Sekigahara After Action Report: First Face-to-Face Game After 3 Months of Isolation

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Below is another great article from The Boardgames Chronicle, this time discussing his experience playing Sekigahara and playing face to face again with a friend for the first time in months. If you would like to read this article on his blog, you can find that here. Enjoy! -Rachel

Well yes, it happened in the end! Due to gradual lift of coronavirus related restrictions I was finally able to play a game live. It was a small two player event and of course I invited my most ardent wargames opponent – Jakub.

We had not played face to face for 3 months, then suddenly there was opportunity to do so. What game to choose? Two-thirds of our collections are competitive, two-player wargames. We were faced with that dilemma but finally decided on something astonishing, excellent, beautiful and exciting â€“ we played Sekigahara!

Sekigahara AARs:

Sekigahara – first game, first impressions

Sekigahara – a very interesting second full game!

The Game

For those who do not know much about Sekigahara, here is a short description.

Sekigahara is a 3-hour block game based on the Japanese campaign waged in 1600. The 7-week war, fought along Japan’s two major highways and in scattered sieges and backcountry skirmishes, elevated Tokugawa Ieyasu to Shogun and unified Japan for 265 years.

There are some very interesting special mechanics of the game:

  • No dice are used – I really like it!
  • Cards represent loyalty and motivation. Without a matching card, an army will not enter battle – a key thing when preparing for attack.
  • Allegiance is represented by hand size, which fluctuates each turn.
  • Battles are a series of deployments, from hidden unit stacks, based on hidden loyalty factors. Loyalty Challenge cards create potential defection events.

Last but not least, the game is very thematic and beautifully produced – a real masterpiece in GMT Games collection.

The Photo Session Report

Set-up of the game; I am leading Ishida (yellow blocks) and Kuba Tokugawa (black blocks)
First blood was drawn next to Ueda castle – unsuccessful Tokugawa attack
Another Tokugawa attack on castle – this time Gifu
But this time it was countered by a nasty surprise and counter-attack (click to enlarge)
In the ensuing battle most of Tokugawa forces are being destroyed
Second attack on Ueda is much better prepared and my forces must flee to the castle
Situation mid-game. I lost Uesugi castle but got Myiazu. Ueda still holds
After two more attacks with Tokugawa himself leading siege, Ueda finally surrenders
I am taking the western part of the board while Jakub occupies eastern
Both sides ready for last turn. A lot can happen!
Kuba does a nasty trick attacking my Okazaki castle and at the same time mustering in Kiyosu. My bad, I forgot I need to occupy this space to prevent this. In response I am attacking both Kiyosu and Tsurga, eliminating 8 blocks at the cost of 2. Pyrrhic victory…
Final score – Tokugawa (Jakub) wins with Ishida (me) 14-13. Very close and exciting game and we will for sure will play more of this!
The losses on both sides were significant but comparable

Summary

Of course, one swallow doesn’t make a summer. Still, that was such a wonderful and refreshing experience to meet with old friend playing one of my favorite and best games ever published. I hope for more, but one must be mindful that we are still not past the hard times of pandemic.

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The Boardgames Chronicle
Author: The Boardgames Chronicle

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Category: After Action Report

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