Banzai!

OK, that’s a loyalist cry, but what the heck!

I’ve jumped back into That Samurai Game development. I’ve got too many changes to report on all, but here’s a list:

Gambits now have their own cards. I’ve included one for your viewing pleasure. It’s actually a photo taken during a recent solo playtest. You’ll notice the three little mon at the bottom of the card. They link to time shifts in the game. Get 3 Oda timeshifts (in this case) and you are eligible to conduct this Gambit. You can also see a hint of an Action card next to it. These are much simpler now, with only an Order and a Strategem on them.

I’ve also simplified the resolution mechanics for orders. Now, for all orders bar those in combat, cards are played to beat a target number that is generally a fixed value with some modifiers for circumstances. Because this is all deterministic, you know when you play a move order how far your unit will move (unless someone disrupts you with a strategem they hold) or when you play a recover order how much cohesion you’ll regain. Combat is a little different. Fire combat (shooting things with arrows, guns or cannon) and melee use the opposed roll system I’ve spoken about before, with one significant change: players draw their combat ‘roll’ from the draw deck (a bit like in Combat Commander). This randomness flies in the face of what I was trying to achieve, but at this stage it seems the only way to manage combat without having fists full of cards. Still, it isn’t quite pure randomness, but you’ll have to see the next iteration of the rules to understand what I mean. I’m very happy with it.

The unit blocks themselves have also been simplified and the mechanisms for managing units in the game made more coherent. Each block has the unit type, unit quality and, in some instances, an indication of whether the unit is Aggressive or Timid. Leaders are separate blocks (small ones that sit nicely on the unit blocks) with their own quality value. You can use the leader’s quality rating as a substitute for the unit with which he’s stacked. The values are mostly hidden in the pictures here, but they were taken from a playtest where counters were recording outcomes. A stack represents the complete unit. A stack of two blocks has the quality of the block on top and a momentum of 2 (for the two blocks in the stack). Think of momentum as roughly the number of men times the velocity they can muster; momentum times quality is then the basic combat value of the unit.

Other elements that have been added or modified include:

1. Units must now be motivated to act. This reflects the degree of autonomy prevalent in the period. Clans acted semi-independently of one another, making coordinaion and command and control a challenge. The need to motivate units mimicks all those messengers flitting around the battlefield.

2. Units always have one of two dispositions: omote (open) or kage (shadow). Omote units are more willing to move and attack; Kage units are more patient, ready to defend and to recover. The disposition doesn’t prevent a unit from performing any order, but it leans the outcomes in a certain direction (and without lots of fiddly work being done by the players). Think of Takeda Katsuyori at Nagashino. He was aggressive, determined to take the initiative, to fight. Nobunaga waited patiently, relying on clever defence. This disposition rule allows the player to reflect the emphasis for his forces without hamstringing himself.

3. The game phases (opening, middle, end) are now linked into the amount of combat that has occurred. Every time an opposed roll is called for, a time shift may occur. Each action card has a little symbol on the bottom of it. If they match in the opposed roll, a timeshift occurs. The symbols are the mon for the Tokugawa, Hideyoshi, the Oda, the Takeda and the Imperial family. And they match the mon on the bottom of the Gambit cards. If, for example, three timeshifts occur because the Oda mon was paired three times in opposed rolls, any Gambit with 3 Oda symbols is eligible to use. The number of time shifts determines what phase the game is in, and each phase changes the nature of the Gambits that are available to play. So, towards the end of the game, you strategic manoeuvring to envelope the enemy comes into effect (think of Kawanakajima).

4. I’ve introduced the concept of Shock Melee. Actually, I have to thank Richard Berg for the idea. When two moving units come into contact, the first thing they do is undergo Shock Melee. No one takes hits, but the result of the impact can cause a loss of cohesion. If it’s big enough, the smaller unit can stumble and break.

5. Finally, and perhaps most obviously, I’ve gone back to a hex system. This means it’s a board game, but there is no reason why it can’t be played with miniatures. Personally, the blocks and the cards–wait till you see the cards–provide a beautiful aesthetic that more than makes up for a lack of miniatures. And, to be frank, I like the clarity of a board. No measuring, no arguing.

So, I hope that is enough to pique your interest. The new draft of the rules are being worked as I type, but they aren’t available yet. And my ambitions: a VASSAL module that you can play on. Now, to find someone who knows something about VASSAL. I’m trying to convince my partners (Andrew and Greg) to play test soon–I have the 4th battle of Kawanakajima ready to go, and my plan is for Uesugi Kenshin to scrub the floor with the Takeda. I’ll put a report up on that when it happens. Otherwise, Kampai!

Simon