Genpei
Genpei Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Object of the Game
To gain the loyalty of any house you must hold more Influence points in it than the other players.
The player who garners the support of the largest number of houses is crowned the new emperor and wins the game.
Components
- Game board
- First Player card
- Player cards (4)
- Clan deck (72 cards)
- Kotaishi deck for single-player mode (20 cards)
- Intrigue deck (13 cards)
- House Support markers (5)
- Clan markers for use on the game board (4)
- Player Influence tokens (28)
- Kotaishi Influence tokens (6)
- Kotaishi Influence tokens for single-player mode (4)
- Coin tokens (24)
Setup
Place the game board at the centre of the playing area. Place each Clan marker on the Pagoda action of their corresponding Clan wheel.
Each player chooses a Player card and receives 3 player Influence tokens at random (chosen face down, not looking at their value). Players may check the value of their Influence tokens at any time. (You may do so while they are in your playing area or during the game, after you have placed them on the board.)
Place the 4 remaining tokens for each player face down in the Influence pool next to the board. Below, place 6 coins for each player into the Coin pool, also next to the board.
Prepare the Clan deck according to the number of players:
- 4 players: use all 72 Clan cards.
- 3 players: remove 4 cards from each clan.
- 1–2 players: remove 8 cards from each clan.
Shuffle the Clan deck and deal 4 cards to each player. Each player chooses 2 hand cards to make up their game deck. The remaining 2 cards will go to form the Ninja deck. When each player has chosen their hand cards, shuffle the Ninja deck and place it face down in the corresponding area on the side of the board.
Place the Clan deck in the position shown next to the board and turn over the top two cards. These are the Clan bids (place them to the left of the board).
Kotaishi (Multiplayer Mode)
When playing with 2 players you must use the Kotaishi. When playing with 3 or 4 players the Kotaishi is optional. (They will increase the level of difficulty.)
Place the 6 Kotaishi Influence tokens face down on the table. Shuffle them and, still face down, place one on each Clan wheel on the board and one on the space indicated on the Palace steps.
Game Turn
The player who has most recently been emperor receives the First Player card. If none of you has ever held as exalted an office, the player who reveals the highest value Kotaishi Influence token from the single-player mode begins the game (black tokens).
On your turn you must play one of the two cards from your hand, placing it face up in your discard pile.
- To play a card from your hand, you place it in your discard pile.
- The discard pile builds up until you have no more cards in your deck.
- If your deck runs out, shuffle your discard pile to create your new deck.
- From your new deck, you can continue to draw cards, which, when played, will build up your discard pile again.
Whenever you play a Clan card, it activates the clan marker on the corresponding Clan wheel: move the marker to one of the two spaces directly adjoining it and perform the action indicated on that space.
You may perform a chain of actions during the same turn: whenever you draw a card as part of an action (recruit, assassinate, ninja or reinforcements), it activates the corresponding Clan marker.
Your turn ends after you perform an action that does not allow for any follow-up actions. Refill your hand to 2 cards. (Draw as many cards as needed from your deck until you have 2 cards on your hand. If your deck contains no cards, shuffle the cards from your discard pile to create your deck, face down. At the end of your first turn, you may only have your initial 2 cards. Your deck will grow throughout the game.)
Last, replace any cards taken from the Clan bids with cards from the Clan deck. Then, the turn will pass to the player on your left.
Note: You can look at the cards in your discard pile at any time.
Example Turn
Anna plays a Kitsune Clan card from her hand. She places it in her discard pile, thus activating this clan. The Clan marker is located on the Pagoda action, so Anna can move it either to the Torii or to the Recruit action.
She places the marker on the Recruit action and selects an available card from the Clan bids on the left side of the board. She selects a Komainu Clan card and places it face-up in her discard pile. This activates Clan Komainu.
She may now move the Komainu Clan marker to either the Torii or the Recruit action. Anna decides to move it to the Torii action to perform one of the Torii actions depicted at the bottom of the board. The marker remains on the Torii action on the Komainu Clan wheel and Anna chooses one of the six Torii actions to play.
She chooses the Pagoda action from the Torii actions, paying the 3 coins required. This allows her to place one of her Influence tokens on any of the clans. She decides to place one of her Influence tokens on Clan Neko. She has no actions left to perform and so her turn ends.
Clan Actions
Recruit — Choose one Clan card from the bid, place it face up in your discard pile, and activate the corresponding clan.
Assassinate — Remove one Clan bid card from the game and activate the corresponding clan.
Pagoda — Take one of your Influence tokens from your player area and place it on the clan where you performed this action.
Ninja — Reveal the top card of the Ninja deck and activate the corresponding clan. Then place the card face down at the bottom of the Ninja deck.
Spy — Without revealing it, take the top card from the Clan deck into your hand.
