Kenjin Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Setup
  • For 2 expert players or 3-4 beginning players
  • For 3-4 experienced players
  • 4 players team variant
• Gameplay
  • Army Deployment
  • Combat Resolution
    • Begin Combat
    • Determine the Winner
• End of the Game
• Army Cards
  • Regular Unit Cards
  • Secret Unit Cards
• Battlefields
  • Battlefields whose effect activates during Army Deployment phase or before combat
  • Battlefields whose effect activates during combat
  • Battlefields whose effect activates after combat
• Glossary
• FAQ

Contents

• 52 Army cards
• 10 Battlefield tiles
• 1 rulebook

Setup

Each player chooses a clan from the four available:

• Kamiwashi Clan (white)
• Jozu Clan (blue)
• Yaseï Clan (green)
• Hondo Clan (red)

Take the card showing your Lord on horseback as well as the 12 cards of the same color that make up your army.

Separate the 10 Battlefield tiles into two face-down stacks, one of 4 Victory Point tiles and one of 6 Victory Point tiles. The value in the bottom-right corner of a Battlefield indicates the number of victory points it is worth. Games with 4 players can play in teams. We advise that you play with 2 or 3 players for your first game.

For 2 expert players or 3-4 beginning players

Draw tiles randomly and place them based on the number of players. Return unchosen Battlefields to the box.

Then in the middle of the table, place Battlefields from the 6 Victory Point stack equal to the number of players plus one. Beginning with the last player to choose a Battlefield and going counter-clockwise, choose a 6-point Battlefield and place it between you and the player to your right. Return unchosen Battlefields to the box.

Now you have two Battlefields between you and each neighbor, one that you chose and one that your neighbor chose.

For 3-4 experienced players

Battlefield placement is identical to beginner play, but you may choose your Battlefields.

In the middle of the table, place Battlefields face-up from the 4 Victory Point stack equal to the number of players plus one.

Beginning with the oldest player and going clockwise, choose a Battlefield and place it between you and the player to your left.

4 players team variant

Four players can play in two teams of two players. Teammates sit across from each other, with an opponent on either side. Teammates can speak to each other during the game.

Gameplay

The oldest player goes first, then play proceeds clockwise.

The game happens in two phases:

• Army Deployment
• Combat Resolution

Army Deployment

Army cards come in two types: Regular Units and Secret Units.

• Regular Unit cards (eye icon) are deployed face-up. A Regular Unit's Special Ability, if it has one, activates when it is played (see card descriptions).
• Secret Unit cards (question mark icon) are deployed face-down. A Secret Unit is revealed and its Special Ability activated during Combat Resolution.

Note: If you cannot activate a Special Ability, nothing happens. If you can, you must.

Army Deployment happens over seven rounds. On each of your turns, choose two of your Army cards and deploy them on your side of one or two Battlefields. On your last turn, you deploy only one Army card.

You may deploy any number of cards on your side of a Battlefield. If you have already deployed one card on a Battlefield, place the next one on top of it in a stack, shifting them so all players can see the total number of cards on a Battlefield and the Strength of Regular Unit cards.

You can look at your Secret Unit cards at any time, but you must keep them in the same placement in the stack. After all players deploy their last cards, go to Combat Resolution.

Special Cases:

• If you deploy your Lord last, you lose 5 Victory Points for acting like a coward (see card descriptions).
• If you realize you have deployed a Regular Unit card face-down, that card is immediately removed from the game and its Special Ability has no effect.

Combat Resolution

As soon as the last player deploys the last card, begin Combat Resolution.

If you are playing with the Supply Camp, resolve this Battlefield first. Otherwise, resolve Battlefields one at a time in any order. Resolve a Battlefield completely before going to the next one.

When you resolve a Battlefield, first look at the Battlefield effect. Different Battlefields have effects that occur before, during, or after combat. Be sure to resolve its effects at the appropriate time.

Begin Combat

To begin, reveal all Secret Unit cards at the Battlefield and resolve their Special Abilities. Remove eliminated Army cards before comparing the Total Strength of each army.

Determine the Winner

Add up the Strength of your cards on the Battlefield. Include any bonuses or penalties given by card Special Abilities or Battlefield effects.

The player with the higher Total Strength conquers the Battlefield. Ties go to the player with more cards on his side of the Battlefield. If both players have the same number of cards, no one conquers.

The loser withdraws all cards from the Battlefield, leaving only the conqueror on the Battlefield.

Example of Combat Resolution: The Hondo Clan Archer eliminates the opponent's Samurai. Now, the Strength of the Hondo Clan's army is 6 against the Kamiwashi Clan's 5, so the Hondo Clan conquers the Torii and wins 4 Victory Points.

End of the Game

Total your Victory Points on every Battlefield where you conquered.

• Add 1 Victory Point for each Battlefield where you conquered and at least one of your Peasants remains.
• Add 3 Victory Points if your Lord survived on a Battlefield where you conquered.
• Any player who deployed a Lord last loses 5 Victory Points.

The player with most Victory Points wins the game. Ties go to the player who conquered the most Battlefields.

Army Cards

Regular Unit Cards

Play cards with an eye icon face-up. Play cards with a question mark icon face-down.

Add the Strength of all cards on your side of a Battlefield to know the Total Strength of your army. Activate the Special Ability of the card when you play it (if it is a Regular Unit) or during Combat Resolution (if it is a Secret Unit).

