Over the past week I have been cleaning up some old samurai MiniFigs and Dixon samurai miniatures that I painted way back in the 1980’s. This cleaning up got me wanting to get my existing Samurai collection of miniatures onto the tabletop for a game. I opted to play the Battle of Sekigahara, 1600, using the scenario from the Junior General website, the game pits Ishida Mitsunari's seven-unit Western army against Tokugawa Ieyasu's six-unit Eastern army. One of the Western unit’s loyalty is suspect and could potentially switch sides during the game and join the Eastern forces.
The Sekigahara game set up. Red units representing the eastern army and Blue for the Western army. |
I typically use a variation of One-Hour Wargaming's pike and musket rules when playing Samurai games, but I decided against using them for this battle due to its large scale, and how the armies involved were organisated around the self-contained units called Sonae. Where each Sonae is led by a clan Daimyo and contains a mix of troop types, including bowmen, arquebuses, Ashigaru spearmen, and samurai warriors.
A close up showing the mix of miniatures. |
So what to do with the rules when you have only 6 units which are essentially identical with a combination of arquebuses, Ashigaru spearmen, and samurai?
The game as the potential to be very boring with no unit differentiation and units operating in the same manner. Well I turned to a rather unexpected set of rules for inspiration - Ganesha Games “Samurai Robots Battle Royale” rules.
Ganesha Games Rules |
At this point you may be asking have I lost my marbles? But there are similarities between how a robot and a unit (Sonae) operate. Both have missile capabilities (Sonae have bow and arquebus) and combat capabilities (Sonae have Ashigaru spear and samurai).
For this game, a typical Sonae would consist of 3 missile bases combining 1 bow base and 2 arquebuses, 3 Ashigaru bases, and 2 Samurai bases. The overall commander would be added to one of the Sonae, bringing its samurai count to three.
On the left a Sonae with 8 bases: 2 samurai, 3 Ashigaru spears, 2 arquebuses, and 1 bow. On the right a Sonae with an additional commander and so fields an additional samurai unit. |
Despite the similarity of Sonae on both sides, Ganesha Games' activation system adds a layer of choice and risk taking to the gameplay. On your turn, you can activate a Sonae by rolling one, two, or three dice. Each dice score that equals or exceeds the model's Quality score allows you to execute an action for that unit. However, for each failed activation roll, the other player gets an opportunity to react immediately. This back-and-forth between activation and reaction keeps the game both interesting and unpredictable. If you happen fail two or more dice then your turn is over and it’s the other player’s turn.
In most cases a Sonae’s quality score is 3+ and reflects how loyal a Daimyo is to the lord they are aligned to, but this can be set at 4+ where a Daimyo’s loyalty is questionable. When rolling for reactions a 4+ is required and no unit can react more than once in a turn.
The possible actions a unit can take are:
- Shooting: Place any missile bases in the front row. If the target is within 12 inches, roll 1D6 and add the number of available arquebus bases in the front row. The target rolls 1D6 and adds the number of bow bases*. If the attacker's total score is higher, the defender removes one base of their choice from the front row. (Costs 1 action)
- Aimed Shooting: Same as shooting, but the attacker chooses the base to be removed from the front row. (Costs 2 actions)
- Assault: Place any combat bases (Ashigaru or Samurai) in the front row. Move 6 inches into contact with the target Sonae and roll 1D6, adding the number of combat bases in the front row (1 for each Ashigaru base and 2 for each Samurai base). If the attacker's total score is higher, the defender removes one base of their choice from the front row. (Costs 1 action)
- Targeted Assault: Same as assault, but the attacker chooses the base to be removed from the front row. (Costs 2 actions)
- Move: Move 6 inches, or 3 inches across difficult terrain (e.g., rivers). (Costs 1 action)
During a player's turn, they can rearrange the bases within a Sonae once following a successful activation. However, each Sonae must always maintain three bases in its front line. Replace any front line gaps immediately with another base.
A Sonae is considered eliminated when either it is reduced to fewer than three bases or it has no remaining Samurai bases.
Flank and rear attacks are always directed against the second and third rows of a Sonae. When defending against a flank or rear attack the defending player must select three bases, if possible, to counter the attack. If a Sonae only has a front row, it cannot be attacked by either shooting or assault. It is all to confused for an attacker to be effective.
To disengage from a melee, a Sonae can move away from the opponent, but this action prohibits any shooting or assault attacks by it during the player’s turn.
The game report…
The tabletop setup. Hideaki’s Sonae will appear on the far flank once their loyalty is determined. Until then both armies will have to be wary of committing too much on that flank. |
Opening moves…
In a bold move the Western army shifts an additional Sonae to their left flank, aiming to bolster their counter attacks against the Eastern army's initial advance |
Mid-game…
In a dramatic shift of momentum, Kobayakawa Hideaki's forces, having declared their allegiance to the Eastern army, descend from Mount Matsuo and enter the battle. |
The Western army's right flank finally succumbs to superior numbers. |
I do enjoy your experimentation, always exploring new ideas. Was Hideaki's alignment really random or predetermined by his sonae being in red? I think I suggested a few differnet unit colours for allied / independent contingents a while ago.
