Dôjima Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Summary
• Setup (3-6 players)
• How to Play
  • 1. Advisor selection
  • 2. Rolling the field dice
  • 3. Assigning fields
  • 4. Revealing hidden cards
  • 5. End of the round / season
  • Spring, Summer & Autumn
  • Winter - End of the game
• Saboteur & Sake Seller Effects
• Dôjima for Two Players
  • Setup
  • How to Play
  • End of the game
• Variant (3-6 players only)
• Short Game
• Turn Summary

Components

• 18 Worker cards (3 per player)
• 3 Basic Advisor cards
• 4 Advanced Advisor cards
• 1 central board
• 6 Rice field tokens
• 38 Ryô tokens with values 1 & 3 (gold coins/victory points)
• 12 markers for the central board (in 6 colors)
• 24 six-sided dice (in 6 colors)
• 1 black six-sided die
• 1 first player card

Summary

A game of Dôjima represents a year, divided into four seasons, after which each player will count their Ryô (VP's), and the winner will be determined.

During each of the first three seasons (spring, summer and autumn), several rounds will be played, until there are no Ryô left in the reserve; once this happens, the next season will start.

In the fourth and final season, winter, the players will count their Ryô and the winner is determined.

Each season, the players will put their workers to sow, water and sell the rice in the Dôjima Rice Exchange, as well as assigning the fields where each advisor will act. During the rounds each season, the players will roll their 4 dice to determine the available fields where they can send their workers, and will need to assign the field for one advisor in their hand, be it a basic or an advanced advisor.

Once all the players have chosen their advisor and assigned fields to their workers, the cards are revealed and the results of the round are calculated. The rice and water units gained or lost during the game are tracked on the central board, by advancing or moving back each player's marker on the track accordingly. The Ryô are represented by tokens that the players will take from the reserve and store in their game area.

Setup (3-6 players)

To start a game of Dôjima, place at the center of the table the 6 field tokens forming a line in order from 1 to 6. Then, place the central board next to them.

Next, each player must choose a color and take:

1. Three Worker cards of the chosen color (1 Waterer, 1 Sower and 1 Merchant).
2. One marker of the chosen color, to be placed on position 6 of the water track on the central board.
3. One marker of the chosen color, to be placed on position 2 of the rice track on the central board.
4. Four dice of the chosen color.

Then, form the advisors deck by taking the three basic advisors and adding advanced ones, up to one more advisor in the deck than players. You may use any advanced advisors you want, but it is recommendable for your first games to choose according to the following list:

• 3 Players: Basics + Imperial
• 4 Players: Basics + Imperial + Saboteur
• 5 Players: Basics + Imperial + Saboteur + Sake Merchant
• 6 Players: Basics + Imperial + Saboteur + Sake Merchant + Beggar

Note: the printed 5-player list names the "Sake Merchant", while the advisor's card text elsewhere in the rules is called the "Sake Seller". Both refer to the same advanced advisor; the name is transcribed as printed in each place.

Leave the black die next to the board, as well as 8 Ryô that will form the reserve. All the workers, advisors, dice and Ryô not in use during a game of Dôjima can be stored back in the box of the game.

The first player will be the one that growed rice in the Kansai area most recently (if none, choose one at random), who receives the first player card.

Setup for 2 player games is explained in page 10.

How to Play

Dôjima is played in rounds. Each round is divided in phases, that every player must perform before moving onto the next phase of the round.

Round phases:

1. Advisor selection.
2. Rolling the field dice.
3. Assigning cards to the fields.
4. Revealing the cards.
5. End of the round/season.

1. Advisor selection

The first player takes the advisors deck, that was prepared during the setup phase. Chooses an advisor for his/her hand and another advisor to leave face down on the center of the table. Then, the player passes the deck to the next player, who takes another advisor in their hand and so on, until every player has an advisor card.

The last player receives the remaining advisor from the deck and takes the one hidden by the first player from the center of the table. Next, it chooses one of them for his/her hand, and leaves the other face down on the table, hidden to the other players.

