Guide to Sekigahara Each side has its own deck.

ALL discards and card plays are

public at the time that they are played. Discard piles
SET-UP CANNOT be examined by either player. When a draw pile is
* Set the turn counter to Week 1. empty and the player must draw a new card, shuffle the
* Shuffle the two decks separately. discard pile to make a new deck.
* Each player draws 5 cards from their decks.
* Separate blocks with setup symbols in the lower right MAP
corner and put the remaining blocks in the two draw bags by Thick brown lines on the map are Highways. Thin gray lines
color. are Secondary Roads. Squares with mon symbols are
* Place blocks on the map as shown on page 4 in the rules. Recruitment Locations. Locations with red dots are
Symbols on the map also show starting blocks. All blocks Resource Locations. Locations with yellow/black burst are
should be placed facing their owner. EXCEPTION: The 5 Capitals. Castles are depicted with a colored outline
blocks in the Mori Box remain face up. showing their natural alignment.
* Spaces on the map with a +1, +2, or +3 symbol will add
that many random blocks. Specify each location before LOCATIONS
drawing. Any number of blocks may occupy a Location. Blocks on the
* Add the first wave of reinforcements. Each side draws 4 map begin and end every turn in a Location.
blocks at random and places them in the Recruitment Box,
facing their owner. Resource Locations - are in RED. The last player to pass
through a Resource Location controls it. Use a cube to
GAME PIECES indicate control. Whoever controls the most Resource
Tokugawa pieces are black. Ishida pieces are yellow. Locations during the Reinforcement Step receives 1
additional block for reinforcement. They provide 1 VP at the
Each block represents roughly 5000 warriors and end of the game.
corresponds to a single daimyo (leader), whose mon
(symbol) appears on the block. The name of the leader can Castles - are attached to Locations on the board. Each
be found on the card with corresponding symbols. Castle has a natural alignment indicated by its color. They
are controlled by a player if they have blocks at that
A block’s strength is equal to the number (1-4) of mon on it. Location and their opponent doesn’t. If neither player has
Some blocks will have a cavalry or gun ability indicated by a blocks there, the Castle reverts to its natural alignment.
cavalry or gun symbol. During a siege, the castle is controlled by one player and the
Location it is attached to is controlled by the other.
Some blocks represent a daimyo. They are marked with a Whoever controls the most Castles during the
nobori (banner). Most daimyo blocks have a single dot, but Reinforcement Step receives 1 additional card. They provide
the protagonists, Ishida and Tokugawa, each have 3 dots. 2 VP at the end of the game.

Disks are units that can be destroyed just like a block, but Recruitment Boxes – At the beginning of each week, new
CANNOT move or fight. They are each attached to a Castle. blocks are placed in these boxes. During the week, players
may Muster these forces onto the board. The Ishida player
The turn marker marks the turn and its two sides are used to also has a Mori Box, from which Mori units can enter Osaka.
indicate who moves first in the week.
Capitals – Two Locations, Kyoto and Edo, are Capitals.
Cubes are used to track control of Resource Locations on the Capitals are Resource Locations and provide a Leadership
map as well as to track Impact on the Impact Track. Movement Bonus.

CARDS GAMEPLAY - WEEKLY CYCLE

Cards represent the allegiance of player armies. Cards are The game is played over 7 weeks, each of which contains
used to bid for Initiative, to move, to Force March, and to two turns (A & B). Each week includes the following steps:
deploy units for battle.
A – Reinforcement Step
The mon indicates the clan that can be deployed. Any B – Turn Order Step
swords present indicate that the unit can use its special C – Turns A and B
ability (if any). The name is the name of the daimyo. The
number in the lower right is the Initiative bid number.
Reinforcement Step  0 cards – No Movement – No stacks may move.
Each player receives new cards and blocks as follows: ANY number of cards may be discarded from hand
 Each player discards HALF (round down) of their and replenished.
hand. Ex. If you have 7 cards, you discard 3.  0 cards – Minimal Movement – One stack may move
 Each player draws 5 cards. The player that controls OR the player may conduct a Mustering action.
the most Castles draws a 6th card.  1 card – Limited Movement – Three stacks may
 Each player randomly draws blocks from their bags move. In lieu of one of the moves, the player may
as indicated on the board – 2 blocks in Weeks 2, 3, conduct a Mustering action.
and 4 and 1 block in Weeks 5, 6, and 7. The player  2 cards – Total Movement – Every friendly stack may
that controls the most Resource Locations draws an move and a Mustering action may be conducted.
additional block. IF TIED, BOTH players draw an
extra block. The source of a move is a single Location (i.e. one stack can
 Place the drawn blocks in each Reinforcement Box be split to move in multiple directions). From that Location,
with the blocks facing their owners. any or all of a player’s blocks that did not Muster that turn
may be moved within limits. Blocks move along
Skip this step in the first Week. Roads/Highways from one Location to another.