ReplyDeleteThe Robot Samurai rules do sound like they are related to 'Song of Blades and Heroes' at lleats as far as activation goes:
Activation
Both players roll a die. The high roller takes a first turn, nominating one of his figures, and rolling one, two or three dice to activate it. The player chooses how many dice to roll. The roll/s is/are made against the model’s Quality. The model can act according to the number of successes rolled:
Successes rolled Possible actions
1 failure Model performs no action; player may nominate another model and try to activate it.
1 success Model performs one action, then player nominates another figure and rolls to activate it.
1 success, 1 failure Model performs one action, then player nominates another figure and rolls to activate it
1 success, 2 failures Model performs one action, then play passes to the opponent.
2 or 3 failures Model performs no actions, play passes to the opponent.
2 successes Model performs 2 actions, then player nominates another figure and rolls to activate it.
2 successes, 1 failure Model performs 2 actions, then player nominates another figure and rolls to activate it.
3 successes Model performs 3 actions, after that the player nominates another figure and rolls to activate it
When making Quality rolls, a roll of 1 is always a failure, a roll of 6 is always a success.
The table is easier than it looks. Regardless of the number of dice you roll, you are entitled to one action per success rolled. But if at any point you roll two failures, play passes to the opponent. In all other cases, you can nominate another figure and try to activate it (unless all your figures have already been activated!) When all of a player’s models have been activated, or whenever the acting player rolls 2 or 3 failures, play passes to the opponent.
The activation is very similar to Song of Blades and Heroes with a few minor differences as both games are by Ganesha Games. At the moment I can field 7 Sonae per side with my existing figures, so yes the dice did decide the Hideaki’s choice. I seemed simpler to leave them off the board until the decision was made.
DeleteA query. Where you say...
ReplyDelete" If a Sonae only has a front row, it cannot be attacked by either shooting or assault. It is all to confused for an attacker to be effective."
Do you mean it cannot be attacked in the flank if it only has a single rank that is already in frontal contact? It seems odd that a weak unit cannot be attacked from the flank if it's just standing there in the open, doing nothing.
Yes, cannot be attacked in the flank if already in melee and only 3 bases. Thanks for the pick up, else the error would have made it into my rules write up.
DeleteLost your marbles? There is always method and creativity to any of your mad exploits. On rules, it seems what is old may be new again.
ReplyDeleteYour Ganesha rules strike a chord with a new ruleset I observed recently set in the WotR. The rules, Blood Red Roses, seems to take a very similar approach to your Ganesha rules. That is, different troop types are all amalgamated into one "Battle" with each battle "stance" having different troop types in the first line with each arrangement or ordering having specific combat attributes. Upon each activation, a Battle can change its stance and rearrange the battle ordering. While a number of questions came up, the game engine seemed to work.
Funny you mention WotR rules as I was tempted to try Never Mind the Billhocks with my samurai games at one point. The combination of troop types and the stances a “Battle” or “Sonae” take do certainly make it tricky finding a suitable approach to the rules.
DeleteEnjoyed your report Peter. I am particularly intrigued by the rules you adapted and their activation/reaction sequence. I thought the Sonae sounded very similar to what I imagine the organisation of a medieval Battle might be like with archers, spears, men at arms etc.
ReplyDeleteAs usual, an inspiring and thought provoking read.
Thanks. There are quite a few similarities between medieval “Battles” and “Sonae” which create challenges to reflect in the rules.
DeletePeter that is very clever. I would never of thought of using a Robot game for a 1600's game despite having Samurai in the name.
ReplyDeleteI originally though of Songs of Blades and Heroes for its activation, then that led me to Samurai Robots Battle Royale.
DeleteThe treachery of the Hideaki's Sonae was very reminiscent of the WotR Peter - maybe NMTB would be an appropriate ruleset, although the ones you ended up using seemed to give a great game with lots of "friction"!
ReplyDeleteThere are similarities to the WotR, and I do like the activation for NMTB.
DeleteThe sonae remind me of Spanish Tercios
ReplyDeleteI working on a what if, game around the idea of a successful Spanish landing in 1588
SoBH is a great set of rules
Nick
Hi Nick, agree there are similarities with Tercios and the combination of troop types. Those hypothetical games can be very interesting to play and then play. Peter
DeleteDidn't the late Stuart Asquith have an article on that in Practical Wargamer....?
ReplyDeleteI am not sure, if so it would be interesting to read.
DeleteAn unexpected choice of rules, but it seems to work well and sometimes that is all that is needed.
ReplyDeleteI was not expecting the head down this path, but the approach does add another dimension when all units are a mix of troop types.
DeletePeter, I thought the system you describe for resolving combats between formations which include a mixture of troop types very interesting and am wondering whether something like it could be used to resolve clashes between Napoleonic era divisions (or Prussian 'brigades') in a simple way for large battles.
ReplyDeleteAn interesting thought about how the approach could fit for larger battles in the Napoleonic period.
DeleteSounds quite interesting! I've never played medieval Japanese games - though back when I was into 40K there was a popular tabletop version of Legend of the Five Rings - but I've been rereading the Usagi Yojimbo books lately. In the main character's backstory, the battle of Adachigahara is basically a take on Sekigahara and is what made him a ronin. I might have to try this - once I get thru all my other projects!
ReplyDeleteI looked up the Usagi Yojimbo books - very interesting. New projects alway keep getting added to the list.
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