Rising Sun

The game begins with setting up the main game board, which represents feudal Japan divided into provinces. Each player receives a set of miniatures, including six Bushi (standard warriors), three Shinto (priests with special abilities), and one Daimyo (leader figure). Various tokens for coins, victory points, and province control are placed on the board, along with season cards and political mandate tiles. Players also receive a clan screen detailing their starting honor rank, home province, and seasonal income.

The ultimate goal in Rising Sun is to accumulate the highest number of victory points (VP) by the end of the game. Points are primarily earned by controlling provinces at the end of each season, acquiring powerful season cards, and winning battles. Honor plays a crucial role as a tie-breaker in various conflicts, making its management an important aspect of overall strategy.

A game of Rising Sun unfolds over three seasons: Spring, Summer, and Autumn. Each season follows a similar structure, beginning with an alliance phase where players can form temporary alliances. This is followed by seven player turns, where the active player chooses one of four available political mandate tiles. The chosen mandate's action is then performed by all players, starting from the active player and moving clockwise, but the active player and their ally (if any) receive a special bonus. After the player turns, there are three Kami turns where shrine tiles are activated from left to right, granting rewards to players with the most force in the respective shrines. Each season concludes with a war phase.

Victory points are a key component of winning. Players earn points by controlling provinces at the end of each season, with province tokens indicating their value. Additional points can be gained through the effects of specific season cards purchased during the 'Train' mandate. During battles, honor serves as a critical tie-breaker; if forces are equal, the player with higher honor wins. Different actions, such as performing Seppuku or taking hostages, can also affect a player's honor rank.

The game concludes after the third and final season (Autumn). Following the last war phase, all remaining coins and Ronin tokens are discarded, and all alliances are broken. A final scoring round takes place where players tally their victory points from controlled provinces, acquired season cards, and any end-game bonuses specified on their clan screens. The player with the most victory points is declared the Shogun and winner.