Sekigahara: Unification Of Japan: 3rd Ed

Great game but I don't get where people get "simple" from. There are more exceptional rules than I have ever seen in a rulebook but they naturally make sense which eases the task. For example cavalry adds 2 except while besieging castles. Once you get it down it flows smoothly and there are only a couple phases in each round. The card management can feel tragic and the loyalty cards are fun. The limited spaces nudge you into battle often while not feeling totally ready and a lot emerges in the gameplay through planning and bluffing. But buyer beware. I purchased this while the price was low but had to shell out for primer and paint to fix the gold blocks not wanting to go back and forth with the publisher. I received the 2018 4th printing and they spray painted the black ones sitting on top of the gold! Who would do that?! Other than that everything is fine. Hefty board that is functional but the land graphics are a little pale and fuzzy or maybe just trying to look ancient but the text, roads and spaces are crisp and high contrast. The icons can be tricky to locate once occupied. It all grew on me with its thematic consistency. Thick reference sheets. Rulebook appears to be on printer paper but is the best I have ever seen. Clear language and well organized. A lot of historical notes too. I quickly fell in love with this game.

In 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu won a 7 week campaign and founded a Shogun Dynasty that lasted 268 years. He did it by military action, and, most importantly, gaining the loyalty of Daimyo(clan lords) to his side. A few of those clan lords even changed sides during battle! This game simulates that campaign and plays in 3 hours, at most.The rules? The summary fits on one page and, minus examples, the rules are about 6 pages long. Very simple, concise and easy to understand. The game can be taught and a game underway in under 20 min, and, if you want video instructions, fans of the game have posted them on YouTube. The rules are also posted on the publisher's website, GMTgames.com.The core of the game is a hand of cards that represents the loyalty you have to activate troops for movement, combat and turn order, so managing these cards is the key to winning. You may have a large army, but, without the cards to use them, they are worth nothing! You also need to worry about some of your units changing sides in you as there are cards in each player's deck that allows you to challenge the loyalty of a unit that was just played, which can swing a battle against you.The production values on this game are high. The board is top notch,units are represented by wooden blocks(you have to put the stickers on them, takes about 30-40 min), the cards are on high quality card stock, etc. This game is worth every penny in terms of quality, so the price is not outlandish.If you have played mass market games like Statego and Risk and have always felt they are a bit lacking in some ways or you loved the idea but felt the execution is poor, give this one a shot. If you are a tabletop game enthusiast, but are a non-wargamer, also, give this a try(chances are, someone you know has it or someone in Wargame circles does).

Fantastic two player war game representing the year 1600 battle for dominance over the main island of Japan. Armies are represented by small blocks that you must sticker before play on one side. Cards in each players hand dictate what their armies are capable of at any given time. Your opponent may be guarding a strategic point with 10 blocks to your six but does he have the necessary cards to activate all 10....maybe, maybe not. Very elegant system which can easily be learned in about 2 plays but with strategic thinking that will take many many plays to master. Fantastic game for board and wargame enthusiasts. If the only games that you like are the roll and move games put out by Milton Bradley and Hasbro this game may be above your learning curve. I would say this game can be learned by anyone 10 and up. The manual comes with some great historical information on the period as well.

As someone who loves learning about the Sengoku period and plays a lot of Samurai Warriors, this is such a fun game to play. The rules can be a bit tricky at first, but once you get the hang of it, it's great.

All I can say is I thoroughly enjoy this game. For better reviews, there's Board Game Geek, but to put it simply: it all boils down to good planning, and knowing when to be aggressive. You get a number of cards based on what you control, and those cards allow you to move larger groups of blocks than normal, but they also are how you attack the enemy. If you have cards that match your units, you can play those cards in the attack for impact. Highest impact wins, difference and amount determine losses. Trick is, you play the cards and then they're gone, so once you attack, that army might be useless after they win because you didn't get replacement cards that match. As this is a block game, you never know what you are attacking until you fight, and even then, you only see units revealed as your opponent plays cards in defense. Factor in the severe time limit, one thing this game isn't is boring...especially as your own units might turn on you!

The 'gold' pieces are all different colors and shades, making this hidden information game completely unplayable unless you decide to paint all the pieces over again to make up for GMT's incompetence.

Poor block quality. The planes are not parallel, which makes it very difficult to put blocks on top of each other, as provided in the game.

The box and contents were perfect. Nothing to complain! Thanks!