San Guo Sha: Complete Edition

About this board game

San Guo Sha: Complete Edition is a card game for 2–8 players, with games lasting about 40 minutes. Based on the Chinese classical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, it shares many rules with BANG! while adding its own Three Kingdoms-inspired twists.

Players may have more than one source of power during the game. The Monarch, equivalent to the Sheriff, may gain an additional skill connected to their kingdom allegiance, meaning players routinely have two powers to use. This creates a distinctive layer of abilities within the card-driven competition.

Weapons are also more than simple equipment. They may have their own additional powers, while a separate card allows one player to borrow a weapon from another. Another card can cancel the effect of other cards, adding further opportunities to interrupt an opponent’s plans.

• Player count: 2–8
• Play time: approximately 40 minutes
• Direction of play: counter-clockwise
• Language: all text is in Simplified Chinese

Survival can depend on help from the table. Peach may be played by any player when someone loses their last life, and there is no exemption from using Peach when only two players remain. This rule keeps the end of a game open to sudden rescues and changing momentum.

Released in 2010, San Guo Sha: Complete Edition compiles the base Legends of the Three Kingdoms game and the first three San Guo Sha expansions in a metal tin. It brings the core game and those early expansions together in one Chinese-language edition.