Introduction

I
t is a time of constant war and shifting loyalties in feudal
Japan. Lords across the nation vie for control of three precious
commodities: the loyalty of lesser lords, the land’s primary
sources of rice, and the very religion of the people. Throughout it
all, there is one constant: the samurai.

The year is 1336. The emperor’s attempt at regaining power

through the Kenmu Restoration has failed. The royal family has
lost all authority and has been relegated to nothing more than
figureheads. The Ashikaga shogunate now holds power over Japan,
but it is a tenuous thread at best. Across the country, powerful lords
called daimyo have risen up and begun to claim dominion over
the land and its resources. As these lords grow in power they
draw samurai to their cause.

While the samurai are the necessary force needed to gain

control of Japan, there are other assets the lords must consider
in their conquest. The Buddhist priests hold sway over nobles
and commoners alike, contributing culture and legitimacy to
any ruler holding their favor. Rice has been Japan’s staple food
stock for centuries; whoever controls it rules the population.
Finally, a lord cannot hope to gain samurai to their cause
without strategic military installations.

No one daimyo has ever managed to unify

the samurai and, with them, Japan. As the
rival lords appear ready to challenge
Ashikaga, their samurai followers flock
to new lords. Something innovative must
be done to succeed where so many others
have failed. Some new creative strategy
must be devised.

The game of Samurai allows you to take

the role of a daimyo just beginning ascent
to power. Travel back to a Japan being torn
asunder by warring clans. Prove you have the
wisdom to garner the esteem of the samurai and
you will unite a nation.

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 Game Components
1 Game Board 39 Plastic Caste Pieces
C onsisting of 5 P ieces

13 B uddhas 13 R ice 13 C astles

4 Player Screens

80 Tiles

20 G old T iles 20 R ed T iles

3 Leader Tokens

20 G reen T iles 20 P urple T iles

Game Overview
During a game of Samurai, players compete over the three societal castes of Japan: religion (represented by Buddha), commerce
(represented by rice), and military (represented by a castle). Players place tiles on the game board to influence settlement spaces and
capture the various caste pieces on those spaces. The player capturing the most pieces of a particular caste becomes the leader of
that caste. At the end of the game, the player who is the leader of the most castes wins the game.

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 Setup Spaces
There are three types of spaces on the game board:
To set up a game of Samurai, follow these steps:
• Settlement spaces are shaded tan and have 1, 2,
1. Construct Game Board: Construct the game board based or 3 building images printed on them.
on the number of players as shown below.

V ill age spaces C it y spaces T he E do space

contain one contain t wo contains three
orange gray buildings . blue buildings .
building .

2-P l ayer G ame B oard

• Land spaces are shaded tan and have no building
images printed on them.

• Sea spaces are shaded blue.

3-P l ayer G ame B oard

7. Populate Edo Space: Place one Buddha, one rice, and

one castle piece on the Edo space.
4-P l ayer G ame B oard
8. Populate City Spaces: Starting with the youngest player
and proceeding clockwise, players take turns placing one
2. Create Leader Disk: Place the three caste piece from the supply on a city space. City spaces
leader tokens near the game board and cannot contain more than two caste pieces or more than
arrange them so they form a single disk. one caste piece of the same type. Players proceed in this
These tokens are used at the end of the fashion until all city spaces have two caste pieces.
game during scoring. L eader D isk
9. Populate Village Spaces: Continuing with the next
3. Create Supply: Create the supply based on the number player and proceeding clockwise, players take turns
of players. Take the plastic caste pieces listed below and placing one caste piece from the supply on a village
place them near the game board. Return all remaining caste space. Village spaces cannot contain more than one
pieces to the game box; they are not used this game. caste piece. Players proceed in this fashion until all village
• 2 Players: 7 of each caste piece spaces have one caste piece.
• 3 Players: 10 of each caste piece After all caste pieces from the supply are on the game board,
• 4 Players: 13 of each caste piece players are ready to begin playing the game.
4. Gather Tiles and Screens: Each player chooses a player
color, gathers the 20 tiles and player screen of that color,
and places them in his play area. Basic Setup
5. Draw Starting Hand: Each player secretly chooses five of his First-time players may choose to simplify setup by
tiles and places them faceup behind his player screen. These randomly selecting their starting hands and randomly
4 tiles form his starting “hand” of tiles and remain hidden from distributing the caste pieces onto the settlement spaces
the other players until they are placed on the game board. on the game board. When distributing the caste pieces
in this fashion be sure the Edo space has three pieces,
6. Create Tile Stack: Each player mixes his remaining 15 tiles
each city space has two pieces, and no settlement
(the tiles not chosen as his starting hand) facedown and places
space has more than one caste piece of the same type.
them in a stack beside his player screen in view of all players.
 Playing the Game Tiles
There are three types of tiles: caste-specific tiles, wild
During a game, players take turns placing tiles on the game board tiles, and action tiles. Most tiles have a number on the
and capturing caste pieces. When all caste pieces of one or more right side. This number indicates the tile’s influence
castes have been captured, the game ends, and players calculate value, the amount of influence that the tile provides to
their scores to determine the winner. all adjacent spaces. Influence values range from “0”
to “4” and are used for capturing caste pieces (see
I nfluence
Turn Sequence
“Resolving Captures” on page 6).
V alue
Starting with the youngest player and proceeding clockwise,
Caste-Specific Tiles
each player takes a turn by following these steps:
A caste-specific tile has an image of a caste piece on its left side
1. Play Tile: The player chooses one tile from his hand and and provides its influence to one caste only. The image of the
places it on an empty land or sea space (not settlement piece on that tile determines which caste it is used to capture. A
space) on the game board. Buddha tile influences the religion caste, a rice tile influences the
commerce caste, and a castle tile influences the military caste.
2. Check for Capture: If all land spaces adjacent to a
settlement space contain tiles, that settlement’s caste pieces
become captured (see “Resolving Captures” on page 6).

