Game Objective

Welcome to feudal Japan, year 1336! In **Samurai**, you take on the role of a powerful rising **daimyo**, seeking to unify the nation through influence and control of three precious commodities: **religion** (represented by **Buddhas**), **trade** (represented by **Rice**), and **military power** (represented by **Castles**). Your objective is simple yet challenging: be the **leader of the majority of castes** at the end of the game, capturing more pieces of a specific caste than any other player. Prepare for a strategic battle for the wisdom and esteem of the samurai, and prove you have what it takes to rule!

Preparation (Setup)

Let's set up the table and prepare the battlefield for your rise to power!

1. Assemble the Game Board: Join the 5 board pieces according to the number of players (2, 3, or 4) as shown in the rules.
2. Create the Supply Reserve: Separate the plastic **caste pieces** (Buddha, Rice, Castle) according to the number of players and place them near the board:
   • 2 Players: 7 pieces of each caste.
   • 3 Players: 10 pieces of each caste.
   • 4 Players: 13 pieces of each caste.
   Return the remaining pieces to the box.
3. Populate the Edo space: Place one **Buddha** figure, one **Rice** figure, and one **Castle** figure in the **Edo** space (the space with three blue buildings).
4. Populate the City spaces: Starting with the youngest player and proceeding clockwise, each player takes turns placing a **caste piece** from the reserve into a **City** space (the spaces with two gray buildings). Remember:
   • **City** spaces cannot have more than two **caste pieces**.
   • There cannot be more than one **caste piece** of the same type in a **City**.
   Continue until all **City** spaces have two **caste pieces**.
5. Populate the Village spaces: Continuing with the next player and proceeding clockwise, players take turns placing a **caste piece** from the reserve into a **Village** space (the spaces with one orange building).
   • **Village** spaces cannot have more than one **caste piece**.
   Continue until all **Village** spaces have one **caste piece**.
6. Collect Player Components: Each player chooses a color, takes their 20 corresponding **tokens** and **screen**, and places them in their play area.
7. Choose your Starting Pieces: Secretly, each player chooses 5 of their **tokens** and places them face up behind their **screen**. These are their starting **tokens**, their "hand."
8. Create a Token Stack: Shuffle the remaining 15 **tokens** and create a face-down stack, which will be your draw pile.
9. Assemble the Leader Disc: Join the 3 **Leader Tokens** of each caste to form a disc. It will be used in final scoring.

Beginner's Tip: If you want to simplify, initial hands and the distribution of **caste pieces** in settlements can be done randomly. Just make sure Edo has three pieces, each city has two, and no village has more than one.

The Game Turn

Each turn, you will have the chance to expand your influence and capture **caste pieces**. The game proceeds clockwise, starting with the youngest player.

Your turn is divided into three steps:

1. Place one or more tokens:
   • You must choose one of your **tokens** from your hand and place it in an empty **land** or **sea** space (never in a settlement space) on the board.
   • **Boat tokens** are the only ones that can be placed in **sea** spaces.
   • Some **tokens** have a **speed icon** (a Japanese character). You can play any number of **speed tokens** along with a **normal token** on your turn, or just **speed tokens**.
   • Action Tokens:
     • Swap Caste Figures Token: Allows you to swap the position of two **caste pieces** anywhere on the board. The only restriction is that two identical figures can never be in the same city. After use, the token is returned to the box.
     • Swap Tokens Token: Allows you to reposition one of your **tokens** already on the board (that does not have a **speed icon**) to another empty space. The **swap token** is placed in the original space of the moved token.
2. Check Caste Capture Condition:
   • After placing your **token**, check if any **settlement** (Village, City, or Edo) is surrounded. A **settlement** is surrounded when all adjacent land spaces to it contain **tokens**. Adjacent sea spaces do not need to have tokens, but **Boat tokens** in them also contribute to influence.
   • If a **settlement** is surrounded, its **caste pieces** are captured.
   • Resolving Captures:
     • For each **caste piece** in the surrounded **settlement**, each player sums the influence values of their adjacent **tokens**.
     • Influence is counted by caste type: **Buddha Tokens** influence **Buddhas**, **Rice Tokens** influence **Rice**, and **Castle Tokens** influence **Castles**.
     • **Wildcard Tokens** (Samurai, Ronin, Boat) provide their influence to **all adjacent castes**.
     • The player with the highest total influence for a specific **caste piece** captures it, placing it behind their screen (or in front in 2-player games).
     • If there is a tie for the highest influence, the **caste piece** is removed from the board and placed in plain sight, indicating it belongs to no one.
     • If a **settlement** has multiple **caste pieces**, the current player decides the order in which they are resolved individually.
3. Replenish Hand:
   • Draw **tokens** from the top of your face-down stack until you have five **tokens** in your hand (behind your screen). If there are not enough tokens, draw as many as you can.

