tabletopgaming.co.uk 29lieutenant of the warlord who had risen to become
Japan’s most formidable daimyo. If either leader
is killed, their opponent claims victory; Tokugawa
also emerges victorious if he captures Toyotomi
Hideyori, the juvenile heir. (Spoiler: in real life,
Tokugawa won.) If seven weeks – represented
by two-part rounds – pass, the war’s outcome
is decided by victory points claimed by holding
castles and strategic resource points.
Central to Sekigahara’s tense con ict are its
blocks. Stacked in towers representing thousands
of warriors (each block represents roughly 5,000
units), the gold and black blocks of Ishida and
Tokugawa are positioned so that only their
controlling player can see their faces. You may
see that your opponent has just three blocks on
a location, but those could be weak strength-one
units or powerful strength-three battalions – or
even cavalry or ranged troops. You won’t know
until you engage them in combat, and discovering
could come at a great cost. e stage is set for
plenty of blu ng, misdirection and intimidation.
Driving the blocks between points on the map
and into combat with each other are players’ hands
of cards, drawn from separate decks for each side.
A simple blind bid opens each round to decide
who goes rst, before players can choose to expend
some of their cards to summon reinforcements,
manoeuvre stacks of blocks between points – with
leaders and highways allowing troops to move
further or in greater numbers.
When two stacks come into contact, it’s time
for the ghting to erupt. In a slick representation
of the loyalty of troops, the players must play cards
from their hands to bring blocks from their stack
into battle – making spending those additional
cards on movement and recruitment a potential
risk if you suddenly nd yourself without the sway
their warriors betraying them and changing sides
to join the enemy.
While most of Sekigahara’s battles take place
out in the open along its titular highway, castles
can be besieged in an attempt to diminish the
opponent’s resources – the player with the most
castles under their control draws an additional
card each round, and the strongholds grant the
most victory points if it comes down to score.
With its ruleset masterfully tight – there are
almost as many pages detailing the history of
Sekigahara in the slim 20-page manual – the
game keeps the complexity and detail in the act
of playing, with the uncertainty of players’ units
and cards creating a tense and tactical showdown
without the distraction of ne-checking rules or
spending time operating its simpli ed but highly
involving simulation.WHY SHOULD YOU TRY IT?
e scale and ddly detail of wargaming can
sometimes be o-putting to those otherwise
attracted by the rich atmosphere and immersion of
recreating real-life events.
Sekigahara boils down the thrill of pitting
your strategy against that of your opponent to
the bare essentials – units, actions, objectives- without sacri cing the sense of real-world
factors such as loyalty, movement limitations
and army composition. Its easy-to-grasp card-
driven gameplay is given layers of deduction and
deception by the clever use of its block units, and
cements the game’s core of managing the resources
at your disposal carefully, making sure that every
card you play is used to its full eect whether it’s a
bid, movement cost or battle command.
e asymmetric nature of the two forces and
the sprinkling of luck in drawing cards and blocks
is balanced against an absence of any dice-rolling - victory or defeat overwhelmingly comes down to
how you play your cards, not what cards you have.
Its comfortable position between the ease
of board games and the depth of wargaming
makes Sekigahara an outstanding experience for
newcomers and fans of either world. Elegant in every
way, inside and out, it’s a true modern classic.
The two players
sit either side
of Sekigahara’s
board, enabling
them to see their
own units but not
their opponent’sto encourage your troops to ght. As they join the
fray, troops generate impact – a measurement
of the armies’ strength – with the greater total
in icting additional casualties when blocks are
removed after the overall power of both sides
has been calculated. A relatively straightforward
system, the combat is given extra excitement by the
ability to build up combos of blocks from the same
clan – represented by matching symbols, or ‘mon’,
on the blocks – and use the power of cavalry and
guns to increase the total impact when the right
cards are played. Leaders enter the battle for free,
as long as they lead the way ahead of their troops.
It’s not just a question of having the most units;
how those troops are used together eectively can
swing the outcome in favour of a smaller force.
Loyalty can be a ckle thing. Each player has the
potential to draw loyalty challenge cards that can
be played in response to their opponent bringing
a unit into battle. To counter the challenge, that
player must reveal another card matching the
symbol of that unit – or suer the humiliation oflieutenant of the warlord who had risen to become
their warriors betraying them and changing sides
to join the enemy.
While most of
out in the open along its titular highway, castles
can be besieged in an attempt to diminish the
opponent’s resources – the player with the most
castles under their control draws an additional
card each round, and the strongholds grant the
most victory points if it comes down to score.
With its ruleset masterfully tight – there are
almost as many pages detailing the history of
Sekigahara in the slim 20-page manual – the
game keeps the complexity and detail in the act
of playing, with the uncertainty of players’ units
and cards creating a tense and tactical showdown
without the distraction of ne-checking rules or
spending time operating its simpli ed but highly
involving simulation.WHY SHOULD YOU TRY IT?
e scale and ddly detail of wargaming can
sometimes be o-putting to those otherwise
attracted by the rich atmosphere and immersion of
recreating real-life events.
to encourage your troops to ght. As they join the Sekigahara