3. Refresh Hand: The player refreshes his hand by drawing tiles

from the top of his stack and places them faceup behind his
player screen until he has five tiles in his hand. If there are
not enough tiles in a player’s stack to allow him to have five B uddha T ile R ice T ile C astle T ile
tiles in his hand, he draws as many tiles as possible. (R eligion ) (C ommerce ) (M ilitary )

After a player refreshes his hand, his turn ends, and the next
player in clockwise order takes his turn. Wild Tiles
Wild tiles have an illustration on their left side and provide their
Objective influence to all castes.
The objective of Samurai is to be the leader of the most castes, Samurai and ronin tiles provide influence to all adjacent
which is achieved by capturing caste pieces on the board. To settlements, regardless of which castes are present there. Ship
capture a caste piece, players must surround its settlement by tiles do the same; however, they can be placed only on empty
placing tiles on all land spaces adjacent to that settlement. (Two sea spaces and are the only tile that can do so.
spaces are considered adjacent if they share a border.)

Caste Pieces
There are three types of plastic caste pieces, one for each caste:
Buddhas represent religion, rice represents commerce, and
castles represent military. At the end of the game, the player

who captured the most pieces of a particular caste becomes that S amurai T ile R onin T ile S hip T ile
caste’s leader (see “Scoring” on page 6). The player who is
the leader of the most castes wins the game.

B uddha C aste P iece R ice C aste P iece C astle C aste P iece

(R eligion ) (C ommerce ) (M ilitary )

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 Action Tiles Resolving Captures
Action tiles grant special abilities when played. There are two After a player’s turn, if all land spaces adjacent to a settlement
types of action tiles: switch tiles and move tiles. contain tiles, that settlement is surrounded and its caste pieces
become captured. (The adjacent sea spaces do not need to, but
Switch Tile may, contain ship tiles.) Each caste piece is captured at the end
Each player has one switch tile. This tile of the turn in which its settlement became surrounded.
allows the player to exchange the position of To determine who captures a caste piece, each player adds up
two caste pieces on the game board. To use the influence values of his tiles that are both adjacent to the caste
a switch tile, the player reveals it from behind piece and have an image corresponding to the caste piece type
his screen and switches the positions of any in question (or a wild image). The player with the highest total
S witc h T ile
two caste pieces on the game board. A influence captures the caste piece, taking it from the game board
player cannot use a switch tile to cause two caste pieces of the and placing it behind his player screen in a three or four-player
same type to occupy the same settlement space. After switching game, or in front of his player screen in a two-player game. If two
the position of the two caste pieces, he returns the switch tile to or more players are tied for the highest total influence, no player
the game box and continues his turn as normal. captures the caste piece. Instead, the caste piece is removed from
the game board and placed near it in view of all players—that
Move Tile caste piece does not belong to any player.
Each player has one move tile. This tile When a surrounded settlement space contains two or more
allows a player to reposition a tile that he has caste pieces, players calculate the influence for each caste piece
already placed on the game board during individually in the order of the current player’s choice.
a previous turn. To use a move tile, a player
takes one of his tiles that does not have a
fast icon from the game board and places it M ove T ile Winning the Game
on any other empty land space. Then, he places the move tile The game ends at the end of any player’s turn in which either of
on the repositioned tile’s original space. the following two conditions are met:

• There are no remaining caste pieces of one or more castes

on the game board.
• Any four caste pieces have been removed and placed near
the game board (see “Resolving Captures” above).
When the game ends, players calculate their scores.