• Scout (x1) — Strength 1. Special Ability: Deploy the Scout. Reveal (turn face-up) an opponent's Secret Unit card on the Scout's Battlefield. Do not change the order of cards. The Special Ability of the revealed card does not activate until Combat Resolution phase.
• Shugenja (x1) — Strength 1. Special Ability: Deploy the Shugenja. Secretly look at a single Secret Unit card of another player on any Battlefield. Then put it back face-down without changing the order of the cards.
• General (x1) — Strength 2. Special Ability: Deploy the General. Choose one of your Secret Unit cards on the General's Battlefield. Move it to a different Battlefield where you are fighting and place it on top of the stack of Army cards. If you have only one face-down card on the Battlefield where you deploy the General, you must move it.
• Assassin (x1) — Strength 1. Special Ability: Eliminate a face-down card of another player on any Battlefield. Remove the eliminated card without revealing it, then deploy the Assassin in its place. Secretly look at the eliminated card, but keep it face-down until the end of the game. You cannot explicitly reveal the card's identity, but you may give hints (even false ones). Add the Assassin's Strength to the army where she eliminated a card — not your army. For all purposes, she is now part of your opponent's army.
• Ashigaru (x1) — Strength 2. Special Ability: none.

Secret Unit Cards

• Lord (x1) — Strength 2, plus 1 per card that is placed on the stack after him on the same Battlefield. Special Ability: If you conquer a Battlefield where your Lord is deployed, gain 3 additional Victory Points. Reminder: If your Lord is the last card you deployed, you lose 5 Victory Points for cowardice.
• Peasant (x4) — Strength 0. Special Ability: If you conquer a Battlefield where you deployed at least 1 Peasant, and that Peasant is not eliminated by a Samurai, gain 1 additional Victory Point. Even if there are multiple Peasants on a Battlefield, you gain only 1 Victory Point.
• Archer (x1) — Strength 2. Special Ability: Eliminate your opponent's Samurai if he is on your Archer's Battlefield. Remove him before Combat Resolution. This Special Ability activates before the Samurai's Special Ability.
• Samurai (x1) — Strength 2. Special Ability: Eliminate all of your opponent's Peasants, Brute, and Ashigaru on the Samurai's Battlefield. Remove them before Combat Resolution. Do not activate this Special Ability if an Archer eliminates your Samurai.
• Brute (x1) — Strength 3. Special Ability: none.

Battlefields

Battlefields whose effect activates during Army Deployment phase or before combat

• Bridge - 6 VP: Each player can deploy a maximum of 3 cards on this Battlefield.
• Rice Field - 4 VP: The Strength of Peasants on this Battlefield is 1 instead of 0.
• Sanctuary - 6 VP: After you reveal Secret Unit cards and activate Special Abilities, but before you add up Total Strength, each player destroys one of his cards with the weakest Strength. If multiple cards have the same Strength, you choose which card you destroy.
• Village - 4 VP: Army cards with 1 Strength on this Battlefield have 2 Strength instead.
• Palace - 6 VP: The player with more cards on this Battlefield suffers a penalty of –2 to the Total Strength of his army. If both players have the same number of cards, no one suffers the penalty.

Battlefields whose effect activates during combat

• Port - 4 VP: Before revealing Secret Unit cards, count the face-up Army cards deployed on your side of the Battlefield (including Assassins). Add 1 to your Total Strength for each face-up card.
• Golden Temple - 6 VP: Reveal Secret Unit cards and activate their Special Abilities. The player with greater Total Strength must exceed his opponent's Strength by 4 or more, or no one conquers this Battlefield and both players eliminate their cards.
• Fortress - 6 VP: Reveal Secret Unit cards and activate their Special Abilities. The player with greater Total Strength must have at least 3 cards on his side, or no one conquers this Battlefield and both players eliminate their cards.
• Torii - 4 VP: If you conquer this Battlefield, gain 1 Victory Point for each other Battlefield you conquer in the game.

Battlefields whose effect activates after combat

• Supply Camp - 4 VP: Note: Supply Camp resolves before all other Battlefields. If you conquer this Battlefield, immediately choose two different Battlefields. You gain a +1 bonus to Total Strength on each of those Battlefields. In a 4-player team game, you may give a bonus to an ally's Battlefield instead.

Glossary

• Conquer: have more Total Strength than your opponent on a Battlefield.
• Deploy: place a card on a Battlefield (the Assassin is deployed on the opponent's side).
• Eliminate: remove a card from the Battlefield and place it to the side, out of the game. Do not deploy it to a different Battlefield, add it to the Strength of any army, or activate its Special Ability. An eliminated card does not count as "deployed" for any reason.
• Strength: the numerical value that an Army card brings to conquer a Battlefield.
• Total Strength: the combined Strength of all Army cards on your side of a Battlefield, including bonuses and penalties.

FAQ

Can I place an Assassin on the Bridge when my opponent already has 3 cards?

YES. Note that in the Assassin's Special Ability, she eliminates a card first, then is deployed in its place.

Can I place a General on the Bridge when I already have 3 cards?

NO. Note that in the General's Special Ability, he is deployed before his Special Ability activates.

Can I conquer a Battlefield where my army is composed of only an opponent's Assassin?

YES. Once deployed, the Assassin adds Strength to and always counts in favor of the army she is with, not her deployer's army.

Can I conquer a Battlefield where my army is composed of only a Peasant?

YES, if your opponent has no cards there. Both armies have 0 Strength. However, the tiebreaker is the player with more cards.