Ikusa
2-5
12+
240
Sweep Across the Land and Secure Your Empire!
It is the sixteenth century in feudal Japan, where war rages across the land. Amid the chaos and conflict, you have risen to power as one of five warlords mighty enough to conquer and control the whole empire. Your victory depends on how expertly you extend your domain while defending it from your enemies.
Send your daimyo leaders, samurai, and ashigaru warriors into battle to seize new provinces and lay siege to castles. Spend your hard-won treasury on building fortifications and bolstering your forces with ronin and ninja.
Prove the strength of your strategy, defeat your rivals, and earn the exalted title of Shogun.
- Set details:
- The classic rules of this game have not been changed – still a challenge for any strategy board gamer.
- The box and game board design have been radically improved. The game board has a new "period feel."
- All of the classic sculptures used for the figures are back with new colors.
User Reviews (3)
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I’m so glad they reprinted this game again. To me, Shogun was the strongest of the Milton Bradley Gamemaster series as far as a big multiplayer strategic experience goes.
The limited real estate and confined space of feudal Japan necessitates diplomacy and with four plus players this game can be a real blast. Its appeal is inversely proportional to the number of players though: the two player game, while still fun, loses the great interactive, truce/backstabbing aspect of the 4 plus player game. Also, the bidding part takes a hit too.
One great thing about this version of the game is not only did it see another name change, there has been some really strong production and cosmetic upgrades. One gripe I have about these changes are the removal of the plastic katana that denoted turn order in the original. The game uses card chits instead which, albeit more functional, don’t lend themselves well to impromptu dueling or eye poking.
The other gripe is some of the art, while well-done, is a little too comic book style. I would have preferred a classic Japanese style approach, to go with the game’s setting. All the other changes they’ve made are great.
The old Styrofoam trays have been replaced with durable plastic castles with deep trays. These are superb and look really ****** cool.
The board is gorgeous and has a vanilla tone to it.
The cards are of top quality “woven” stock. All the card in the game is heavy.
The figure colors are much less flashier, replaced with muted earth tones.
There is a nifty box for you to hold the ninja, 12 sided dice, castles, fortifications and Ronin in.
As far as the rest of the game, it is unchanged. The fantastic scuplts for the miniatures are retained from the original. The rules are the same, though written with more clarity and detail.
While this review has mostly focused on the changes to this version of the game I will touch briefly on this games mechanics and appeal.
The historical aspect is limited. While it is represented in unit types and the map of Japan, it is missing from the gameplay. You start in random provinces. Famous players during the period (late 1500s Japan, like Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyesu) are represented only in name. Don’t let this dissuade you from playing this fine game. If feudal japan and its gory, war filled, yet highly cultured past appeal to you, this games captures the feeling well.
The game has mechanics not seen in other broad strokes of similar bent. Bidding is involved, army experience, espionage and assassination. Ronin can surprise attack in a truly inspired mechanic.
Check out the rules and if it sounds fun, well it is. A great, beautiful strategy game with heart. And sessions seldom last over 4 hours!
I bought this game years and years ago under the name Samurai Swords and my friends and I love it. The game is designed to best played with as many people possible since creating alliances to team up against other players is a must and then later betraying them to garner yourself a victory is fantastic fun. A little tip, if you can always buy your sword (which will determine turn order) and the ninja if you can (since it will prevent other players from assassinating your generals/daimyo). If playing a feudal Japanese warlord in a strategy game setting interests you then this is the game for you.
pick up this game if you like to play
risk…
axis and allies…
warlord of europe
strategy games
games that takes at least 5-6 hours
like many others this type of games are great…. very fun to play… when i try to explain to people what the game is like i always say…”it’s like risk and monopoly get married and have a baby lol… i love this kind of game…though the only weak point of the game is the length of it… it takes a very long time to finish… i hardly ever finish the game… if you have like minimum of 4 people in your group and know that all of you will finish the game…. love history this is the game for you…. but if your group get most of your games from barns and nobles this may not be the game for you…stick with catan or monapoly or something
i would say my friends loves playing it
my wife hate to see it on the kitchen table(coz she knows its gonna take like 80 hours )