Samurai rule sets

[Cholmondely Percival IV]

While scanning Caliver Books’ pike and shot era rules earlier I came across a couple of sets of samurai rules that intrigued me. One was Bushidan, very recently published by Helion, for which I had previously seen an advertisement. It may be early for detailed coverage but I’m curious as to whether anyone has yet acquired it and might be willing to give some first impressions. The author is Pauli (sic) Kidd and the set is designed for small unit warfare in the period 1543 - 1615.

The other set was completely unknown to me. It is called Tsuwamono No Michi - The Way Of The Warrior: Samurai Wargame Rules. The very scant information is that it is authored by Martin Brierley, “clan-based”, for 15 - 25 mm scale, and “not for the faint-hearted!”. On Googling the title I found it is also available from Amazon - as is Bushidan - which gives more details, including length (36 pages) and date of publication (2019). Has anyone seen it or, better still, played it?

Edit: I can now add a third set, of which I know even less than of the others. It’s called Teppo - Battles in the Late-Samurai Era and may be recently published. I don’t know the author’s name.

[ithoriel]

I came across Tsuwamono No Michi - The Way Of The Warrior before deciding to use a modified version of Strength and Honour.

Noble Knight have this blurb about it. Sounds like a skirmish game which is not what I was looking for.

Description

The Shogun has lost his grip on power, now all the Daimyo fight for supremacy and want to take the title of Shogun. It’s the Onin War, also known as Sengoku Jidai

“The Age of the Country at War”

Set prior to the mass introduction of gunpowder, in a time when the samurai warrior was the master of his own household, answerable only to his liege lord, the Daimyo.

Create a household of family samurai warriors, gather your retainers the Ashigaru and Sohei warrior monks. Ronin samurai also travel the lands looking for employment and the peasants could be a last resort.

Designed to be fast and fun, these rules allow for an element of the theatrical, so why not try jumping from roof to roof, it always makes for a memorable game. But be careful, lurking in the shadows are the Shinobi, the Ninja warriors trained in the art of assassination and deception. You will have to watch your back, for they can appear from nowhere and disappear just as quick.

[Cholmondely Percival IV]

Yes, it does appear to be a skirmish game, as is Bushidan. The description you quote, like the one on Amazon, says a little about the background but very little about the game system. Furthermore - and again in common with Amazon’s description, which appears to be taken from the book itself - it’s historically dubious, conflating the Onin War (1467 to 1477) with the entire Sengoku period, which can be taken to have begun with that conflict, but lasted until at least 1615.

[Cat]

The other set was completely unknown to me. It is called Tsuwamono No Michi - The Way Of The Warrior: Samurai Wargame Rules. The very scant information is that it is authored by Martin Brierley, “clan-based”, for 15 - 25 mm scale, and “not for the faint-hearted!”.

Hmm, curious how that compares with the old Bushido RPG from the 80's.  Character creation and prep was super math-intensive, and the book's layout and editing didn't help, that part was definitely not for the fain-hearted!  Once that was sorted out though, gameplay was pretty smooth and enjoyable.

[Jemima Fawr]

The 'Tenka-Fubu' blog by 'Osmoses' of this parish is definitely worth a browse, as he plays Samurai warfare at every level, from role-playing, to skirmish, small battles and large battles, even encompassing the early 'Gempei War' to the 19th Century 'Boshin War'.  There's plenty of rules discussion and suggestions, as well as downloads:

https://tenkafubu608971038.wordpress.com/

[Osmoses]

Thanks for the plug Jemima, but I must refute your libellous accusation of role-playing. Well, not that kind anyway...

I did see a copy of 'Teppo' at a show a few years back. It's only 14 pages long....

[Jemima Fawr]

Thanks for the plug Jemima, but I must refute your libellous accusation of role-playing. Well, not that kind anyway...

I did see a copy of 'Teppo' at a show a few years back. It's only 14 pages long....

Weeelll... Your skirmish-game reports are so story-driven, I assumed they were RPGs! 

[Osmoses]

To be serious, I have used RPG tables for encounters, events or NPC reactions to generate a narrative to link skirmish scenarios.  Works well for solo games, but no reason why two sensible players couldn't use them to build a story for a PvP skirmish campaign.

[Cholmondely Percival IV]

I’m familiar with Tenka Fubu, which is a great resource. I’ve forgotten what the name means, however, if I ever knew, so would appreciate clarification on that point.

[Osmoses]

'Tenka Fubu' was a slogan adopted by Oda Nobunaga when he undertook to support Ashikaga Yoshiaki's bid to be Shōgun. It probably just meant something like 'restore virtuous rule to the capital region.' But there's a lot of debate about what it meant, and what it said about Nobunaga's intentions at the time of its adoption. You often see it translated in English as something like 'conquer the world by military force,' which it almost certainly did not mean.

[Cholmondely Percival IV]

A bit like ‘Get Brexit done’, then?

[Osmoses]

 

[Jemima Fawr]

I always assumed it was the Japanese translation of his life-long mantra:

"Highlanders Cost Double." 

[Cholmondely Percival IV]

A spokesperson for Nobunaga states that a closer rendering of the daimyo’s meaning would be, “Make Nihon great again!” and adds that a key part of his programme is a pledge to “Stop gaijin small boats!”

[Metternich]

I would characterize Bushidan as a "large skirmish" game.  It relies on and characterizes units, rather than individuals (other than the very few heroes).