Sengoku Variant Rules, Final Version. All Sengoku Materials are Copyright, Benjamin Hester. Permission granted to James Van Verth to use for Realpolitik program.

The Sengoku Variant is a historical transplant of Hasbro/Avalon Hill's Diplomacy to medieval Japan. The Sengoku Variant conforms to the standard rules of Hasbro/Avalon Hill's Diplomacy in most every way, with the few exceptions listed below. The standard rules are NOT copied here, and all players of the Sengoku Variant are assumed to own or expected to purchase the Rules of Diplomacy (or better yet, the full game) through Hasbro/AH, as I did.

Turns move from Spring to Fall just like standard Diplomacy, and the first turn is Spring 1570. Units may be built on any vacant supply center that you have held for a fall. (i.e. all SCs controlled by players are considered their "home supply centers" for the purpose of building units.)

Abbreviations are often not at all what you might expect them to be because of the significant number of provinces that share the same first three letters (i.e. Chikugo, Chikuzen, Echigo, Echizen, Shimosa, Shimotsuke, Izumo, Izu, Awa, Awaji, Yamashiro, Yamato, and all those that share their name with a body of water e.g. Totomi, Totomi Sea, Tosa, Tosa Bay etc. etc.) Be sure to check the names feature on RP, or the Abbreviations Map on the homepage. They correspond with one another.

Bitchu and Sanuki are considered land contiguous, as are Echigo and Sado, Nagato and Chikuzen, Mikawa and Iga, and Iyo and Suo, though they appear separated by water on the map. Both Armies and Fleets may cross from one of these territories directly to the other. Movement by fleets through the surrounding sea zones is unaffected. Dark arrows indicate these "bridges" on the map.

In addition to the 8 players of this variant, there are neutral territories, represented by White supply centers on the map. Each neutral territory is occupied by a neutral army that never does anything but hold. These armies may be supported by other players. They are disbanded immediately if dislodged, but rebuilt at the end of the year if the territory is not occupied. Treat neutral units like armies in Civil Disorder. Once occupied, the territory becomes a standard SC, and never reverts to a neutral again.

Black SCs are not neutrals, they function as normal unoccupied SCs.

Victory is declared when one Daimyo has control of 25 SCs, or all other players concede defeat. There are no draws or shared victories allowed. If the players agree to a draw, the GM chooses a winner. There can only be one Shogun.

Have fun and welcome to 16th Century Japan!