Samurai (Rio Grande)

I first heard about this game on BGG - after playing Knizia's LoTR board game I wanted out what else this master designer had created.

Initially I downloaded Klear Games superb Mac/PC version of the game (http://www.klear.com/new/games/samurai/), won against 2 computer opponents on Intermediate level and became hooked.

Put simply, Samurai is like a cross between Chess, Go and Scrabble, with a nice Japanese theme (some say this feels tacked-on, but I disagree, the game has quite a Zen-like atmosphere about it).

The board is set up with Buddhas representing the religious caste, helmets representing the ruling caste, and rice paddies representing the peasant caste. Buddhas, helmets, and paddies are placed on each of the cities and villages across a map of Japan. Cities contain 2 castes, villages 1, and the capital Edo contains 1 of each.

Each player has a selection of tiles, each of which exerts an amount of influence over one or more castes. For example a '4-buddha' tile has an influence of 4 over any buddha caste adjacent to it on the board. A '2-samurai' tile has an influence of 2 over all castes adjacent to it, and so on. Once a city or village has been surrounded by player tiles, the winner of the caste pieces within is determined by who holds the most influence.

These very simple rules allow for subtle and ingenious strategies. Whereas Klear's PC version chooses the tile selection for you at each turn, the board version allows for a greater range of strategies as you initially select your first 5 tiles from your pool of 20, and thereafter refresh your 'hand' by drawing at random. So do you blow all your Samurai and 4-buddhas early on, or hold back until later, risking the chance that the tiles you need may not come up when you need them?

I highly recommend this game to anyone. Non-gamers love it, and a game only takes around 30 minutes.

While the pieces are beautifully made in onyx-like Plexiglas, my only gripe is that the tiles and board are not made of sturdier card. Otherwise, a great value game that will have you hooked forever.

I bought Samurai because I heard it was a strong game with only two players, because the rules were fairly simple and because the gameplay was biased strongly towards tactics rather than luck. I had also read that the gameplay remained strong with three and four players which would be a bonus.
I am pleased to have verified that all of the above is true! Another element of truth which I had read about whilst researching Samurai is the relationship between theme and gameplay – or, rather, lack of one. By this I mean that the game is largely abstract in nature and that the theme of feudal Japan is incidental. However, this was never really a concern to me because, when you learn a great game, you learn a great game! What does matter to me is the quality of the components and the balance of the game board. The modular board looks and feels excellent and the long, thin shape of the islands of Japan seem to lend themselves perfectly to the intended gameplay. The plastic pieces – which are captured during the game – have a very satisfying tactility, perhaps second only to my glass and wooden Go set.
The scoring system is interesting enough to warrant a special mention. Although it appears complicated when read, it is actually a very logical system which forces players to adopt a balanced strategy when attempting to conquer Japan. There are three types of object which can be captured and the winner is not only the player who captures the most of one type of object, but one who also has a good number of the other types of object. There is some similarity here with Tigris and Euphrates.
I'm a big fan of games like Puerto Rico, Power Grid, El Grande, etc. but I regard Samurai as a refreshingly different game. It does not take as long to play and the strategies seem to be less obfuscated by the unpredictable and sometimes chaotic choices of other players. At the same time, the board and components are a joy to play with and the theme does provide a good amount of superficial pleasure. The real winner for me, however, is the way the game plays brilliantly with two, three and four players and is easy to explain to non-gamers.