Samurai

Edition and setup: This entry follows Fantasy Flight Games' 2015 edition for the Reiner Knizia Samurai record, BGG 3, not other games with the same title. A two-player game uses three of the five board pieces, a three-player game uses four, and a four-player game uses all five. Take 7 figures of each caste for two players, 10 for three, or 13 for four. Each player takes 20 influence tiles in one color, secretly keeps five as a starting hand, and shuffles the other 15 into a personal draw stack. Place one Buddha, Rice, and Castle in Edo, then place remaining figures in cities and villages as shown. The normal starting hand is deliberately chosen, not randomly dealt. Starting with the youngest player, populate cities with two different caste pieces each, then villages with one each; Edo holds one of each caste. Random hands and distribution are a separate beginner setup.

Hand and Turn: On a Turn, a player may place a tile on an empty land space; tiles cannot be placed on a settlement space. Fast-icon tiles may be added, and the Turn may consist only of fast tiles. The hand limit is five. After placement and any permitted actions, draw from the player's stack until the hand again contains five tiles; if the stack is empty, draw only what remains. Tiles normally have an influence value from 0 to 4. A caste tile affects figures of its matching type, while Samurai and Ronin wild tiles affect all castes.

Fast and one-use tiles: Tiles with a fast icon may be played in addition to the normal tile, in any number allowed by the player's supply; a Turn may also consist only of fast tiles. A one-use Switch tile exchanges the positions of two caste figures on the board and is then removed. It cannot leave two figures of the same caste in one settlement. A one-use Move tile relocates one of the player's tiles placed on a previous turn without a fast icon to another empty land space, then occupies the old space. Resolve subsequent draws and placements under the normal rules.

Influence: Hex spaces are adjacent when they share a border; influence is not directional and does not extend across intervening spaces. A tile affects every adjacent settlement, with caste-specific tiles contributing only to their matching caste and Samurai, Ronin and Ships wild for all three. For each caste piece, sum each player’s adjacent valid values separately. Do not combine different castes into one settlement total or count distant tiles merely because they share a color.

Surrounding and capture: At the end of a Turn, a settlement is surrounded if every adjacent land space contains a tile. Adjacent sea spaces do not need tiles, although a Ship tile may occupy one. Resolve each figure in the settlement separately by comparing every player's influence for its caste. The player with the highest influence captures that figure; if the highest value is tied, nobody captures it and the figure is removed from the game. If several figures are in the same newly surrounded settlement, the active player chooses the order in which they are resolved.

Ships and sea spaces: Only Ship tiles can be placed on empty sea spaces; all other tiles must be placed on empty land spaces. A Ship is wild and contributes to influence for each adjacent caste figure. Surrounding a settlement checks only adjacent land spaces, so an empty sea space cannot prevent an otherwise complete surround. Sea placement affects influence but is not required to close a settlement.

End check and hidden pieces: Finish the turn’s placement, capture and hand refresh, then check. End if any caste has no pieces left on the board, or four pieces have been set publicly beside it due to tied influence. Captured pieces go behind each player’s screen and do not count toward the four public tied pieces. Do not wait for every caste to be cleared or give the other players a final extra round.

2015 scoring: Reveal captured figures and count Buddha, Rice, and Castles separately. For each caste, the player with a unique highest count receives that caste's Leader token; a tied caste gives no token. A player with more Leader tokens than every opponent wins. If the leading players each have exactly one Leader token, each sets aside figures of the caste represented by their own token and compares the other two castes. If still tied, compare all three castes; if still tied, share the win. If no one receives any Leader token, compare total captured figures across all castes; a tie is a shared win.

Scoring example and eligibility: If two leaders each hold one token and each totals three pieces outside their own leading caste, compare their totals across all three castes next; with six versus seven, seven wins. A player without a Leader token is already eliminated from this comparison, even with a larger collection. Only when nobody receives a Leader token do all players compare total pieces directly. Apply these steps to the specified FFG2015 edition.