Pyramid Pick
Shogun
Published by Rio Grande Games
Designed by Dirk Henn
English translation by Christine Biancheria
One two-sided board, 110 cards (53 province cards, 25 war chest cards, five special cards, five daimyo cards, 10 action cards, 12 event cards), five individual player boards, 330 wooden army cubes (62 each in five player colors, 20 green farmer units), 55 wooden war chests (35 one-point, 20 five-point), five wooden victory point markers, five wooden rice markers, 80 cardboard building tiles (28 castles, 26 temples, 26 theaters), 42 cardboard revolt markers, battle tower, storage tray, rules, rules supplement; full-color boxed set; $64.95
It is the 16th century, you are a daimyo, and Japan is in need of the stabilizing influence of a shogun. Much more setup than that and there won't be any room left to talk about the game.
Dirk Henn has transplanted his mechanics from the Thirty Years War in Wallenstein to feudal Japan. The object of Shogun is to have the most victory points at the end of two years of infighting.
Three to five warlords take control of various provinces across the island nation, filling them with their armies. Each location comes with a small reference card and is rated for the money, rice, and civic improvements it can produce or hold. Money funds troops and building projects while rice staves off famine during the long winter. Other appetites have players expanding into adjoining territories.
Three things . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: June 15, 2007
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