2. Rolling the field dice

The last player rolls the black die and assigns it to the hidden advisor at the center of the table, without showing the card to the other players.

After that, each player rolls their 4 dice, and place them in ascending order in front of them. The results of these rolls are public and every player must be able to see them. If anyone gets the same result in at least 3 dice, that player may roll their dice again, once.

3. Assigning fields

The players assign their 4 cards face down (3 workers and the chosen advisor) to their dice that were rolled the previous phase.

Each die establishes in which field tokens cards assigned to it work. Fields assigned to advisors will be their active fields. The number on the die assigned to an advisor determines the fields where workers will obtain maximum benefit. Adjacent fields (with values directly above and under the active number) will offer less benefits, and the rest of the fields are considered as "empty fields" and will not produce resources in the current round. Fields 1 and 6 are NOT considered adjacent.

(Diagram on page 4 labels the space for Advisor cards and the space for Worker cards.)

The specific effects of each card are explained below.

Historical note: The Kansai region is divided into 7 prefectures, with Osaka in the middle and the remaining 6 around it. Each field of the die represents the territory of one of those six prefectures, and the central reserve represents the seventh prefecture, Osaka and its market, where the rice was sold and bought.

4. Revealing hidden cards

All players will reveal their advisor and workers, in the order described below, and place them next to their chosen field tokens to take their actions. Additionally, the last player will be in charge of revealing the card hidden at the center of the table, when the time comes.

Note: Remember that the advanced advisors are selected according to the number of players. If not all of them are in use, ignore the phases of advisors not in the game.

A. Saboteur and Sake Seller

First, reveal the Saboteur and Sake Seller advisors, and place them next to their assigned field's tokens. These characters modify the behavior of basic advisors sharing their current field with them. Their effects are described in pages 8 & 9. Each player's workers and the basic advisors will be revealed next.

B. Sow Advisor and the Sowers

Reveal the Sow Advisor and place it above the corresponding field token. Then, each player reveals their Sower and place them under their assigned fields. Sowers assigned to the active field (the field assigned to the Sow Advisor) will receive 3 units of rice, so whoever played them can advance their rice markers 3 positions on the track. Those assigned to the adjacent fields receive 1 unit of rice, advancing their marker one position on the track, while Sowers assigned to empty fields will not produce rice this round.

After this, players will recover their Sowers (the Sow Advisor will remain on the table, in its assigned field).

Example from the rules: The yellow player earns 3 units of rice for placing its Sower in the active field of the Sow Advisor, while the red and green players receive only 1 unit. The blue player doesn't receive rice this round.

C. Water Advisor and the Waterers

Then, reveal the Water Advisor and place it over its chosen field token. Players will reveal their Waterers next, placing them under their corresponding field tokens. Waterers in the active field will receive 1 unit of water, hence advancing their water marker one position on the central board. Those in adjacent fields do not receive or lose any water, while the ones assigned to empty fields will lose 3 units of water, moving their marker back 3 positions on the central board. If a player doesn't have enough water to do this in their reserve, their crops will wither and they will have to spend units of rice to pay the difference, moving their rice marker back on the central board as many steps as necessary.

After this, players will recover their Waterers (the Water Advisor will remain on the table, in its assigned field).

Example from the rules: The blue player receives 1 unit of water, the green one doesn't receive or lose anything, while the red and yellow players each lose 3 units of water.

D. Market Advisor and the Merchants

Finally, the Market Advisor and the Merchants are revealed and placed in their chosen field tokens. Merchants can only sell once during each round; if they are assigned to the active field, they can sell 1 unit of rice for 1 Ryô or 3 units of rice for 2 Ryô. Merchants assigned to adjacent fields can only sell 1 unit of rice for 1 Ryô. The player must move its marker 1 or 3 positions in their rice track, and takes 1 or 2 Ryô tokens from the reserve, to add to his/her personal stack. Merchants assigned to empty fields cannot sell rice this round.

