四面楚歌 (Besieged on All Sides)

Besieged on All Sides is a card-driven strategical game on the mid-late stages of the Chu-Han Contention. Players take the role of major factions of the time, Xiang-Yu, Liu-Bang, Han-Xin and other states. Players will need to try to pursuit their own agendas and the one with the highest score will be the victor who can shape the future of China.

Soon after the death of Qin Shi Huang, first Emperor of China, in 210 BCE, massive peasant uprising and rebellions from former six states quickly crippled the Qin-dynasty. In only a few years, the Qin Empire has fallen, and Xiang-Yu, the commander of Chu-rebel, take over as the hegemon and divided the former Empire into 18 Kingdoms to be ruled by other rebel leaders. This creates dissatisfaction among other rebels, and Liu-Bang, leader of Han, take the chance to strike at Xiang-Yu. To complicate the situation further, after his various victories, Han-Xin, the great general of Han starts to have other thoughts and hope to become an independent power. And the other states, while dissatisfied with Xiang-Yu, are sitting on the fences and hoping for a more advantages bargain before fully commit their strengths.

Each card in this game represents an iconic character of that time, from generals, strategists to leaders and kings. Each card not only allow the player to conduct the relevant actions when played, but also provides extra abilities which represents that character’s unique capabilities and their interpersonal relationships. This allows the 4 factions have their historical strength and weakness to be portrayed clearly:

Xiang-Yu has some of the strongest military strengths, with Xiang-Yu himself been able to remove enemy unit before a battle is resolved. 
Liu-Bang have various ability to conduct lobbying to win-over more characters for his use. Also is the only faction who have a steady stream of income from off-map areas.
Han-Xin, on the other hand, can go head-to-head with Xiang-Yu militarily, but will need to try win over the internal-power struggle by gaining more prestige and wealth.
The final faction: various other states, need to carefully place their position between Chu and Han, preserving their strength and hoard wealth to preserve their independence from the two major powers.

Combat in the game is simple and dice-less, other than the number of units, card effect and leader’s combat bonus are the telling factor. Players could also support their forces if adjacent regions are under their control, requiring careful planning and calculation from the players. While controlling region, hoarding wealth and military power all counts to victory points, players are also given objective cards. Fulfilling these cards not only provide VP, but also can resulting in other powerful effects, and even upgrading player’s character cards to a stronger version.

Components: 1 Mounted Map (594x420mm) 18 General token (18x18mm) 55 Game markers (13x13mm) 60 wooden cubes 4 Player panel 4 Player aids 71 cards 1 Rulebook

—description from the publisher (translated)