Turn Order Step Blocks MAY be dropped off during movement, but CANNOT
Each player MUST bid for turn order by placing a card face pick up blocks as it moves.
down and then simultaneously revealing. The player with
the highest numbered card (bottom right) is the winner and NO block can be part of more than ONE move per turn.
CHOOSES who will act first for BOTH turns of the current
Week. Place the turn marker on the turn track on the A A stack MUST complete its movement before another stack
space with the color of the first player face up. Both cards can move.
are then discarded.
NO Road/Highway segment can be traversed by more than
Turns A and B ONE stack, or more than once per Movement Phase.
Each Weekly Cycle consists of two turns – A and B. Each
turn consists of the first player conducting a Movement Moving blocks MUST stop when they encounter enemy
Phase and then a Combat Phase followed by the second units UNLESS enemy units can be Overrun.
player conducting a Movement Phase and then a Combat
Phase. Movement Distance
The Base Movement Rate is 1 Location per move. This can
When Turn A ends, move the turn marker to Turn B and the be increased (and increases stack for a max of 4 Locations)
player that was first in Turn A will be first again in Turn B. by the following cases:

After Turn B ends, move the turn marker to the next week  Highways: Blocks that move entirely on a Highway
and begin the Weekly Cycle again. After 7 Weeks, the game may move +1 Location.
is over.  Leadership: Blocks that BEGIN the move in the
presence of Leadership may move +1 Location.
MOVEMENT PHASE  Forced Marching: Blocks that Force March may
During the Movement Phase, a player may move none, move +1 Location. The active player may initiate a
some, or all of the stacks of blocks that they control. A stack Forced March by discarding any card from hand.
is ALL of the blocks in a single Location. The number of This ONLY applies to a group of blocks that begins,
stacks that can be moved is determined by the number of moves, and finishes TOGETHER. Only ONE Forced
cards spent for movement. Mustering and Overruns can March can be in effect for a given block at a time.
also occur in the Movement Phase.
Large forces move more slowly than small ones. For every
Buying Movement with Cards multiple of 4 blocks after the first 4, movement is reduced
At the beginning of the Movement Phase, the active player by 1 Location as per the player aid.
discards either 0, 1, or 2 cards from their hand to permit the
following options of movement: Leadership
Leadership exists in the form of a Leader, a Castle, or a
Capital (or any combo of the three).
If a player uses a Leader block, it must be declared, but NOT the Overrunning player suffers NO casualties. If the Overrun
shown. It is NOT necessary for any of the blocks in the stack occurs during a move, the moving blocks may continue their
to have a matching mon. move. Forces already committed to battle in a Location
offer their strength to any Overruns.
If a Castle is used, it MUST be aligned (MATCHING COLOR)
AND controlled by the active player. Enemy units that control a Castle cannot be Overrun.
Furthermore, forces within a Castle AUTOMATICALLY lend
If a Capital is used, it MUST be a Capital with the MATCHING their strength to any Overruns occurring against a besieging
COLOR. force outside the Castle.

REGARDLESS OF HOW MANY SOURCES OF LEADERSHIP A Card Replenishment (Overrun)

STACK MAY HAVE, IT CAN ONLY GET A SINGLE +1 FROM IT. Draw a card for each 2 blocks lost (rounded down) in the
same Location – NOT TOTAL if across multiple Locations.
Mustering
This is the act of placing blocks from the Recruitment Box COMBAT PHASE
onto the map. At most, a player may Muster once per turn. Combat occurs AFTER ALL movement. Combat MUST be
declared in EVERY Location where opposing pieces appear
Mustered blocks may NOT move in the same turn that they together. These are made one at a time by the active player
are placed. with combat resolved IMMEDIATELY after each declaration.
Combat will be a battle or a siege, the latter if either of the
Blocks can ONLY be mustered to Recruitment Locations forces is inside a Castle. Resolve each combat.
labeled with the symbol of their mon on the board.
Combat is resolved as a battle if neither force is inside a
Options – A player has TWO options for Mustering: Castle. Deployments produce Impact. The side with the
higher Impact is winning the battle. All blocks involved in a
 The player may bring any (or ALL) blocks belonging battle remain concealed until deployed. After battle,
to the SAME daimyo from the Recruitment Box to a revealed blocks become concealed again.
Recruitment Location that has the matching daimyo
mon. The blocks MUST be shown to your opponent The Active player (the attacker) starts the battle by making
before placing. the first deployment. Next, the defender can respond.
When the battle stops, the side that delivered the most
OR Impact is the winner. Ties favor the defender.

