How to play

Goal: unite Japan by holding all 38 provinces. You lose if your last province falls, or if a third succession breaks your clan.

On the title screen choose New campaign, then the scenario (1560 or 1582), the level of the computer clans (Gentle, Easy, Normal, Hard or Ruthless) and your clan. Quick start begins at once as the Oda clan in 1560. Continue picks up the game from its last autosave, made at the end of every month. Load campaign opens a save slot, or imports a save file.

Click a province on the map, or use the arrow keys, to see it. Tab steps through your own provinces. Red is your clan; the gold outline is the province you are looking at; the small white keep marks your lord's seat.

Esc opens the campaign menu. Mouse and touch work as well as the keys.

Orders are given in your own provinces and cost the governor body points (BP). 10 BP are always kept back for defence. BP come back each month, according to the governor's politics.

• Cultivate land raises the rice harvest.
• Flood control guards against typhoons.
• Develop town raises trade and gold.
• Reinforce castle helps in battle.
• Give rewards raises support and loyalty.
• Train politics makes a better governor.
• Sell rice turns rice into gold at the market price.
• Hire soldiers costs 1 gold and 10 people per soldier; a province holds at most 100. Train soldiers raises their skill.
• Propose alliance: a clan that agrees will not attack you, nor you them, for 12 months.
• Incite uprising sends a ninja to lower a rival's support.

In month 3 (spring) gold comes in from trade; in month 9 (autumn) the rice is harvested. Soldiers eat into both. Typhoons strike in summer, and unhappy provinces rise up.

Invade a bordering province from Military. Your three units (red banners) face the defenders.

• Click one of your units, then click an empty hex to move or a neighbouring enemy to attack. With the keys: the arrows move the cursor, Enter acts, Tab picks the next unit.
• 1 Attack, 2 Rifle fire and 3 Charge choose how the next attack is made. Rifles hit hard without being struck back, but must reload: move or wait before firing again. A charge hits twice as hard and is struck back twice as hard.
• W waits. Infantry who wait lie in ambush and strike double.
• Cavalry move two clear hexes in a straight line. Forests protect, mountains block, and a weakened defender shelters in the castle.
• Destroy the enemy commander (the pennant) to win. Each side eats rice every three rounds, and the defender wins after 90 rounds. X withdraws.

Settings (6) turns the music off or sets its volume. In the browser the music starts at your first key press or click. F, or the button at the top right of the page, shows the browser game full screen.