During this phase, if Ryô in the reserve are depleted, and there are not enough for every player to sell their rice, as an exception take the necessary Ryô from the reserve to fulfil every sell of that round. After this, players will recover their Merchants.

Example from the rules: The green and blue players cannot sell rice this round, the yellow player sells 1 unit, and the red player decides to sell 3 units of rice for 2 Ryô.

IMPORTANT: During the previous phases, if any of the mentioned advisors were not in the posession of one of the players, the last player will reveal it (it will be hidden at the center of the table) and places it in its active field token, indicated by the black die.

E. Beggar

Reveal the Beggar now. If the field indicated by its die is currently empty of any basic advisors (Water, Sow and Market Advisors), the player who chose it receives 1 Ryô from the central reserve (or the box, as explained in the previous step).

Example from the rules: The red player earns 1 Ryô since there are no other advisors in field 2.

If no player has chosen the beggar, no one will receive the extra Ryô.

F. Imperial Advisor

At any time during the current phase, while the basic advisors are being revealed, the player with the Imperial in their possession can reveal it to perform its action. This advisor allows the player to move one active worker card to the field where the Imperial Advisor is. If as a result, the worker is now in the active or adjacent fields of its advisor, the worker receives the normal benefits. The Imperial Advisor can only be used once per round.

Example from the rules: The yellow player has assigned its Sower to field 2, and the Imperial Advisor to field 5. When the Sow Advisor is revealed in field 4, the yellow player decides to use the Imperial Advisor to move its Sower to field 5.

IMPORTANT: A player cannot store more than 8 units of water and 6 units of rice at any given time. Extra units above these limits are lost.

5. End of the round / season

If there are Ryô left in the central reserve, start a new round. The new first player will be whoever chose the Saboteur, or the player sitting left of the previous first player, if nobody picked the Saboteur; in both cases, the new first player receives the first player card.

If there are no Ryô left in the central reserve, prepare the next season according to the following rules, and continue playing normally.

Spring, Summer & Autumn

When a season ends, fill the central reserve with 8 Ryô, and each player receives water, according to the new starting season:

• In spring (first season), each player starts with 6 units of water and 2 units of rice.
• In summer (second season), each player receives 1 unit of water.
• In autumn (third season), each player receives 3 units of water.

Season	Water	Rice
1. SPRING	6	2
2. SUMMER	+1	0
3. AUTUMN	+3	0
4. WINTER	END OF THE GAME

Players' rice units don't change between seasons.

Additionally, at the end of each round in autumn, put 1 Ryô from the central reserve back in the box; there is rice overstock in the market so the prices decrease.

If nobody selected the Saboteur this round (or if it is not in play that game), the first player card passes to the player sitting left of the current first player.

Winter - End of the game

The game ends when the are no Ryô left in the central reserve, at the end of autumn. Once autumn is finished, the players count their Ryô during the last season, winter. The player with the highest amount of Ryô will be the winner of the game. In case of a tie, the player with more units of rice will be the winner, and if the tie remains, it will be the player with the largest amount of water in their reserve.

Saboteur & Sake Seller Effects

These characters modify the behavior of basic advisors sharing a field with them. They do not affect advisors in other fields in any way.

Saboteur

Its skill blocks the adjacent fields of any basic advisor (Sow, Water and Market Advisors) assigned to the same field as the Saboteur. So the adjacent fields of the affected advisor will be considered empty fields for the corresponding workers that round. Additionally, the player who chose the Saboteur will be the first player in the following round and will receive the first player card at the end of the current round.

Example from the rules: The green player has assigned the Saboteur to field 3. Another player reveals that the Sow Advisor was also assigned to field 3, so it will be affected by the Saboteur. The yellow player assigned its Sower to field 4, so it will not receive rice this round, since the Saboteur turns adjacent fields into empty fields. As a consequence, only Sowers assigned to active field 3 will receive rice this round. All other fields, including adjacent fields, will be considered empty fields because of the Saboteur and will not produce this round.