 The player may Muster a SINGLE block to any Cards & Deployment
FRIENDLY Recruitment Location. This block does Each card can normally deploy 1 block (potentially 2 with a
NOT need to be shown to your opponent before Double mon card). No card may be played or block
placing. deployed twice in the same battle. The card used to deploy
the block must have a matching mon as the block.
Mustering into Combat – Blocks can be Mustered into a
combat situation ONLY if the combat was initiated by blocks EXCEPTION – The Ishida block and the Ii (Red Devils 4-mon)
ALREADY on the board. An attack CANNOT completely block can be deployed with any mon card (NOT LOYALTY
come from the Recruitment Box, but it CAN be supported CHALLENGE). These blocks have a gray card outline on
from there. them as a reminder.

Overruns The Active player plays a card face up and selects a block
Overruns occur when a large force overwhelms a small one. from his undeployed forces with a matching mon. Place the
An Overrun can occur during movement or after a retreat. block face up with the card. KEEP THE CARDS PLAYED OUT
They can also occur when Mustering or bringing in units – NOT THE DISCARD PILE YET. Count the Impact, based on
from the Mori Box. In order to Overrun an enemy, the the number of mons on the block, and add it to their total
Overrunning player must have AT LEAST 4 times as many on the Impact Track.
blocks present as the enemy. The strength of the blocks is
irrelevant. Initial Deployment of a Leader Block
A leader block (except for Ishida) deploys WITHOUT
Overruns are resolved IMMEDIATELY, regardless of whether PLAYING A CARD if NO deployments with a card have been
combat has been declared. Overrun units are destroyed and
made. Leaders who deploy without a card are IMMUNE to defects, switching sides. Move the block to the other
Loyalty Challenge. player’s side and add its Impact.

You CAN keep deploying leaders without a card until you Blocks that switch sides do NOT execute Special Attacks at
deploy your first block with a card. the moment of their betrayal, but CAN contribute to future
Special Attacks played by their new side.
Impact
Impact is recorded on the Impact Track and tracks combat A Loyalty Challenge CAN be used to challenge a Double
effectiveness. Card. Only ONE card must be displayed to refute the
challenge, even if two blocks were deployed. If the
The base Impact of a deployment is the number of mon on a challenge is successful, then BOTH blocks defect. The +1
block. Impact bonus for the 2nd block is STILL COUNTED.

Add 1 point of Impact for each block of the same mon When the battle ends, BEFORE LOSSES, defecting blocks
ALREADY deployed on the same side in the present battle. revert back to their former owner.

Cavalry & Gun Impact – Cards with swords enable a Special Losses
Attack. When used to deploy a block with a cavalry or gun After a battle, both sides take losses according to the Impact
symbol, add 2 points of Impact for the cavalry or gun PLUS 2 against them. Both sides lose 1 block for every 7 full points
points of Impact for each block featuring that type of attack of Impact delivered by their opponent. The losing side
already deployed on the same side in the current battle. ALWAYS loses one additional block.

The bonus IS added even if the previously played block did The attacker suffers damage first, then the defender. Players
not use its Special Attack! select which of their blocks to lose. The first blocks lost are
any that defected, second are from any blocks that were
Double Cards – Cards with 2 mon on them allow the deployed, and finally from blocks that were not deployed.
deployment of 1 or 2 blocks of the matching mon. The REVEAL the identity of lost blocks.
blocks are deployed individually, one after the other, so the
2nd block DOES benefit from the +1 Impact bonus. NEITHER Blocks lost in combat are removed from the map and NEVER
of the blocks so deployed can initiate a Special Attack. return to play. Keep defeated blocks off to the side, visible.

