Rokumon

Rokumon Rulebook

Table of Contents

Components

1 Rule book
1 Sanada Clan tile
4 Sanada Warrior tokens
1 Tokugawa Clan tile
5 Tokugawa Warrior tokens
7 Revenge tokens
7 Coin tiles

Sanada

During the Sengoku period (1467–1615), many Japanese clans gained control of territories by force, alliances and treachery. Smaller clans were absorbed by larger ones until Japan was unified and governed by a new Shogun.

One of these small clans was the Sanada Clan, whose leaders were great warriors and strategists. The most famous and fierce of whom was Sanada Yukimura (1567–1615).

The Sanada clan warriors are:

Sanada Nobuyuki (value 2)
Sanada Yukimura (value 6)
Sanada Masayuki (value 4)
Sarutobi Sasuke* (value 2)

Tokugawa

The Tokugawa Clan was founded in 1567 by Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543–1616). Although the early history of the clan remains a mystery, its members ruled Japan as Shoguns from 1603 to 1867.

The Tokugawa clan warriors are:

Tokugawa Ieyasu (value 3)
Hattori Hanzo* (value 3)
Tokugawa Hidetada (value 1)
Honda Tadakatsu (value 5)
Date Masamune* (value 1)

Game Overview

The game outlines the history of the Sanada Clan in 6 acts. Each act offers a simple addition to the rules, making for an easy way to learn the game. Play all of the acts in order as your chosen clan.

During each act you will be placing and moving warriors to try to win the act.

At the end of each act, the loser must take 1 revenge token from the supply, and place it in front of them, face up showing the number. Revenge tokens may be used later in the game. See Fight on page 18 [sic: the printed page reference reads 18, but the Fight rules are printed on page 13, as the index shows].

How to Win the Game

At the end of Act 6, the player with the fewest revenge tokens (face up or face down) wins the game. If tied, play Act 6 again to determine the winner of the game.

How to Win an Act

There are 3 ways to win an act.

3 IN A ROW: You win if you control 3 or more adjacent coin tiles in a straight line (in any direction). You control a coin tile when the top warrior token on it is yours.

3 IN A STACK: You win if you have 3 of your warriors in a stack on 1 coin tile.

SUBMISSION: You win if your opponent cannot take any actions or surrenders.

Remember to take 1 revenge token if you lose an act.

Setup

Start the game by choosing a clan. Beginners should play as Tokugawa since they have more warriors. Place your matching warrior tokens (face down) and clan tile (face up) in front of you. This is your supply. Set aside the 7 revenge tokens and the 7 coin tiles.

Turn Overview

The Sanada player (red) is always the starting player. Take turns until someone wins the act. On your turn, take 1 action.

The actions are Deploy, Move, Attack, and Surprise. See each act for the possible actions.

Code of Honour

If you have fewer revenge tokens than your opponent you must always:

Allow your opponent to take back their very last Move action.
Announce Tanomo! (challenge to battle) if you are able to win on your next turn.

Act 1: Rokumonsen

The Sanada Clan is founded by Sanada Yukitaka (1512–1574) and the Rokumonsen is adopted as its wartime crest. The six (roku) coins (mon) represent the toll required to cross the Sanzu River in the afterlife. With this tribute always at hand, the Sanada warriors are never afraid to die in battle.

In 1544, Sanada joins the legendary Takeda Shingen and proves his strategy and combat skills in numerous bloody battles.

Before and after Sanada's death, his 3 sons fight under Takeda.

At the Battle of Nagashino in 1575, 2 of the 10,000 Takeda casualties are Sanada's sons. Sanada Masayuki, the third son, inherits the Sanada Clan.

Act 1 Setup

Shuffle the coin tiles. Place 3 of them in a row, and another 3 in a row below it. Set aside the other tile. Always place tiles face up and from left to right.

Act 1 Actions

Deploy

Place any 1 warrior token from your supply onto any empty coin tile, face down. You may not deploy a warrior on a tile that already has 1 or more warriors. The warrior token values are not used until Act 3.

Move

Move any 1 of your previously placed warrior tokens from a coin tile to any different coloured coin tile, any distance away. You may not move a warrior that is covered by another warrior.

If there are warriors on the coin you are moving to, cover them with the warrior you are moving.

However, you may not move to and cover a stack of 2 warriors unless both warriors in the stack are yours. All of the warriors in a stack of 3 must be of the same colour.

If your move reveals your opponent's 3 in a row, you lose.

Act 2: Ueda Castle

In 1582, the Oda-Tokugawa alliance defeats Takeda. Sanada Masayuki surrenders to Oda Nobunaga, but in a twist of fate, Oda dies at the hand of his own men. Sanada returns to Ueda and establishes alliances with several opposing clans in quick succession. Finally, Sanada joins Tokugawa, his old enemy, and together they build Ueda Castle in 1583. This alliance is short-lived.

Act 2 Setup

Take all 7 coin tiles and shuffle them. Place 3 of them in a row, and another 4 in a row below it, forming a brick pattern.

Act 2 Actions

Deploy or Move

The printed Act 2 page gives the action heading only; the Deploy and Move rules are those set out under Act 1 Actions.

Act 3: 1st Siege of Ueda

Sanada Masayuki betrays Tokugawa. Tokugawa is furious and attacks Ueda Castle in the First Siege of Ueda in 1584.

Sanada's 2,000 men reduce Tokugawa's 7,845 men by 1,300, with only few casualties of their own.

Among the victors was Sanada's son, Sanada Yukimura, who gained valuable knowledge about siege defence and Tokugawa's strategy.

Act 3 Setup

Follow the same setup as in Act 2.

Act 3 Actions

Deploy, Move, or Fight

Fight

Reveal and compare 2 warrior tokens in a stack on any 1 coin tile. One of the warriors must be yours.

