Wargame Night 03-11

On March 19th, Bob, Tim and myself got together for a game of Shogun. I decided to play this particular game this time to honor the victims of the latest earthquake and tsunami to hit Miyagi Prefecture in Japan earlier in the month. Our prayers and thoughts are with the people of Japan. Petals for the fallen lay at the foot of the Samurai swords.
Now, this particular Shogun game is not the more famous Shogun of Milton Bradley. If you recall, the MB version of Shogun had individual soldiers that you set up on a board and then roll dice to see who is removed. You also got miniature Samurai swords and lovely Japanese screens to shield your setup of soldiers from other players, if I recall correctly. Then there is the infamous Koku, the money for hiring soldiers and ninjas.

This particular game of Shogun was created by Dirk Hennin of Queen Games and it is nothing like the MB version. First, there is no dice. Instead, game pieces are thrown in a tower and any pieces that come out are typically the casualties. Any left over game pieces are then placed back onto the board. I believe this is called the Wallenstein system of determining battles in place of dice.  Also, we receive one card for each province we control. We then use those province cards and place them on a grid type system to give each province an order: build structures, collect taxes/rice, reinforce armies, and attack. That is the tricky part, because only one province is allowed one order at a time. Some provinces will be used for building while others may be used as a base of an attack on other players. Additionally, we only receive victory points by building castles, theatres and temples in those provinces. Finally, to ensure realism and honor the code of Bushido, the player who places last in the game must commit Hari Kari with the Samurai sword of his choice as seen in the first picture.

The following colors were assigned:

Tim - Blue
Bob- Yellow
Bruce - Black

As the game started out we each got to pick which provinces we wanted. As a result, Tim was positioned in the southern sector of Japan while Bob and I were pretty much ensconced in the center. The center is the most difficult to hold and most prone to vicious battles.

In this game, there are 4 seasons in a year and we have 2 years to finish the game. The person with the most points is the winner. Points are assigned by the number of buildings, the types of buildings and the number of provinces one controls.

I pretty much mopped up the island of Honshu of all resistance and took over most of the ports in Central Japan. Bob took up a more northerly position and had a few provinces in the remote eastern section. Tim was just pell mell all over the board as you can see in the above picture with the blue pieces.

As the first year was concluded I was only ahead by a mere 2 points while Bob and Tim were tied. The last year was the final go around and we all had to live or die by our decisions.

From the island of Honshu I was able to send a large force to Tim's back door and attempt a flanking maneuver on his left. Twice I was stopped cold in my tracks by Tim's forces at the province of Bingo. If I was able to take his province then I would not only be able to run rampant in the rear of his territories but also take a castle and temple located in the province, thus depriving him of crucial points in the game. But alas it was not to be!

I clashed twice with him over the province and reduced myself to a mere one army. Then Bob attacked me in the center at Mino and though I was able to repulse him most of my armies came out of the tower at that moment and deprived me of vital reinforcements for other more crucial provinces that would come under attack at the last turn.


Finally, Tim attacked me at a weak link in my defenses and I lost the province including a castle much to my chagrin. Both Bob and Tim thus chipped away at me and eventually by the last turn of the game any one of us could have won depending on what armies fell out of the tower. Tim was able to hold what he needed and kept his buildings intact. Thus, in the end, Tim won the game with 61pts and Bob came in second with 59pts. I came in dead last at 56pts. Thus, yours truly had to commit Hari Kari. Most unfortunate!