Sekigahara: A SaMoKo Review http://fortressat.com/ Sun, 19 May 2013 17:58:38 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://fortressat.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3194#josc78562 Good review. I just traded for the game and spent an evening drinking wine and stickering the blocks with my lady. We'll be trying it out soon and I have high expectations. It's a beautiful game to look at when it's set up. mikecl Fri, 30 Mar 2012 15:39:00 +0100 http://fortressat.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3194#josc78541 Thanks for writting up the review for F:AT. I think people who like block games like Hammer of the Scots and also like Freidrick or Maria will like Sekigahara. KingPut Fri, 30 Mar 2012 00:47:07 +0100 http://fortressat.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3194#josc78537 While all of the movement rules are technically covered, I consider them so lacking clarity as to be an omission. There are no examples that cover the distinction between activating a stack of blocks and activating an area and moving blocks from a stack independently. This is a big, big part of the game and the manual should have used illustrations to convey what should have been a simple set of rules. Personally, my first few games were played without knowing the extent of how I could move blocks around, and that definitely doesn't seem to be an uncommon situation. If the manual doesn't explain a simple ruleset so the average gamer can understand it in a read or two, it can be improved. Yeah, it's subjective, but that's the standard I go by. The game is definitely card driven, but I wouldn't consider it a CDG either. By now, CDGs refer to a specific family of game with an established formula of ops, events, and so on. Sekigahara boldly does it's own thing, which is great. I love originality in game designs. SaMoKo Thu, 29 Mar 2012 23:04:01 +0100 http://fortressat.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3194#josc78536 What is the critical ommission in the rulebook that you mention? I myself did have to read the rulebook twice just grasp the whole and then I read it a third time to make sure I got it right. But I didn't catch any critical ommissions. Also, I would hesitate calling it a CDG or even card driven. The cards are important as a resource but there are no events associated with them that drive the story forward as is typical in what is commonly called CDGs. But overall I agree with your assessment, particularly the one where it challenges the labels of wargame and eurogame (or even wareuro). It is also a game that if you are playing it in public people will come up and watch. The components and there usage just draw people in. T TDawg Thu, 29 Mar 2012 22:00:38 +0100 http://fortressat.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3194#josc78533 [quote=VonTush]Since the Tokugawa recruitment centers are spread out it seems like they will have stacks that are pretty homogeneous in composition. Do y'all think the cost of time and cards to combine and split stacks to mix the composition up is worth it? With time being short and movement precious I can't tell if it makes more sense to mix them up to have card flexibility or just go into battles to start building some combat momentum. Perhaps this is just a matter of personal preference instead of which is better?[/quote] In the early game (weeks 1, 2), you've really got to make hay with what you have. There isn't much room to drop cards for extra movment - doing that will give you extra flexibility at this stage, but take away your cards to capitalize on it. Once the game is a bit farther along, both players will have more resources at their disposal. The question then becomes whether to use that for the extra board presence or to keep additional cards in hand for battles. Contributing to this are how many actions were spent on mustering on the first few rounds. Not mustering can give an extra activation or two to spread around forces, and those reinforcements can enter in later rounds more efficiently. The game is tight enough that decisions like this can have huge impact in the later game. One more thing to notice with Tokugawa - the prime place to shuffle blocks is in the area around Gifu castle. One of the reasons it's so necessary for either side to hold this location is for the breathing room to reorganize near the front lines. This is especially true if you have some special attack blocks nearby, who excel at breaking up sieges or defense. (A sieging player is less likely to bring these powerful blocks to the field in a siege because their bonus doesn't contribute, and even a small stack of specials can put a good dent in a large stack). Also consider what your randomized blocks are and how many special units you have before deciding if a reorganization is needed. While less productive, deciding on casualties also has a big effect on unit composition, as well. SaMoKo Thu, 29 Mar 2012 18:47:39 +0100 http://fortressat.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3194#josc78530 I want to play the Sekigahara scenario in Samurai then play this. tscook Thu, 29 Mar 2012 09:57:56 +0100 http://fortressat.