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Sekigahara: The Unification of Japan

2-2 players 180-180 min 8.0 Board Game Geek Rating

Players command opposing forces in Japan's pivotal 1600 Sekigahara campaign as either Tokugawa or Ishida. This card-driven block wargame emphasizes loyalty management over traditional combat. Armies require matching loyalty cards to fight, while hand size represents political legitimacy. Victory comes through battlefield success and enemy defections rather than pure military might.

Published 2011

Sekigahara: The Unification of Japan

Get Ready

Setup the game with these step-by-step instructions before diving into your turn.

1
Set the turn counter
Place the Turn Marker on Week 1 of the Turn Track
2
Shuffle both decks
Each army has its own deck; shuffle them separately and place face down as draw piles
3
Draw starting hands
Each player draws 5 cards from their respective deck
4
Separate setup blocks
Remove blocks with setup symbols in their lower right corners from the pool
5
Place designated blocks
Put blocks with setup symbols on map locations matching those symbols
6
Prepare draw bags
Place remaining blocks without setup symbols into two draw bags, one per color
7
Fill random block locations
Draw blocks from bags to fill locations marked +1, +2, or +4
8
Add initial reinforcements
Western Army draws 2 random blocks; Eastern Army draws 4 random blocks
9
Place the three disks
Toyotomi Hideyori disk at Osaka, Torii Mototada disk at Kyoto, Mogami Yoshiaki disk at Yamagata
10
Distribute control cubes
Black and yellow cubes track resource location control and combat impact

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

1
Complete Reinforcement Step
At the start of each week (skip Week 1), receive new cards and blocks
2
Bid for Turn Order
Each player places a card face-down, then reveal simultaneously
3
Execute Turn A
First player completes Movement then Combat; second player follows
4
Execute Turn B
Same order as Turn A; first player remains the same
5
Spend cards for movement
Discard 0, 1, or 2 cards to determine movement allowance
6
Move stacks along roads
Base movement is 1 location; blocks must stop when encountering enemies
7
Perform Mustering
Place blocks from Recruitment box onto the map
8
Resolve Overruns
If you have 4+ times as many blocks as the enemy, destroy them immediately
9
Declare combat
The phasing player must declare combat at every location with opposing pieces
10
Determine combat type
Battle occurs in open field; Siege occurs if defender chooses to stay inside Castle (max 2 blocks)
11
Deploy blocks in battle
Play a card matching the block's mon to deploy it
12
Pass initiative
Side with lower Impact has initiative and deploys to take the lead
13
Play Loyalty Challenge cards
After opponent deploys, play banner card to challenge loyalty
14
Conduct Siege Combat
Attacker deploys freely; defender plays no cards
15
Calculate losses
Both sides lose 1 block per 7 Impact received; loser loses 1 additional block
16
Retreat losing force
Loser moves remaining blocks to single adjacent location
17
Replenish cards
Draw cards equal to those played; draw 1 per 2 blocks lost in battle (1 per block in siege)
18
Bring Mori blocks from box
During Western Movement Phase, discard cards to move Mori blocks to Osaka

Winning

How to claim victory.

1
Eastern Army instant victory
Capture Toyotomi Hideyori by destroying the yellow disk at Osaka
2
Western Army instant victory
Kill Tokugawa Ieyasu by destroying his block (marked with three-dot nobori)
3
Calculate victory points at Week 8
If no instant victory occurs, count points
4
Determine winner by points
Higher total wins the game
5
Break ties
Western Army wins if victory points are equal

watch & Learn

Let the pros teach you with these top videos.

Seki - intro

Seki - intro

Instructional

SEKIGAHARA Strategy Guide / SEKIGAHARA: The Unification of Japan Board Game

SEKIGAHARA Strategy Guide / SEKIGAHARA: The Unification of Japan Board Game

Instructional

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FULL rules

Looking for the full details? Grab the complete rulebook as a downloadable PDF.

PDF RULEBOOK

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