Intrigue — Gain up to 3 coins. (You may not exceed the limit of 6 coins per player.)
Reinforcements — Play a card from your hand to activate the corresponding clan.
Contacts — Perform 1 action indicated by a marker on any of the other clan wheels (without moving its position).
Gain Coins — If you perform an action with a coin displayed on it, you gain 1 coin from the pool. (You may not exceed the limit of 6 coins per player.)
Torii — Perform 1 of the six Torii actions depicted at the bottom of the board. Actions marked with coins rimmed in red have a cost: You may pay for it several times in a row to repeat that action.
Torii Actions
Coins — Gain up to 2 coins from the pool. (You may not exceed the limit of 6 coins per player.)
Movement — Move a clan marker to an adjoining space (without performing that action), then play a card from your hand.
House of the Emperor — For each 1 coin you pay into the pool: move up one of the Palace steps towards the House of the Emperor.
Gain Influence — For each 2 coins you pay into the pool: take one of your Influence tokens at random from the pool and place it in your playing area.
Transfer Influence — For each 2 coins you pay into the pool: take one of your Influence tokens from the board and place it onto another clan. You cannot move the token onto the House of the Emperor using this action, but you can move it from there onto another clan.
Pagoda — For each 3 coins you pay into the pool: place one of your Influence tokens from your playing area onto any clan (you cannot place tokens onto the House of the Emperor using this action).
House of the Emperor
In the House of the Emperor the rules for placing your Influence tokens differ slightly from the way they are placed on the clans. Here, you may only place Influence tokens using the Torii action "House of the Emperor".
You may place more than one Influence token onto the House of the Emperor, but you can only ever occupy one of the Palace steps. Two players may not share the same step.
To place more Influence tokens, you must pay as many coins as there are steps until you reach the token you have placed previously. (For example, if your token is on the third step, you need to pay 3 coins to place another token on top of it.) All of your tokens on the Palace steps are piled up into one stack. If you want to move your tokens further up the Palace steps, you need to complete the Torii action again and pay 1 coin to move the entire stack onto the next step.
When playing using the Kotaishi, place one of his Influence tokens on the first step at the start of the game. Otherwise, the step functions like all the other Palace steps.
Example
Let's imagine there are no Influence tokens on the House of the Emperor. Now, Alex wants to place an Influence token. They use the Torii action "House of the Emperor" and pay one coin to place one of their Influence tokens onto the first Palace step. If they had wanted to place it onto the second step, they would have needed to pay the cost 2 times (2 coins).
Kai then wants to enter the House of the Emperor using the same Torii action. However, the first Palace step is already occupied, so they pay 2 coins to jump over the first and move onto the second step. They could have paid more to move up even more steps, but they decide to stay there.
Chris then pays 5 coins, to move up directly to the 5th step. During a later turn, Chris wants to place a second Influence token onto the House of the Emperor, but as one player can never occupy 2 different Palace steps, they will need to pay another 5 coins to place a second token onto the same step, forming a stack.
Chris could then complete the Torii action again by paying 1 coin to move their stack up one more step (or as many as they want or are able to pay for).
In this example, Kai could pay 2 coins to stack up a second token or they could pay 1 coin to move up their token one more step. They could also pay 4 coins to overtake Chris. Theoretically, Kai could even pay 6 coins, spending 2 coins to stack up a second Influence token and 4 more coins to move that stack 4 steps up, moving ahead of Chris.
The House of the Emperor, unlike the clans, has a dual role. In the Revealing Your Influence phase (see Ending the Game), the Influence tokens of all players are flipped over to see who contributes the most value and thus gains the support of this house. Additionally (and regardless of which player has the support of the House of the Emperor), in the event of an overall tie in the game (for example, if Chris and Alex end up with the support of 2 clans each), the tie is broken by the player who has risen up highest in the House of the Emperor (in the example pictured here, Chris would take the tie-breaking victory as they hold greater influence in the House of the Emperor).
Ending the Game
The game ends when the last card from the Clan deck is placed in the Clan bid: if the starting player would have the next turn, the game ends immediately.
Otherwise, replenish the Clan bid with cards from the Ninja deck, until all players have played the same number of turns (in other words, until it is the starting player's turn again, at which point the game ends).
Influence Tokens
- Influence tokens with a single number printed on their back grant that player this amount of influence.
- Influence tokens with a card symbol printed on their back grant one Influence point for each card of that clan in the player's deck.
- Some tokens display a number and a card printed on their back. They grant the combined amount of Influence of number and cards to the player.
Influence tokens displaying a card on the House of the Emperor — Before revealing your Influence, you may split your deck, taking out all cards of one clan (and only one clan) to divide between the clan and the House of the Emperor. (You may place some or all of these cards onto the House of the Emperor.)