A Double Card used to deploy the Ishida/Ii blocks loses its Card Replenishment (battle)
ability to deploy a 2nd block. Each player discards the cards they played and draw that
many back. Also, draw an additional card for each 2 blocks
Combat Initiative – rests with whichever side is currently lost (rounded down).
losing the battle (lower Impact). The player has the
opportunity to deploy blocks one after the other in order to Retreats
take the lead. Once they take the lead (or tie, if the The loser must retreat their remaining force to a single
defender), combat initiative switches back to the other adjacent Location contiguous by Road/Highway to the
player. combat site or to a Castle. There is no limit to the size of a
force that can retreat together.
It alternates until one player declares that they will not
deploy any more blocks. The initiative then shifts When the attacker retreats, they must retreat to a Location
permanently to the other player, who may deploy as many from which some of their forces entered the battle
more blocks as they wish until they declare they are done. (potentially a Castle, but NOT an off-map Box). If not
possible, then any other on-map Location.
Once passing, a player CANNOT jump back in and resume
deploying. They MAY still play Loyalty Challenge cards. When the defender retreats, they must retreat to a Location
containing no enemy units and from which the attacker did
Loyalty Challenge Cards – These are played out of turn, NOT enter the combat Location. If not possible, then ANY
IMMEDIATELY after an opposing deployment. If the other Location contiguous by road, including where the
deploying player can show (just show NOT discard) from defender entered or where there might be enemy units.
their hand another card capable of deploying that block,
then their block stays loyal. If they cannot, the block A Castle can harbor retreating units if the battle took place
in a Location with a Castle. It is only valid to the side that
controlled it prior to the combat. The retreating player may continue to co-exist until the attacker attacks again – which
retreat up to 2 blocks into it. Any additional blocks must they must do each Combat Phase that the blocks co-exist.
retreat elsewhere AS A GROUP.
It is possible to retreat to cause another battle or Overrun. Card Replenishment (siege)
If so, execute it IMMEDIATELY and resolve its consequences. The Attacker discards the cards they played and draw that
The retreating blocks are the attackers for the new battle. many back. Also, the defender draws a card for each block
(NOT DISK) lost.
It is possible for a retreating force to join a besieged force
inside a Castle and exceed, until the next time combat is Besieged blocks CANNOT be moved out of the Location
declared, the stacking limit of the Castle, changing the siege containing the Castle. Besieging blocks may freely move
into a battle. away from the site during their Movement Phase. If other
blocks friendly to the besieged blocks enter the area, all
Siege Combat blocks will be involved in a field battle, regardless of the
If combat occurs where there is a Castle, the defender could Castle.
choose to remain in the Castle, resulting in a siege. For a
force to remain inside the Castle, it must own the Castle and Mori Box
it MUST be 2 blocks or fewer. The Ishida player can bring these blocks into the game by
discarding cards. For each card discarded during any Ishida
When combat is declared, the defender chooses whether Movement Phase, one Mori block is moved from the Mori
combat occurs in the field or in the Castle. If in the field, a Box to Osaka. The LAST block brought on is ALWAYS the
battle occurs. If in the Castle, a siege occurs. Mori Leader.

NO BLOCKS CAN REMAIN INSIDE THE CASTLE IF IT RESULTS No blocks are EVER added to the Mori Box.
IN SOME BLOCKS BEING LEFT OUTSIDE. ALL OR NONE.
These blocks CANNOT move on the same turn that they
A force can elect to fight outside the Castle even if in a arrive in Osaka.
previous phase it chose to be inside the Castle.
If Osaka is attacked by Tokugawa forces, at the moment
If the active player owns the Castle and chooses to remain combat is declared, ALL blocks in the Mori Box appear in
inside then no battle or siege occurs this phase. Basically, Osaka and join the battle.
the active player cannot be compelled to leave the safety of
the castle. The onus is on someone to attack the Castle. ENDING THE GAME
The Tokugawa player wins instantly if the Ishida block
Disks are ALWAYS considered to be inside the Castle, (yellow block with banner with 3 dots) is killed or Toyotomi
regardless of the disposition of the blocks. Disks do NOT (yellow disk with crown mon) is captured.
count against the 2 block limit. They can be destroyed just
like a block, but do NOT move OR fight. Only a siege can The Ishida player wins instantly if Tokugawa (black block
affect a disk, NOT a battle. with banner with 3 dots) is killed. If both sides win instant
victory in the same battle, Ishida wins by tiebreaker.
The attacker holds initiative throughout the siege and there
is no limit on the number of blocks that they may deploy. Victory Points are counted if the end of Week 7 is reached
The defender plays no cards during a siege nor deploys with no instant winner. Players score 2 VP for each Castle
blocks. and 1 VP for each Resource Location.

Siege combat is resolved as normal except that one block or

disk is destroyed for each 7 full points of Impact. If less than
7 full points of Impact are delivered, then no losses are
inflicted. The defender chooses blocks to lose, revealing
them.

NO GUN OR CAVALRY SPECIAL ATTACKS MAY BE COUNTED

AND NO LOYALTY CHALLENGE CARDS MAY BE PLAYED.

If all blocks and disks are destroyed, the Castle falls and now
belongs to the attacker. If the Castle does not fall, blocks