Ringyō

Set during Japan's Edo period, you take on the role of a daimyo - a feudal lord - guiding a personal provincial board that begins as wild, untamed forest. Over five rounds, each player determines their province's fate by simultaneously placing skilled forest samurai at key intersections to take actions. These decisions may include felling trees to build farms and castles, seeding and studying trees for future knowledge, establishing new agricultural presence to support the region's population, building castle structures for both immediate rewards and final honor, or even raising a military force to support the Shogun's efforts in Edo.

While caring for their province, players must also predict, consider and prepare for Japan's changing climate, with rain having both positive growth effects and negative flooding effects on their lands. The weather card deck constantly shifts its focus across forest regions, and each daimyo must weigh the importance of forecasting and preparing for atmospheric conditions. Ignored, excessive rains in unprepared regions can cascade into destructive floods across your entire province!

Using their skilled forest samurai, players can choose to fell any of four different tree types on their territory, each contributing specific material combinations needed to build castles and farms in their province or in Edo. But players must also consider a sustainable approach to forest regeneration, through seeding, studying and nurturing future tree generations. Completely clear-cutting terrain for immediate building materials exposes your province to flooding, destruction and barren fields. Finding balance between natural environment needs, your province's needs and the Shogun's demands in Edo is key to success in Ringyō.

Beyond managing their own region, players must also consider the Shogun's demands in Edo, positioned at the table's center. In competition with other daimyo, each sends advisors from their region to Edo - and races to fulfill specific Shogun requests - to gain both immediate gifts and end-game honor bestowed by the Shogun, allowing you to rise above the competition through attention to Edo.

Through a combination of auctions for the shogun's favor, simultaneous worker placement in your province, reaction to the region's changing climate and competition with other feudal lords to satisfy the shogun's demands, Ringyō rewards with honor those players who consider both their region's needs and the nation's requests as a whole, while adopting a sustainable and respectful approach toward the land they call home. Whatever path a player has taken, the daimyo who has gained the most honor at the end of five rounds becomes the victor.