Influence tokens displaying a card symbol revealed on the House of the Emperor allow you to improve your Influence with cards from the clan you have set aside for this purpose. Any cards assigned to the House of the Emperor will have no effect on their clan, only on the House of the Emperor.
Revealing Your Influence
After the game has ended determine your Influence as follows:
- All players secretly sort their cards by clan.
- Optionally, players may set aside cards from one clan and assign them to the House of the Emperor (these might be useful if they have Influence tokens displaying a card on the Palace steps). Put them to one side and reveal them once the Influence tokens on the Palace steps are revealed.
- Reveal the Influence tokens on the Palace steps and add up the Influence points earned by each player. The player with the most Influence points gains the Support marker of this house. In the event of a tie, no one takes the marker.
- Repeat this process for each clan, moving from left to right on the board, resolving the score for each House.
- Declare the new emperor.
Declaring the New Emperor
The player who receives the support of the largest number of Houses (including the House of the Emperor) is declared the new Emperor and wins the game.
In case of a tie, the tying player whose Influence token is highest up on the Palace steps wins.
Note: When playing using the Kotaishi, it is possible that he might win. Then, all players lose!
Example: End of Game Scenario
The following example involves 2 players, Anna (green) and David (purple), as well as the Kotaishi (compulsory in 2-player games; white Influence tokens).
Before revealing the Influence tokens, both players sort their respective decks into clans. Anna decides to set aside 3 Kitsune Clan cards to go to the House of the Emperor. They then reveal the Influence tokens and Anna flips the cards they had set aside earlier.
Anna wins the support of the House of the Emperor gaining 5 points: 3 for the Kitsune Clan cards they had set aside earlier, plus 2 more points indicated on their Influence token. David gains 4 points and the Kotaishi gains 2.
Anna gains 4 points in House Tanuki because they have an Influence token displaying a card and own 4 Tanuki Clan cards. David also gains 4 points in House Tanuki because they placed 2 Influence tokens displaying a card and has 2 Tanuki Clan cards. So, they gain 2+2=4 points. The Kotaishi gains 3 points. Anna and David tie on Influence, so neither gains the support of House Tanuki.
In House Kitsune, Anna gains 3 points from their Influence token. They do not gain any points for Clan cards here. They had 3 Kitsune Clan cards, but before revealing them, they set them aside for the House of the Emperor, so they are shown flipped onto their sides. (They could have set aside only 2 cards and kept one for House Kitsune, but since they didn't place any tokens displaying a card on this house, they did not need them and so they bet all of them on the House of the Emperor.) The Kotaishi gains 4 points. David placed a "+2 card" token and they 2 Clan cards, so they gain a total of 4 points, but they tie with the Kotaishi. Therefore, no one gains the support of House Kitsune.
In House Komainu, Anna gains 5 points, 3 from their Clan cards and the Influence token displaying a card, and another 2 points from their other Influence token. The Kotaishi gains 3 points. David beats them both with 6 points. Their "+1 card" token gains them 5 points for his Clan cards and adds one for the token itself, totalling 6 points and gaining them the support of House Komainu.
In House Neko, Anna gains 4 points with their Influence token. David gains only 3. The Kotaishi also gains 4 points, so they tie, and no one gains the support of House Neko.
In total, Anna gains the support of 1 house (House of the Emperor) and David of another (House Komainu), tying the game. (The Kotaishi does not gain the support of any house.) To resolve the tie, they check whose token (or stack) is higher up on the Palace steps. Here, David is higher up and wins the game.
Single-Player Mode
Years have passed and the Kotaishi has come of age. Now, they have come to claim the throne in their own right. You represent one of the 4 Houses of Japan: Neko, Kitsune, Komainu or Tanuki. Try to get yourself proclaimed emperor before the heir can ascend to the throne.
Setup
Player setup: Follow the same steps as laid out for the standard game. (But follow the Kotaishi setup as explained below.)
Kotaishi setup: Draw 2 additional cards face down and at random from the Clan deck, place them in the Ninja deck and shuffle. (There will be a Ninja deck of four cards.)
Shuffle all cards of the Kotaishi deck and place them face down to the left of the Clan bids.
Gather the 10 Kotaishi Influence tokens (6 multiplayer tokens and 4 exclusive single-player tokens — black and white). Choose 7 tokens at random and place them face down to the side of the board.
The Kotaishi will start the game. The game ends when the Kotaishi deck has run out and they are no longer able to fully replace the Clan bids.
Game Turn
The player plays their turn as described in the multiplayer mode. The Kotaishi plays their turn as follows:
Reveal the top card of the Kotaishi deck and place it face up next to the deck, creating the discard pile. The card shows the house to be played and the action to be taken. Move the Clan marker to the action shown on the card and perform that action.