Return the lowest value warrior to its owner's supply, face down. It can be deployed again later. The other warrior remains on the coin tile.

Before revealing the warrior tokens, players may, in any order, use any of their face-up revenge tokens. When both players are ready, reveal both warrior tokens. Each revenge token used during this action adds 1 to the value of their warrior, and then remains face down in front of its owner until the end of the game. If both warriors are tied, return each of them to their owner's supply.

Exception: When comparing the red 6 and the black 1 marked with a star, the 6 always loses.

You may look at any of your own warrior's values at any time.

Act 4: 2nd Siege of Ueda

Around 1600, Sanada Masayuki and Yukimura join the Western Army. But Nobuyuki (Yukimura's brother), possibly as a way to preserve the Sanada name, joins the opposing Eastern Army.

These huge East and West armies meet at the Battle of Sekigahara.

Tokugawa Hidetada (East) leads 38,000 men, including Sanada Nobuyuki, to Sekigahara. Passing Ueda Castle en route, they are ordered to reduce Ueda Castle.

To their surprise, Sanada's 2,500 men inflict severe casualties and delay them long enough that the siege is called off. Tokugawa arrives too late to make a meaningful contribution to the Battle of Sekigahara.

Act 4 Setup

Follow the same setup as in Act 2.

Act 4 Actions

Deploy, Move, Fight, or Surprise

Surprise

Once per act, reposition any 1 coin tile to an empty part of the board so that it touches at least 2 tiles and adheres to the brick pattern. This coin tile may not be moved on the following turn. Any warriors on the coin tile the moved remain on that coin tile. [sic]

Each player may only surprise once per act. Flip your clan tile face down to show you have taken this action. Reset your clan tile at the end of the act.

Note: the publisher's itch.io errata refers to a "Once per game" wording in the Surprise rule on page 8. Page 8 of this PDF has no Surprise rule, and the Surprise rule as printed here already reads "Once per act", so the text above is transcribed as printed.

Act 5: Winter in Osaka

Father and son Sanada are exiled after Sekigahara. Nobuyuki, on the winning side, looks out for them.

After his father's death, Sanada Yukimura escapes and joins Toyotomi Hideyori in 1614.

Sanada's siege defence knowledge and 7,000 men help him build an impenetrable fort south of Osaka Castle called Sanada Maru.

Sanada and his men launch a number of intimidating attacks against the siege lines, breaking through several times.

Act 5 Setup

Shuffle all of the coin tiles, then draw 1 and reveal the number of dots on it. Then, follow the same setup as in Act 2. Finally, flip over the coin tile drawn earlier.

This face-down coin tile represents Sanada Maru. It adds a 3rd colour to the game. As such, you can Move a warrior token from it to any other tile, and vice-versa.

Act 5 Actions

Deploy, Move, Fight, or Surprise

Act 6: Summer in Osaka

After days of bombardment, Toyotomi agrees to a peace treaty, but this fails to keep the opposing sides from fighting. In 1615, the 155,000-strong Eastern Army defeats the Western Army and Osaka Castle burns.

A soldier under the command of Date Masamune, the One-Eyed Dragon of Oshu, kills Yukimura as he sits exhausted, takes off his helmet, and accepts his fate as the Last Sengoku Hero.

This ends the Toyotomi regime and marks the beginning of the new shogunate.

Act 6 Setup

Follow the same setup as in Act 5. Then, flip over all of the warrior tokens. These remain face up during this act.

Act 6 Actions

Deploy, Move, Fight, or Surprise

Epilogue: Return to Ueda

Following the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate, restrictive rules limit warlords to just 1 castle each. Culture and trade flourish. Peace is on its way. Sanada Nobuyuki (now Nobuyoshi) is made lord of the Ueda Domain, and then in 1622 lord of the Matsushiro Domain. He holds this position until his death at 92 years of age.

Solitaire Rules

ROKUMON can be played solitaire against an artificial opponent called Taroma (from "Taro" and "Automaton"). The rules are mostly the same. Only the differences are explained.

You, the player, must choose to play as Tokugawa (easy), Sanada (medium), or as Tokugawa with only 4 pieces (difficult). Taroma will play as the other clan.

As your chosen clan, you must win 3 consecutive battles to win the solitaire game. Battles are won the same way any Act is won.

At the beginning of each battle, shuffle all of the coin tiles and place them at random, face up, forming a hexagon with 1 tile in the middle. Feel free to try different tile layouts after you win the solitaire game.

Solitaire Actions

Deploy or Move

Taroma's Turn

On each of Taroma's turns, go through the list of actions below, from 1 to 10, and choose the first possible action. As you go through the list follow these 2 golden rules:

① Always block the greatest number of possible player wins.

② If in doubt, base your choice on the coin tile with the fewest pips.

CONQUER: Deploy or Move one of Taroma's warriors to create 3 in a row or 3 in a stack, and win.
COVER: Move 1 of Taroma's lone warriors and cover 1 of the player's lone warriors.
BLOCK: Deploy 1 of Taroma's warriors to block a player win.
MATCH: Deploy 1 of Taroma's warriors on a coin tile that matches most of the player's lone warrior's coin tile colour. In other words, if the player has more lone warriors on gold or green coins, deploy 1 of Taroma's warriors on that colour tile.
BOLSTER: Move 1 of Taroma's lone warriors to cover another of Taroma's lone warriors.
MANEUVER: Move 1 of Taroma's warriors in a stack to cover one of the player's lone warriors, or 1 of Taroma's lone warriors.
DEPLOY: Deploy 1 of Taroma's warriors.
MOVE: Move one of Taroma's lone warriors.
RETREAT: Move 1 of Taroma's warriors in a stack.
SURRENDER: Taroma admits defeat. The player wins this battle.