Samurai

Another winner by Reiner Knizia. His name has become somewhat synonymous with quality, thinking peoples' games.

Overview

Samurai is a tile laying game. The idea is to capture as many figures from the map as possible. There are three different types of figures: high hat, buddha and ricefield, representing the nobility, the monkhood and peasantry. These abstractly represent the three stratas of feudal Japanese society.

Game Mechanics

The game mechanics is relatively straightforward.

The game is played on a map representing feudal Japan. The map is overlaid with a hexagon grid, and its size is configurable by including/excluding outlying islands such as Hokkaido and Kyushu. The different sized maps will be used to accomodate different numbers of players.

On the maps are victory hexes that contain one to three figures. Each player starts the game with five cardboard tokensPlayers take turn drawing cardboard tokens and placing them on the map. Tokens represent the influence of the player in a particular area. Tokens are divided into different strengths and categories. Most affect only one kind of figures (see later) while others affect all types.

When a figure (or figures) is totally surrounded by tokens (there is no empty land space beside it) it is captured. The player who exerts the most influence on the figure gets it. If there is a tie, no one gets it.

There are special tokens that spice up the game. For instance, naval tokens may be placed to increase the influence of a player from the sea. Naval, Ronin and Samurai tokens exert influence on all types of figures (as opposed to only one type for other tokens). In addition, Naval and Ronins tokens may be played "free", meaning that they do not count toward the one-token limit each turn. This is especially powerful as a player can capture tokens while there are still two adjacent empty spaces at the start of his turn, or to overcome a large deficit in land power by supplementing his bid with naval resources. It goes without saying that these are powerful pieces. Fortunately, they are always in short supply.

There are also two pieces that switch pieces on the map. One affects figures while the other affects the owning player's tokens. These add some uncertainty to the game, and IMHO are nicely done.

Victory

The victory condition is the best part of the game. It is stated thus:

• If a player has an absolute majority (ties do not count) in two of the three types of figures, he wins outright.
• If this does not occur, then only players with an absolute majority in one of the three types are eligible to win (remember, ties do not count.)
  1. Of the players who are eligible for victory, the number of figures he has of the two categories in which he does not have an absolute majority is totalled. This is his victory total.
  2. The player with the highest total wins.
  3. If there is a tie, the winner is the one with the greatest total for all three categories.

Comments

One great feature of the game is that of balance. A player needs to get at least one majority to have any hope of victory. However, that category is not counted in the victory total, so a fine balancing act is needed. You need to score big in the other two categories as well!

Variants

After a couple of sessions, I have thought up several variants. These have not been playtested, and will definitely affect the feel of the play so be forewarned. Also, let me know how you feel about them if you do try them.

Turn Order

Random turn order - Each turn, player order is randomly determined by drawing number cards.

Staggered turn order - Player play in the following order instead of around the table. 1-2-3-4-2-3-4-1-3-4-1-2-4-1-2-3

Figures Captured

Figures captured are not concealed, but may be examined by all other players.

Capturing Figures

Figures can only be captured at the end of the game. Tokens are played face down.

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