Skulls of the Shogun’s bright palette, bawdy humor, and straightforward concepts suggest an easy, breezy turn-based strategy game, but large maps, limited moves per turn, and cutthroat enemy armies combine to make skirmishes feel long and drawn-out—yet they’re also tense, chaotic, down-to-thelast-man tête-à-têtes.
Enemy generals take turns positioning soldiers, mounted cavalry, and archers, all the while gathering resources and trading blows. Here’s the catch: you only get five actions per turn, which drastically limits how quickly you can, say, set up a defensive position or flank an unsuspecting shogun. As a result, would-be warlords never have the luxury of perfect timing or formations, and one bad move can change the course of a battle, dooming your soldiers to slow attrition.
Once settled into Skulls of the Shogun’s deliberate pacing, you’ll…