Sake Seller

Its skill makes any basic advisor assigned to the same field as the Sake Seller to switch the effects of its active field with the adjacent fields.

Example from the rules: A player assigned the Sake Seller to field 5. The Water Advisor is also revealed to be assigned to field 5. The effects of the active field for Waterers will be applied to fields 4 & 6 this round, while the adjacent field will be field number 5.

If at any time the Saboteur and Sake Seller are assigned to the same field, their effects pile up as follows: If a basic advisor is assigned to the same field as them, the effects of the active field will apply to the adjacent fields, while the field where the advisor was assigned to will be considered empty.

Dôjima for Two Players

Setup

To setup a game of Dôjima for 2 players, leave the field tokens in the box (they won't be used in this game mode) and place the board on the center of the table; then each player must choose a color and receives:

• 3 Worker cards of the chosen color.
• 1 water marker of the chosen color to be placed on position 6 of the water track.
• 1 rice marker of the chosen color to be placed on position 2 of the rice track.
• 3 dice of the chosen color for his/her workers.
• 3 dice of a different color for the advisors.

To set up the advisors for a 2 player game, put the Imperial back in the box (it does not participate in this mode), shuffle the advisor deck and place them on the table forming a pyramid.

To do so, place a card face down at the top of the pyramid, then another two face down cards in the middle level and finally three cards face up to form the third and bottom level of the pyramid.

When a face down advisor card is adjacent to 2 face up cards in the level underneath, turn the card face up, so that the players may now assign dice to that newly revealed advisor.

Next, leave next to the central board the 6 dice for the advisors and select the first player at random, who will receive the first player card. Place 6 Ryô for the reserve next to the central board. Also take 6 Ryô to refill the reserve between seasons.

How to Play

For a 2 player game use the same rules explained before, with the following exceptions:

2. Rolling dice: Each player rolls the 3 dice of their color and order them in front of themselves. Then, each one rolls 3 dice for the advisors and leaves them next to the advisor pyramid, at reach for both players.

3. Assigning fields: Each player secretly assigns his workers to his 3 dice. Then, starting with the first player, they take turns to pick any of the 6 dice for the advisors and assign them to one face up card in the pyramid.

Given that field tokens are not used in this mode, the players will only need to check the values on the dice to determine the active, adjacent and empty fields for the advisors, and NOT the position of the cards.

Once all 6 dice have been assigned to the advisors in the pyramid, continue with the next phase.

4. Revealing hidden cards: Play this phase normally, except that there is no need to place cards next to the field tokens. The advisors are already exposed, so the players will reveal their workers following the usual rules, in the specified order.

IMPORTANT: The Saboteur does not determine the first player for 2 player games. Players will alternate to be first player each round, passing the first player card to the other player at the end of each round. Also, the Beggar will only give 1 Ryô to the player who is not the first player at any given time.

End of the game

The end of the game, and the final scoring during winter for a 2 player game is done in the usual way, as described in page 8.

Variant (3-6 players only)

Alternative mode: In this variant, the game is played in the usual way, with the following exception: Switch the order of phases 1 & 2 each round, so that the players will roll their dice in the first phase, and choose advisors in phase 2.

This way, players will have bigger control over the results when the time comes to reveal their advisors and workers. Nonetheless, this variant may slightly increase the duration of the game.

Short Game

You can make your 3 to 6 players' games quicker by reducing the number of Ryô in the reserve each season to 6.

Turn Summary

1. Advisor selection. Players choose their advisors by draft selection. The remaining advisor is left face down on the table.
2. Rolling the field dice. The players roll their field dice. The last player also rolls the neutral die for the hidden advisor.
3. Assigning cards to fields.
4. Revealing hidden cards, in this order:
   • Saboteur and Sake Seller.
   • Sow Advisor & Sowers.
   • Water Advisor & Waterers.
   • Market Advisor & Merchants.
   • Beggar.
5. End of the round / End of the season.