Scoring
When the game ends, each player reveals his captured caste
T he move tile is pl aced on the original pieces. If a player has more caste pieces of one caste than all
space of the repositioned tile . other players, he claims that caste’s leader token. If two or more
players are tied for the most caste pieces of a caste, that caste’s
Fast Icon leader token is set aside unclaimed. After all leader tokens have
Each player has five tiles that have a Japanese been claimed or set aside, if one player claimed more leader
character. This character represents the fast icon. tokens than any other player, he is the winner.
A player may play one tile and any number of fast F ast I con
If two or more players have each claimed only one leader token,
tiles on his turn. A player may choose to play only
each of those players sets aside the caste pieces from his own
fast tiles as his tile placement for the turn.
leader token’s caste. Then, he counts the total number of caste
pieces he has captured from the other two castes (those in
which he does not have a leader token). The player with the
most caste pieces from his other two castes is the winner. If there
is a tie, the tied player with the most caste pieces from all castes
(including those for which he has a leader token) is the winner. If
there is still a tie, the tied players share the win.

In the rare case that no player has claimed a leader token, the
player with the most captured caste pieces from all castes is the
6 winner. If there is a tie, all tied players share the win.
 Resolving Captures Example
During the green player’s turn, he places a 3-Buddha tile next to a settlement
with a Buddha piece. All land spaces adjacent to this settlement contain tiles, so
the settlement is surrounded and this caste piece will be captured.

To resolve the capture, each player adds up their neighboring religious

influence. The red player’s 2-samurai tile provides 2 religious influence, while
the green player’s 3-Buddha tile provides 3 religious influence. The green
player has the most religious influence, so he captures the Buddha piece,
placing it behind his player screen.

Next is the gold player’s turn. He places a 1-ronin tile

(which has a fast icon) followed by a 4-Buddha tile,
causing both adjacent settlements to become surrounded.
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First, the gold player chooses to resolve the capture of
the Buddha piece on the settlement space to the right.
He has a total of 5 religious influence provided from his
4-Buddha tile and his 1-ronin tile. The red player has a
total of 3 religious influence provided from her 2-samurai
tile and her 1-ship tile. The gold player has the most
7 religious influence, so he captures the Buddha piece.

Finally, players resolve the capture of the Buddha and rice

pieces on the other settlement space to the left. With his
1-ship tile and his 3-Buddha tile, the green player has a 9
total of 4 religious influence. The gold player also has
4 religious influence, as provided by his 4-Buddha tile.
Since both the green and gold players have an equal
amount of religious influence, the Buddha piece is not
captured and is instead placed beside the board. With
her 2-rice tile, the red player has the most commerce
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influence, so she captures the rice piece. The military
influence from the purple player’s 2-castle tile is ignored
because there are no castle pieces to capture.

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 Scoring Example
The green player has the most rice pieces so he receives the commerce leader token. The red player has the
most Buddha pieces so she receives the religious leader token. Both the green player and the gold player are
tied for the most castle pieces, so no player receives the military leader token. The green player and the red
player are tied for the most total leader tokens (1 each), so they proceed to the next step of scoring, while the
gold player is eliminated.

The green player ignores his rice pieces and counts his caste pieces from the other two castes, for a total of
3. The red player ignores her Buddha pieces and counts her caste pieces from the other two castes, also for a
total of 3. Since there is still no winner, all tied players continue to the tiebreaker.

The green player has 6 total caste pieces, while the red player has 7 total caste pieces; the red player
wins the game.

Executive Producer: Michael Hurley

Credits Executive Game Designer: Corey Konieczka

Publisher: Christian T. Petersen
Game Design: Reiner Knizia
Playtesters: Iain Adams, Ludwig Berger, Chris Bowyer, Gunthart
Producer: Jason Walden von Chiari, Chris Dawe, David Farquhar, Jon Gilbert, Martin
Technical Writing: Adam Baker Higham, Ross Inglis, Kevin Jacklin, Tina and Georg, Chris
Editing and Proofreading: Autumn Collier Lawson, Alex Martell, Werner Mueller, Andreas and Karen
and Richard A. Edwards Seyfarth, Jo Weigand, Clemens Wildemann, Hannes Wildner,
Graphic Design: Monica Skupa and Dieter Hornung
Graphic Design Manager: Brian Schomburg © 2015 Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc. © Dr. Reiner Knizia 2015. No part of this
Cover Art: Dleoblack and Zach Graves product may be reproduced without specific permission. Samurai is trademark
of Dr. Reiner Knizia. Fantasy Flight Games and the FFG logo are registered trademarks
Board and Interior Art: Hannah Christenson of Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc. Fantasy Flight Games is located at 1995 West County
Road B2, Roseville, Minnesota, 55113, USA, 651-639-1905. Actual components may
Art Direction: Andy Christensen vary from those shown. Made in China. This product is not a toy. Not
Quality Assurance Coordinator: Zach Tewalthomas intended for use by persons 13 years of age or younger.

Plastics Sculpting: Jason Beaudoin and Gary Storkamp

Plastics Management: Jason Beaudoin
FFG Licensing Coordinator: Amanda Greenhart
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Production Coordination: John Britton, Jason Glawe,
and Johanna Whiting
Production Management: Megan Duehn and Simone Elliott
Board Game Manager: Steven Kimball