Sekigahara- A Five Second Board Game Review

Sekigahara may seem like a souped up Stratego but instead presents a fascinating look of the orginizational level of the titular campaign.

I often introduce Sekigahara to people as “Super Stratego” thanks to the hidden blocks, but digging deeper into the system makes me feel like I’ve just been lying to people. There is such a breadth of info that you can’t possibly have more than just a cursory understanding of your opponents general pieces. Furthemore, the cards in hand dictating the orders really can’t be predicted too well either.  Instead Sekigahara feels much more about witnessing the incredible organizational feat that was the Warring States period in Japan.

You didn’t know which daimyo would listen to you in a given week or which troops would betray you in the heat of battle. It feels like anything could have happened in this campaign, moreso than any other war. This system captures that uncertainty so beautifully.  Even if you don’t want to get up close and personal with one of the most fascinating eras of history, Sekigahara is just an amazing puzzle that really hasn’t been replicated since.  All of that combined with its relative simplicity has me recommending this to nearly anyone who is entrenched in this hobby.