''Shogun'' is a

strategy board game A strategy game or strategic game is a game in which the players' coercion, uncoerced, and often autonomous, decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome. Almost all strategy games require internal decision tree-sty ...

Dirk Henn The Alhambra (, ; ) is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Spain. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the historic Islamic world. Additionally, the palace contain ...

and published by Queen Games in 2006. It is based on his earlier game ''

Wallenstein Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein, Duke of Friedland (; 24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634), also von Waldstein (), was a Bohemian military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the Thirty Years' War (1618–16 ...

'', but it is set in the

Sengoku period The was the period in History of Japan, Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as th ...

, which ends with the inception of the

Tokugawa Shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

Background

The game is set in Japan during the Sengoku or "Warring States" period. Each player assumes the role of a great

Daimyo were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominally to ...

with troops. Each Daimyo has the same ten possible actions to develop a kingdom and secure points. To do so, the Daimyo must deploy armies with great skill. Each round, the players decide which of the actions are to be played out and in which of their provinces. If battle ensues between opposing armies, the unique Cubetower plays the leading role. The troops from both sides are thrown in together and the cubes that fall out at the bottom show who has won immediately. Owning provinces, temples, theaters and castles means points when scores are tallied. Whichever Daimyo accumulates the greatest number of points after the second tally becomes shogun and wins the game.

Equipment

Main game board

The main game board is printed on both sides, one being printed with a sun symbol and the other with a moon symbol. Each side displays five regions. These five regions each contain nine internal provinces. These configurations differ on either side of the board.

Cards

Shogun contains six different types of cards: * Province Cards: For each province on the main game board there is a corresponding province card. If the province is shown on both sides, there will be two province cards; One with a sun symbol and one with a moon symbol indicating which side of the game board it corresponds to. * War Chest Cards: Displaying war chests with values (0–4). * Special Cards: This card grants the owner a unique ability. Every player receives one and only one. * Action Cards: Determine the order in which game events take place. * Event Cards: Display random events that affect all players. * Daimyo Cards: Used to show player turn order.

Others

* Cubes: Shogun uses colored cubes to represent armies. There are 310 cubes in five colors (black, red, yellow, purple and blue), so that each color has 62 cubes. There are also plus 20 green cubes to represent neutral farmer armies. * War Chests: 35 wood-colored chest with a value of 1, and 20 orange-colored chests with a value of 5. * Building Tiles: 28 castles, 26 temples, and 26 theatres. Players may build these buildings in their provinces to earn victory points. *Battle Tower: Used to conduct battles. Both the attacking and defending player resolve the battle by throwing their cubes in Battle Tower.

Honors and awards

* Jogo do Ano Nominee (2006) * Golden Geek Best Board Game Artwork/Presentation Nominee (2007) * Golden Geek Best Gamer's Board Game Nominee (2007) * Golden Geek Best Gamer's Board Game Winner (2007) * Golden Geek Best Wargame Nominee (2007) * Golden Geek Board Game of the Year Winner (2007) * Nederlandse Spellenprijs Nominee (2007) * Tric Trac d'Argent (2007) * Tric Trac Nominee (2007) * JoTa Best Wargame Nominee (2008)

Reviews

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Pyramid A pyramid () is a structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be of any polygon shape, such as trian ...

References

External links

''Shogun'' webpage
at Queen Games *{{bgg, 20551, ''Shogun'' Board games about history Board games introduced in 2006 Board wargames set in Early Modern history Board wargames set in the Middle Ages Dirk Henn games Queen Games games