Bushidan: Miniatures Rules for Small-Unit Warfare in Japan, 1543 to 1615 AD (Helion Wargames)

The later Sengoku period is the era of warfare depicted in classical Japanese movies such as The Seven Samurai, Ran, and Kagemusha – a colorful period that has a very distinct difference in the arms, equipment, tactics and culture from that seen in Europe at the time. It is a period that sees the dominance of firearms in warfare, and the evolution of increasingly complex small-unit tactical systems. But there still remained a heroic ethos, where leaders and the bearers of age-old honored names would still try to seek out worthy adversaries to battle blade-to-blade.

While massive armies did meet and clash, such encounters were surprisingly rare. The endemic warfare of the period was dominated by raids, small battles, incursions, and the clash of clan warbands. Small families battled one another for local regional dominance, seeking the leverage to become major powers. Meanwhile, rearms and armor improved in an increasingly lethal arms race.

Bushidan allows players to control the forces of samurai families, ikko-ikki covenants, pirates, bandits and warrior monks – or even forces engaged against the Japanese of the era such as the Ming Chinese and Joseon Koreans. The game focuses on the small-unit tactical systems that were developing to meet the demands of the new age of warfare. Players must plan their tactical ‘box of tricks’ with care, and choose the ferocity, style and cunning that their forces will bring to the battlefield. The game includes a campaign system to allow players to pit their Bushidan against one another in longer conflicts.

This is a colorful period for wargamers to paint and to model. The rules are intended for use with 28mm figures but can easily be played with smaller scale, and a typical army might have 8 or 9 units, each of 4 to 16 figures each.

Pauli Kidd is an author, games designer and historian from Perth, Australia. Her fascination with Japanese culture and martial arts began back in the 60's as she watched the adventures of ‘Shintaro the Samurai’ on TV. Japanese history then became a lifelong passion. Pauli is a 20 year student of the Katori Shinto Ryu, one of the oldest surviving schools of samurai fighting and tactical arts. She is also a student of kendo, jukendo and tankendo. She is also a researcher into Japanese magic, legend and occultism. ‘Samurai-wise’ - She is also a co-designer of the ‘Monogatari’ role playing game by Chaosium. Amongst her 40 or so novels in print is the ‘Spirit Hunters’ series, which follow the adventures of a group of would-be monster hunters in medieval Japan. Pauli’s games review channel ‘Lace and Steel’ runs on Youtube.