Samurai & Katana

About this board game

Samurai & Katana is a game for 3–6 players that takes about 120 minutes, set during Japan’s 16th-century civil war. Each player takes the role of a Daimyo, a samurai clan chief seeking to end the conflict and become Shogun.

Only an honourable Daimyo can hope to obtain that title. To pursue it, you will organise spectacles and marriages, build castles, trade with China, and obtain the loyalty of minor clans. You may also raze sectarian monasteries and call on demons, ronins, and the infamous ninjas during battle.

Power is contested both on the battlefield and through intrigue. You will attempt to dishonour and weaken your adversaries, while remaining alert to shifting alliances, treason, and assassination. The struggle for the Shogunate demands careful attention to the actions of rival clans.

The game includes a map representing 16th-century Japan, along with cards, clan cards, samurai, castles, cities, and koku coins. The Shogun and Emperor are represented by shaped pieces with bases, adding distinctive figures to the game’s physical presentation.

• 1 map of Japan
• 55 cards and 6 clan cards
• 120 samurai pieces and 18 castle pieces
• 19 city pieces, including minor and major cities
• 24 koku coins in 1, 2, and 5 koku denominations
• 1 Shogun shape and 1 Emperor shape, each with a base

Released in 1999, Samurai & Katana combines clan ambition, military conflict, honour, and political danger in a contest to determine who will rise above the civil war and claim the Shogun’s title.