Customer Reviews

Honor of the Samurai

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

During the 16th century, Japan was immersed in its bloody Sengoku period, an anarchic time of warfare and intrigue between daimyos, powerful warlords roughly the equivalent of European barons.

In Honor of the Samurai, players are samurai warriors, each supporting a daimyo and striving to accumulate the most honor. Following a trend of recent years toward cards rather than a game table, actions in the game are resolved through disposition of cards on the table, strategic use of cards in hand, and periodic rolls of the dice.

"The Card Game of Intrigue, Honor and Shame" is the subtitle of the game, and aptly summarizes its action. While striving to acquire the most honor, players are constantly faced with the temptation to use dishonorable means, such as assassination, theft, or firearms. Success depends on a careful balance between honorable and dishonorable actions.

Game components include 110 cards, six custom dice, and a succinct rule book. The illustrations on the cards are beautifully rendered, depicting such things as daimyos, wives, armies, ancestors' weapons, and house guards. They are also on a heavy, laminated stock, helping to ensure that the game will hold up for a long time.

The standard-shaped dice (six-sided) are marked with the actual symbols of Japanese noble houses, each of which conforms to a different number. These are easily recognizable, e.g., the symbol for "1" is a red circle, for "2" a pair of parallel wavy lines, for "5" a five-sided lotus flower.

Play moves quickly, with a single turn rarely taking more than a few minutes. An entire game can be played in an hour or so, and the number of honor points needed to win the game can be reduced, shortening the length of play.

Fortunes can change quickly in Honor of the Samurai. In one turn a player can declare his daimyo to be shogun, overall warlord of Japan, and in the next that shogun will be deposed, slain in battle or dispatched by a ninja assassin. Then the title of shogun passes to the victor, or remains in contention.

Gamewright rates Honor of the Samurai as being suitable for ages 10 to adult. Indeed, after a few turns of play a reasonably clever child 10 or older can master the rudiments of the game and will enjoy intriguing with the best of them. Children and adults will also learn about the rich, violent history that is elegantly infused into the rules, and summarized in a brief section at the end.

Honor of the Samurai delivers on all its promises, and is destined to join the ranks of the best fast-paced strategy games.

--Michael J. Varhola for Skirmisher Online Gaming Magazine

As an avid collector of board and card games, I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of this title. While not as educational as some family games available, there are significant lessons to be learned. Younger players can build skills such as basic strategy and understanding the value of diplomacy. Older, more serious players can appreciate this game for its simple mechanics, subtle gameplay, and competitive gaming environment. Add this to the fun of interacting with other players in the political arena of ancient Japan, and Honor of the Samurai is sure to please. Highly Recommended.

I (age 14) recently played this game with my best friend and two 11 year olds (our sisters), and had a blast! We couldn't wait to play it again, and did in fact the next morning! Honor of the Samurai is a game that never gets boring, there are endless strategies on how to get earn 400 honor points (at which point you win the game), and keep other players from getting in your way while reaching that goal. Additionally, Honor of the Samurai is an incredibly fast paced game, one turn you could be winning the game, but by your next turn you could be wining it!

To give you a brief idea of how game play goes, each person possess a daimyo and a samurai (in English terminology, these would be similar to a noble/lord and a knight). Each player is given a daimyo and samurai card at the beginning of the game, which each have various pluses and minuses. These include ki (the combined ki of all your cards determines how many "card actions", --i.e. drawing and playing cards-- you get), honor (you get the combined honor points of al your cards at the beginning of each turn, remember to win you have to get 400 of these) and lastly strength, which helps you to win wars.

Once you understand these basic aspects, you can begin to draw and play cards, all of which increase you amount of ki, honor, strength, or a combination of the three. Some example cards are: castles which gain you honor and strength, armies which gain you strength, and wives, which gain you honor and ki.

The ultimate card however, is the shogun card, which makes your daimyo the "king." For every turn that you are the shogun, you gain between 50 and 100 honor points (depending on the number of players)! The title of shogun is the reason you have all of the other cards, so that you won't be assassinated, declared war on, have things stolen from you etc, and so that you can keep your title as shogun and increase your power.

So, there you about have it. Once again, I definitely recommend this games for kids and adults alike. Happy playing!

P.S. Every Game Wright I every played (over 6) has been great fun. I really recommend them!

This is a great game to play when you have a few friends over. Recommend playing with at least 4 people, though it's more fun with 5 or 6. A good game for learning that fortunes can change quickly and those that start out ahead don't necessarily win the game.

Truly a great game, and well worth the purchase.

As a toy it is great fun, easy to play, and never the same game twice. Further, I well appreciate a fast paced, action packed card game where there is no booster packs or additional cards to purchase. All you need is in one box, ready to go and easy to use.

For its educational value, I'd give the game points for its historical accuracy, but limited, as most games are, I'd not use it to teach about Feudal Japan. Still, it remains a strategy game. Played well it can prove as thought-provoking as chess and serve to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills.

Durability? I'd say it's as durable as the next, but I will award points for being well designed and put together. Unlike other games I've played, it's easy to get the game out of the box, and more so, everything can be put back (and fit) just as neatly as when I first opened it. And this, of course, keeps the game looking nice.

Over all, a great purchase... and one I will get use out of time and again.

Truly a lot of fun. I have spent many a weekend playing this with friends, and unlike other games where it becomes convoluted with more players, this one becomes more interesting. Never have I stabbed my friends in the back and enjoyed it so much!

Our family plays this game every night. My 10-year old son and 12-year old daughter never tire of it. Actually, my husband and I enjoy it too! It's a great way to learn strategy, negotiating and some history, too.

I bought this for my son who just earned his black belt in karate; he loves it! the depictions are gorgeous, the rules are fairly easy for older children, my daughter (a purple belt!) who's nine can play without any difficulty, too! this games keeps them occupied for hours, and they've even read the booklet with the historical descriptions in it! Great fun!

My friends and I have had hours of fun with this game. You never get sick of it, like Risk. I heard somewhere that they are discontinuing it--I seriously hope they reconsider.

I give this game 5 stars, because it truly is a lot of fun and rather rewarding. My husband and I play it often with friends and it can get very competitive. The instruction manual is filled with interesting factoids and tidbits about history, and the amount of research and love that went into the creation of this game is evident.

HOWEVER, unless they have released a new edition with a different rule book, the rules can be slightly ambiguous in places. Nothing to terrible, but do not expect to open the game and play it right away. You will need to give you and your players ample time to read the manual and "mime" through game play. The information is there, it is just not organized like traditional board games. It is more of "rules by discovery."

I wouldn't let that stop you however. The game is more than worth the price, and will be one of those "special" games in Grandma's closet that not everyone has.