will certainly come under some damage and there are simply too many bandits for you to fight with no casualties. It comes down to how to minimize the loss to the village – and your own health points – while still doing damage to the bandits.
Samurai Board Games: Honor or Shame?
Samurai Board Games are a rarity, but when done right they are done excellently. There is something about a Samurai’s sense of nobility and chivalry that is fun to try and emulate. For western audiences at least, Samurai are not a topic that are discussed in great detail, which is a shame. The games on this list, especially newer entries, like Rising Sun, are helping to build popularity in the genre. We can only hope that this increase in popularity will lead to more Samurai Board Games being produced.