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3194#josc78529 Really nice, SaMoKo. Definately have to check this out. Hex Sinister Thu, 29 Mar 2012 07:20:21 +0100 http://fortressat.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3194#josc78523 definitely a better game that AFAOS. I'd give it game of the year 2011 personally. Its war game that for is cut down to just the gut wrenching decisions. Also it probably has the best components of any war game. (NT comes close) DukeofChutney Wed, 28 Mar 2012 23:22:26 +0100 http://fortressat.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3194#josc78521 got it, need to play it Jur Wed, 28 Mar 2012 22:01:48 +0100 http://fortressat.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3194#josc78514 Great analysis and commentary in the last half of the review, probably the best I've seen on this website in at least weeks. dragonstout Wed, 28 Mar 2012 19:17:53 +0100 http://fortressat.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3194#josc78513 Excellent review, a great read, thanks. Notahandle Wed, 28 Mar 2012 19:17:51 +0100 http://fortressat.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3194#josc78512 I have played yellow mostly; but from what I have seen, you attack with whatever the cards give you. There usually isn't enough time to spend combining/repositioning blocks. Msample Wed, 28 Mar 2012 19:09:49 +0100 http://fortressat.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3194#josc78509 It seemed to me like it was difficult to kill a character for the win, so I was figuring going the distance was the more common result. Thank you for the responses. Point of strategy question: Since the Tokugawa recruitment centers are spread out it seems like they will have stacks that are pretty homogeneous in composition. Do y'all think the cost of time and cards to combine and split stacks to mix the composition up is worth it? With time being short and movement precious I can't tell if it makes more sense to mix them up to have card flexibility or just go into battles to start building some combat momentum. Perhaps this is just a matter of personal preference instead of which is "better"? VonTush Wed, 28 Mar 2012 17:48:21 +0100 http://fortressat.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3194#josc78508 Definitely the best wargame (bah, best game!) of late. moss_icon Wed, 28 Mar 2012 17:33:57 +0100 http://fortressat.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3194#josc78507 I first saw the game as a proto at WBC many years ago and it didn't seem interesting. A friend taught it to me at a con last fall and we banged out two games in about 4 hours. It is a very clean design, although I agree the rules are bit hard to grok in places, partially because it doesn't really use an existing game as a base. The player aid cards help a lot. If people are turned off by 2-3 hour play times, turn in your AT card dammit. I've played 5 times now I think; I think Tokugawa has died once and the rest have gone the distance. In another game, I came one card away from killing Ishida, but I ended up winning anyway. Msample Wed, 28 Mar 2012 17:31:16 +0100 http://fortressat.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3194#josc78506 [quote=VonTush]Thanks for the review! Sekigahara has been the only game of late where I've been really excited and almost counting down the days until the next game...which was supposed to be tonight but my buddy had to cancel. I've only played a half learning game and one full game so there is still a lot to discover for me. I was wondering though: What tends to be your end game scenario? Running the clock down or killing a sudden death character?[/quote] I don't have any statistics or anything, but points seem to be the most common, followed by character death. Of the character deaths, Tokugawa seems to be the most likely candidate because the Ishida player typically has more disposable leaders available, while Tokugawa is often needed to speed up his troops. It also seems much easier to track where Tokugawa might be on the map, with Ishida having starting area that branches off into a lot of directions. I've used Ishida to ship troops from the recruitment centre north of Kyoto, chill in the capital, siege nearby castles or lead a big stack. He's flexible, and there's rarely a need to use him in combat. Tokugawa has far fewer options, and is way more likely to be fielded in a pinch. SaMoKo Wed, 28 Mar 2012 17:04:01 +0100 http://fortressat.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3194#josc78504 Sekigahara: proving to the world there's a worse font than Comic Sans. wolvendancer Wed, 28 Mar 2012 16:48:53 +0100 http://fortressat.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3194#josc78503 Thanks for the review! Sekigahara has been the only game of late where I've been really excited and almost counting down the days until the next game...which was supposed to be tonight but my buddy had to cancel. I've only played a half learning game and one full game so there is still a lot to discover for me. I was wondering though: What tends to be your end game scenario? Running the clock down or killing a sudden death character? VonTush Wed, 28 Mar 2012 16:29:18 +0100