After replenishing your hand, your turn ends, and the next player clockwise begins theirs.

Token Types

Your **tokens** are your tools for conquest:

• Caste-Specific Tokens: Have an image of a **Buddha**, **Rice**, or **Castle** and a number (0 to 4). They provide influence only for the corresponding caste.
• Wildcard Tokens:
  • **Samurai** and **Ronin**: Have an illustration and a number (0 to 4). Provide influence for all castes in adjacent settlements.
  • **Boat**: Similar to wildcards, but can only be placed in **sea** spaces.
• Action Tokens:
  • Swap Caste Figures Token
  • Swap Tokens Token

End of Game and Scoring

The game of **Samurai** ends immediately at the end of any player's turn if one of the following conditions is met:

• There are no more **caste pieces** of one or more castes on the board.
• Four **caste pieces** have been removed from the game due to influence ties.

When the game ends, it's time to count points and see who has become the most influential daimyo!

Scoring

1. Caste Leaders: Each player reveals their captured **caste pieces**.
   • If a player has more **caste pieces** of a specific type than all others, they receive the **Leader Token** for that caste.
   • If there is a tie for the most of a caste, the **Leader Token** for that caste is nullified (no one receives it).
2. Overall Winner: The player with the majority of **Leader Tokens** wins the game!
3. Tie-breaker (if there's a tie in Leader Tokens):
   • If two or more players have the same number of **Leader Tokens** (e.g., each with only one), these players qualify for the tie-breaker. Other players are eliminated.
   • Each qualified player ignores the **caste pieces** of the caste for which they are a leader, and counts the total number of **caste pieces** they captured from the other two castes. The player with the most **pieces** in these other two castes wins.
   • If there is still a tie, the tied players sum the total number of **all their captured caste pieces** (including those of the caste for which they are leaders). The player with the most **pieces** in total wins.
   • If the tie persists, the tied players share the victory.
4. No Caste Leader (Rare): If no player has claimed a **Leader Token**, the player with the highest total number of **all captured caste pieces** wins. In case of a tie, the tied players share the victory.

Tips for Winning

To excel as a true daimyo, consider these strategies:

• Eye on the Castes: Don't just focus on capturing any **caste piece**. Keep a close eye on the **castes** your opponents are collecting. Your goal is to be the leader in most of them, so sometimes it's better to let a capture go to nullify a leader than to try to get everything.
• Utilize Wildcard Tokens: **Samurais**, **Ronins**, and **Boats** are incredibly versatile. Use them to influence multiple types of **castes** in a single **settlement**, or to quickly surround a location your opponents don't expect. They are great for turning the tide of the game!
• Positioning is Key: Think carefully about where you place your **tokens**. Good positioning not only contributes to your own captures but can also block your opponents' plans, preventing them from surrounding settlements or having enough influence. Remember that **Boat tokens** are the only ones that can go in **sea** spaces, so use them to surround coastal settlements from unexpected angles.