The Kotaishi performs action chains like any other player, but they do not receive any coins. Any Clan cards they receive will enlist with them and are placed on their Recruits stack.
Ending the Game
Decide House support and Influence as described in Ending the Game above. Additionally, the Kotaishi adds the Clan cards from their Recruits stack to their Influence in the respective houses.
If they do not exert any Influence in any of the houses, the cards from their Recruits stack are added to their Influence in the House of the Emperor. The new emperor is declared as described above.
Kotaishi Actions
To perform the Recruit, Assassinate or Ninja action, take the Clan card from the bid indicated by the arrow on the back of the top card of the Kotaishi deck. The arrow also shows in which direction the Clan marker should be moved.
Recruit — Take the Clan card from the bid indicated by the arrow on the back of the top card of the Kotaishi deck and place it on their Recruits stack. Then, move the Clan marker (of the clan shown on the card just taken) one space in the direction indicated by the arrow on the back of the top card of the Kotaishi deck and perform the corresponding action.
Assassinate — Take the Clan card from the bid indicated by the arrow on the back of the top card of the Kotaishi deck and place it on the Recruits stack. Then, move the Clan marker (of the clan shown on the card just taken) one space in the direction indicated by the arrow on the back of the top card of the Kotaishi deck and perform the corresponding action.
Pagoda — To perform the Pagoda action, either as a result of drawing a card or as part of an action chain, take one Kotaishi Influence token at random and place it face down on the clan where they performed this action. Do not look at the token value. The Kotaishi may place a maximum of 2 tokens per clan.
Ninja — Reveal the top card of the Ninja deck and activate the corresponding clan. Move the Clan marker one space in the direction shown by the arrow on the back of the top card of the Kotaishi deck and perform the corresponding action. Then place the card face down at the bottom of the Ninja deck.
Spy — To perform the Spy action, either as a result of drawing a card or as part of an action chain, draw the top card of the Clan deck and place it face down on the Recruits stack.
Contacts — To perform the Contacts action, either as a result of drawing a card or as part of an action chain, perform the action on the house shown on the top card of the Recruits stack. If the card shows House Tanuki, ignore it and look at the card below until you get to another house. If there is no other house present among the recruits, the Kotaishi takes the top card from the Clan deck.
Reinforcements or Intrigue — To perform the Reinforcements action, either as a result of drawing a card or as part of an action chain, reveal the top card of the Kotaishi deck and perform the action shown on that card.
Torii — To perform a Torii action, either as a result of drawing a card or as part of an action chain:
- If this is the first time they perform this action, take a Kotaishi Influence token at random and place it face down on the first Palace step. Do not look at the token value.
- Whenever they repeat this action, their Influence token advances one step. Continue in this manner until they reach the fifth Palace step.
- Once they have reached the fifth Palace step, the next time they perform this action, place a second Kotaishi Influence token on top of the token already on the step forming a stack. (You never look at the token value.)
- On all subsequent Torii actions, move both tokens up the steps as one (one step at a time). The Kotaishi may have a maximum of 2 Influence tokens piled up on the Palace steps at any one time.
Recycle — To perform this action, shuffle all Kotaishi cards (including the discard pile and the Recycle card), draw a new card and perform the action shown on it. The Recruits stack is not affected by this card.
If the Kotaishi cannot perform an action for any reason (empty Clan bids, Influence token limit reached in the respective house, etc.) they draw the top card from the Clan deck and add it to their Recruits stack. In Torii actions, if the space is occupied by the player, the Emperor's Son will place his token on the next space.
Intrigue Deck
The Intrigue deck is an optional mini expansion. Before starting the game, shuffle the Intrigue deck and deal 2 cards to each player. Put them face down in your playing area (or into your hand). You may use your Intrigue cards at any time during your turn. Choose one card, play it and then discard it.
Whenever a card lets you gain coins, remember that you may not exceed the limit of 6 coins per player. You may gain the coins shown on an Intrigue card before or after performing that card's action.
The 13 Intrigue cards are:
- Perform a Ninja action and gain 2 coins.
- Swap the positions of 2 of your Influence tokens.
- Gain up to 4 coins from the pool.
- Gain 1 coin from the pool. Perform 1 Torii action (paying its cost, if applicable).
- Move up 2 steps towards the House of the Emperor.
- Perform the Contacts action and gain 1 coin from the pool.
- Perform the Recruit action and gain up to 2 coins from the pool.
- Perform the Spy action twice in a row and gain 1 coin from the pool.
- Perform one Assassinate action and gain up to 2 coins from the pool. 10–13. Four cards, one per house (Tanuki, Kitsune, Komainu, Neko): at the end of the game, this card counts as 2 Clan cards of the house shown. These cards may only be played at the end of the game.