Overview

Battle for Rokugan is an area-control strategy game set in the Legend of the Five Rings universe. Players take the roles of daimyo (clan lords) vying for control of provinces across the land of Rokugan. Over five rounds, players secretly place combat tokens on borders and in provinces to attack, defend, and employ diplomacy. The player who accumulates the most honor by controlling provinces, territories, and fulfilling a secret objective wins.

Components

• 1 Game Board (map of Rokugan)
• 210 Control Tokens (30 per clan)
• 189 Combat Tokens (27 per clan)
• 7 Daimyo Screens
• 22 Territory Cards (2 per territory)
• 12 Secret Objective Cards
• 10 Scout Cards
• 5 Shugenja Cards
• 10 Initiative Cards
• 1 First Player Card
• 1 Round Track Token
• 15 Peace Tokens
• 15 Scorched Earth Tokens
• 4 Honor Bonus Tokens
• 4 Defense Bonus Tokens
• 1 Shrine Token, 1 Battlefield Token, 1 Harbor Token

Setup

1. Place the game board centrally. Place special tokens nearby.
2. Place one random territory card facedown under each territory space on the board edge. Return unused cards to the box.
3. Each player chooses a clan, takes their daimyo screen and tokens, and reads their clan ability aloud. Place the bluff token behind the screen. Flip remaining combat tokens facedown and mix to create a randomized combat token pool.
4. Deal 2 scout cards and 1 shugenja card to each player.
5. Shuffle secret objective cards; deal 2 to each player. Each player keeps one (hidden) and returns the other to the box.
6. Each player places 1 control token facedown in their clan capital.
7. Set aside control tokens per player count for initial placement.
8. Shuffle the initiative card of each chosen clan; reveal the top card to determine first player.
9. Add neutral initiative cards until the deck has 4 cards total. Shuffle.
10. Beginning with first player (clockwise), each player places one set-aside control token facedown in any empty province. Repeat until all set-aside tokens are placed.
11. Place round track token on space 1.

Turn Structure

The game is played over 5 rounds. Each round has three phases:

Phase 1: Upkeep

1. Determine First Player (skip round 1): Reveal top initiative card. That clan’s player becomes first player.
2. Draw Combat Tokens: Place bluff token behind screen. Draw from combat token pool until you have 6 tokens behind your screen. Flip all drawn tokens faceup – these 6 are your hand.
3. Play Territory Cards (skip round 1): Starting with first player, clockwise, each player plays one territory card or passes. Continue until all pass consecutively.

Phase 2: Placement

Beginning with first player, clockwise, each player places one combat token facedown on the map. Continue until each player has exactly 1 token remaining behind their screen.

Phase 3: Resolution

1. Reveal: Flip all combat tokens faceup.
2. Discard Bluffs/Illegal: Remove bluff tokens (return to owners) and illegally placed tokens.
3. Resolve Raids: Discard all combat/control tokens sharing a province or border with raid tokens. Replace raid with scorched earth token.
4. Resolve Diplomacy: Discard all combat tokens sharing a province or border with diplomacy tokens. Replace diplomacy with peace token.
5. Resolve Battles: Resolve all battles (order does not matter – all simultaneous).
6. Claim Territories: Claim territory cards for fully controlled territories.
7. Advance Round Track: Move token forward one space.

Actions

Combat Token Types

Token	Placement	Purpose
Army	Land border (attack) or province you control (defend)	Standard attack/defense
Navy	Coastal border (attack) or coastal province you control (defend)	Attack distant shores
Shinobi	Any province	Attack if placed in uncontrolled province; defend if in your province
Blessing	On top of any facedown army/navy/shinobi (faceup)	Adds strength; protects from card effects
Diplomacy	Province you control	Creates permanent peace
Raid	Province you do not control	Scorches earth; destroys everything
Bluff	As if any non-blessing token	Decoy; saves tokens for next round

Placement Rules

• Only one combat token per border.
• No limit on defensive tokens in a province.
• Tokens always placed facedown (except blessing, which is faceup on top of another token).
• Players may look at their own facedown tokens anytime.

Resolving Battles

• Attacker total = sum of attacking token strengths
• Defender total = sum of defending token strengths + defense bonuses
• Highest total wins. Ties go to the defender.
• Attacker wins: Remove defender’s control tokens, place one of attacker’s control tokens facedown.
• Defender wins: Control tokens remain; place an additional faceup control token (provides future defense bonus).
• Multiple attackers possible; each calculated separately against defender – highest wins.

Scout and Shugenja Cards

• Scout: Look at one of an opponent’s facedown tokens without revealing it.
• Shugenja: Reveal and discard one of an opponent’s facedown tokens.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

After 5 rounds, total each player’s honor:

Source	Honor
Flowers in controlled provinces	1 per flower (printed on map or on tokens)
Faceup control tokens on map	1 per token (not Shadowlands)
Controlled territories	5 per territory (not Shadowlands)
Secret objective	Variable (as listed on card)
Honor bonus tokens	As indicated on token
Defense bonus tokens	1 each (in addition to defensive benefit)

The player with the most honor wins.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

Special Tokens (Permanent)

• Scorched Earth: Province cannot be controlled, attacked, or have tokens placed.
• Peace: Province cannot be attacked; controller cannot attack from it. No tokens can be placed.
• Shrine: Province cannot be attacked, but controller can attack from it.
• Battlefield: No diplomacy or raid tokens can be placed in this province.
• Harbor: Placed in landlocked province; makes it coastal. Allows navy attacks/defense.

Raid Requirements

A raid token only triggers if it shares a province with the player’s shinobi OR is adjacent to a province the player controls.

Scorched Earth and Territory Control

A player can still control a territory if some provinces have scorched earth – they only need to control the non-scorched provinces.

Defense Bonus

Each faceup control token in a province provides +1 defense. These accumulate from successful defenses.

Two-Player Rules

The first player card is not used in two-player games.

Player Reference

Round Structure

1. Upkeep: New first player, draw 6 tokens, play territory cards
2. Placement: Alternate placing tokens (keep 1 behind screen)
3. Resolution: Reveal, discard bluffs, resolve raids, diplomacy, battles, claim territories

Resolution Order

1. Reveal all tokens
2. Remove bluffs and illegal tokens
3. Raids (scorched earth)
4. Diplomacy (peace)
5. Battles
6. Claim territories
7. Advance round track

Honor Scoring

• Flowers in provinces: 1 each
• Faceup control tokens: 1 each
• Territories controlled: 5 each
• Secret objective: variable
• Bonus tokens: as shown