How To Play: Shogun

Overview

If you ever thought being a feudal lord would be easy, Shogun will laugh in your face. I’ve played this game with friends who still hold grudges over a single rice theft. In this guide, you’ll find a quick outline of the game rules and (more importantly) the best strategies for winning. Whether you’re new or want revenge, read on. Spoiler: you’ll need more than luck for victory.

What’s in the box

• 1 game board
• 5 player screens
• 55 province cards
• 5 war chests
• 310 wooden cubes (62 per player)
• 57 building tiles
• 10 revolt markers
• 5 summary cards
• 2 year cards
• 1 battle tower
• 12 event cards
• 1 action board
• 50 coins
• 1 start player marker
• 1 rulebook

How To Play Shogun: Rules Summary

Setup

1. Lay out the map board in the middle. Make sure everyone can reach it. Watch out for elbows.
2. Give each player an army in their favorite color. (No, you can’t have the cat as a player.)
3. Deal out the provinces and building cards as the rulebook says. Shuffle well! Even if you think you’re a card ninja, do it again.
4. Place cubes in starting provinces. If you don’t know where to put them, just copy the person who looks most confident.
5. Put all resources, rice and money within easy reach. Snacks go further away. They’re a distraction.
6. Hand out player boards, tokens, and order markers. Try not to lose these before Round 1.

Gameplay

1. Each round, secretly plan your actions using your order markers. If you forget to put one down, blame it on the cat.
2. Take turns revealing and resolving actions: build, tax, harvest, move troops, or attack. Follow the order of the action track or chaos will reign.
3. Use the famous battle tower for fights. You’ll drop in cubes and watch them tumble out—almost as dramatic as last Sunday’s lasagna spill.
4. Manage your rice and coins carefully. If you run out, the peasants get cranky. Trust me, they riot.
5. Repeat this process for 10 rounds (two years in game time). Or until someone flips the table, whichever comes first.

Winning

1. After 10 rounds, count up how many provinces you control. (No, the kitchen doesn’t count.)
2. Add in bonus points for buildings and leftover gold or rice. If you have all three, call yourself a shogun snackmaster.
3. The player with the most points wins. If there’s a tie, whoever tells the best samurai joke gets the honor. (Not official, but it keeps things fun.)

Special Rules & Conditions

1. There’s a winter round after each year. You’ll lose points if your people are starving. Feed them or face their fury.
2. If someone loses all their provinces, they’re out. But they can still heckle—er, help keep score.
3. Random events can change everything. Stay flexible and ready to change your plans, just like when the pizza arrives too early.

Now you know the basics on How To Play Shogun: Rules Summary. Grab your armies, grab your rice, and let the battle for Japan begin. May your cubes always land in your favor!

Best Shogun Strategies

Mastering Territory Control in Shogun

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen someone ignore territory control and pay for it. So, here’s what I learned the hard way about keeping control of Japan’s provinces. Knowing How To Play shogun is nothing without these tips!

Pick Early Targets Wisely

1. Choose provinces near your base. They’re easier to defend.
2. Avoid provinces surrounded by rivals, unless you love chaos.

Keep Your Borders Strong

1. Always spread your armies—never stack them all in one place.
2. Place extra troops where you expect attacks.

Watch for Enemy Weaknesses

1. If someone just fought a big battle, swoop in when they’re weak.
2. Strike isolated provinces for easy points.

Mastering Resource Management in Shogun

Plan Your Rice and Gold Wisely

1. Always check your rice stock. If you run out, your armies will starve and probably hate you. Trust me, hungry samurai do not fight for you.

2. Count your gold before you splurge on castles. Building too much leaves you broke when you need to recruit or bribe (and you will need to).

Time Tax Collection Like a Pro

1. Collect taxes when enemies are not looking. Timing it well keeps your people from rioting, which—believe me—ruins your day.

Balance Growth and Stability

1. Don’t expand too fast. Manage provinces so you have enough resources to keep them happy. How To Play shogun truly comes down to not letting your empire eat itself alive.

Mastering Combat Timing in Shogun

Know When to Strike

Timing matters in Shogun. First, strike when your enemies look weak, not when they seem all-powerful. Trust me, my friend Dave once attacked in round one—he lost his best army and sulked for an hour.

1. Attack after your enemies fight each other
2. Choose moments when opponents run low on troops
3. Wait until late in the round for sneaky grabs

Defend at the Right Time

Sometimes, waiting saves you. So, don’t waste your good troops early. With smart timing, you can trick others into leaving your provinces alone.

1. Hold back your forces at the start
2. Defend strongest when someone targets your key rice provinces
3. Let weaker opponents wear down your rivals first

React to Plans

Because Shogun uses programmed moves, always try to predict what your friends will do next. Wrong guesses make you look silly (believe me, I know).

1. Note opponents’ patterns from previous rounds
2. Switch up your own timing so you stay unpredictable
3. If things go wrong, switch plans quickly and surprise your foes

This is a key part of How To Play shogun like a pro.

Conquer Like a Shogun, Not a Sushi Chef!

Alright, that’s all the wisdom I’ve squeezed out of my Shogun sessions. If you master territory, juggle rice, and time your battles like a sneaky ninja, you might just earn the title of Daimyo (and maybe your friends’ envy). Remember, luck hides in those cubes, but skill keeps you fed in winter. Now you’ve got the basics of How To Play shogun, go out there and take Japan — just don’t blame me if you start thinking in cubes!

Want to know what we think of Shogun? Read our detailed review of Shogun here