Senji Rules Q&A

From Boardgamegeek

Includes all significant clarifications I have found up to 5 August 2008. All answers are Bruno
Cathalas except where noted.

Samurais in sea raids

Q. Can samurai take part in a sea raid?

A. Yes, of course!

Q. If a samurai takes part in a sea raid, must a dice be rolled individually for each unit (i.e. the
player declares "I'm about to roll this dice for that Samurai's involvement in the raid") or can all
the dice be rolled at once and the owning player then allocate any losses as he/she chooses?

A. You have to roll a dice for each military unit, not for samurais. They always reach their
destination.

Fleet activation

Q. How are fleets in sea zones activated?

A. Fleets in a sea zone are automatically activated for movement, i.e. an order token need not
be placed.

Q. The player hosting the emperor nominates a fleet for movement. If (previously in the same
turn) that fleet has had new units added to it by moving from a land province, can these newly
arrived units move with the rest of the fleet?

A. Yes

Q. If the player hosting the emperor selects a sea zone with units from multiple players, in what
order do the players take their turns?

A. The rule is always the same: The player who has the emperor chooses the order.

Q. The fleet disembarks in a province, must units that have made two moves (see question
above) roll for losses as in sea raids?

A. In this case, you don't have to roll any dice

Q. If I move armies to sea to form a new fleet, the fleet will only move next turn. So, when the
fleet is activated next turn, if it moves to the adjacent sea zone, is its movement over for the
turn, or can it move again (presumably to an adjacent land space)?

Q. Next turn, when this fleet is activated, you have a choice:

- to move it on any province adjacent to this sea; or

 - to move it to the other sea; or

- to move it to the adjacent sea AND then immediately move it on a territory adjacent to this
new sea, but in this case, you have to roll dice, because it's considered as a sea raid. (I know
that this last point is not written into the rules but now you have it!)

Land Movement

Q. As I read the rules, there's no explicit mention of any kind of movement limit. If activated in
the right order, an army could move across any number of adjacent provinces with move orders.
Is this true?

A. You are right. So, that means that the order in which provinces are activated is very
important and can be in the subject of negotiations with the emperor.

Q. If a province with a move order is selected, and that player wants to move his units to two or
more destinations, does the player declare all movement first or does he declare a single move,
resolve the combat, then decide if he wants to move any more?

A. He is allowed to make his first move, resolve the combat, and then decide to move any more
units if he wants to.

Q. Can he choose to attack the same province again if he lost?

A. No.

Use of Support Cards

Q. Do I have to play a support card in every combat?

A. Play of a support cards is mandatory, even if it is only a dummy card.

No Troops to Defend a Province

Q. If a defending province has no units in it, is there still a combat?

A. Yes, a player with no troops can use a support card if he is attacked. He may win the fight
this way (troops represent regular armies, but peasants are still there!)

Diplomacy Cards of Non-Player Houses

Q. If I play with less than six players, the diplomacy cards of the houses not participating in the
game are auctioned. How do I use the cards so received? For example, what can I do with a
trade card of a house not participating in the game? There is no player to give me any hanafuda
cards. Do I therefore just draw the indicated number of cards from the pile and pick one of
these?

A. Yes, you just draw them from the pile and select one (an unofficial, though logical answer)
Mercenaries

Q. Do all mercenaries and samurai hired in this way need to go on the SAME sea zone?

A. You have to place your mercenaries in the same zone (but when you'll active them, you can
choose to divide them as you wish).

Q. I have no provinces and hire 6 mercenaries in one turn. These reinforcements are placed on
a sea zone of the players choice. I then choose not to move them. Could I hire six more
mercenaries in the next turn?

A. You won't have any province, but you can't hire more mercenaries

Andy Parsons
August 2008