Attack on a Sekisho

Another game of Feudal Patrol-based skirmish. This time it was a raid by a gang of river pirates on a sekisho, or toll gate, garrisoned by a group of ashigaru. Sekisho were set up along trade routes by daimyō wanting to tax trade across lands they control. In Eastern Japan at least, these were often…

The Battle of Kawagoe (1546)

The Battle of Kawagoe was the result of Hōjō Ujiyasu’s night march to relieve the siege of Kawagoe castle. As usual, there aren’t many contemporary sources for the battle, and some historians doubt whether there was a single battle at all. However, it is possible to re-construct a plausible scenario for a battle suitable for…

Tenka Fubu Battle Report

My mate Mark has done a detailed battle report of our last game. His report is a lot more detailed than the ones I normally do, and does a better job of explaining the rules too.... Anyway, the report is on his 'blog HERE  

Another Tenka Fubu game

Another game of Tenka Fubu at the club last week. I played this one, again against a first-time player. Inevitably I didn't take many photos due to being too wrapped up in the game, but it was another Oda versus Mōri clash, this time with 22 sonae against 18. An initial Oda attack against the…

Tenka Fubu game

We played a game of Tenka Fubu at the club. I was 'demoing' the game for two players, and it was the first time either player had played these rules or even 'To the Strongest/King and Parliament.` The terrain is a bit sparse due to not wanting to carry it all in, and the game…

The Battle of Shōryūjijō, a campaign game.

I’ve returned to the campaign being generated by the board game ‘A Most Dangerous Time,’ which I wrote a bit about here. This time it was the Battle of Shōryūjijō. It is 1571 and Hosokawa Fujitaka is besieged in his castle of Shōryūjijō by the Miyoshi under Miyoshi Nagayasu. An Oda force under Takigawa Kazumasu…

The Battle of Inō with Ningen Gojūnen

I’ve finally got around to getting some figures on the table to have a go at my small battles rules Ningen Gojūnen and try out some changes I want to make to them. The battle is the Battle of Inō, 1556, which I’ve talked a bit about before. It’s a battle that’s described in a…

Kawanakajima Game

We played another game of ‘Tenka Fubu’ at the club last night. This was a based on one of the alternative theories for the 4th Battle of Kawanakajima. I’ve written previously about the issues that some historians have with the narrative derived from the Kōyō Gunkan, and briefly described an alternative scenario, but for this game…

Tenka Fubu game

We recently played a game of 'Tenka Fubu' at the club. My mate Al had done some bases for a Takeda army way back when I started, but we hadn't done too many games as Tenkatoitsu was a bit long for a club night. The poor old Takeda had lain forgotten in some boxes for…

Another campaign battle and some markers

I played a second campaign battle from 'A Most Dangerous Time.' Following the last battle, Oda Nobunaga has marched south and is besieging the Hongan-Ji ikkō-ikki in Ibaraki. Kinoshita Hideyoshi is on the slopes of Mount Hiei in an uneasy stand-off with the monks there. On the other shore of Lake Biwa, Azai Nagamasa leads…