Sovereign: Shogun Pits Five Clans for Feudal Japan's Throne

Cherry blossoms are falling, Japan is teetering on war, and five ruthless lords all reckon the throne is theirs for the taking. Sovereign: Shogun, the latest game in UK publisher Phalanx's Sovereign series, drops 2-5 players into late 16th-century Japan as rival clans who will scheme, trade and fight their way to power. It is live on Gamefound now.

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Each player leads one of five historical houses, Tokugawa, Maeda, Mori, Ukita or Uesugi, in a 90-minute area-control struggle for the islands. The clever bit is the River of Actions. Your five action cards sit in a row, and the further right a card is, the stronger it hits. Use one and it slides back to the far left, nudging the rest forward, so every turn you are weighing a quick, weak move now against a patient, powerful one later. It rewards reading the table and timing your strike, not just grabbing the biggest stick.

Phalanx, based in the UK with operations in Poland, has built a name reviving meaty historical games, and Shogun leans hard into that, promising to win through bent alliances and clever trade as much as through steel. It is aimed at the 14-plus crowd who like their evenings long and their daggers metaphorical. If you fancy gathering a five-player table for it, see who is up for a game night near you.

Sources: Gamefound | Phalanx