''Rising Sun'' is a

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a comp ...

for 3 to 5 players designed by Eric M. Lang and published by

CMON Limited CMON Limited, formerly known as CoolMiniOrNot is a publicly listed miniatures and board game publisher, trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. It also operates a miniatures related site coolminiornot.com that features user submitted images of th ...

in 2017. Rising Sun is a game about strategy, negotiation, and warfare in a

feudal Japan The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to Japanese Paleolithic, prehistoric times around 30,000 BC. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millenni ...

where the ancient gods (Kami) have returned to rebuild the empire. The game was originally released via

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

, raising over $4,200,000. ''Rising Sun'' received positive reviews, and was awarded with the ''2018 RPC Fantasy Award Tabletop & Miniatures Game Winner''. The name of a character in the game ''Kotahi'', has been found to be a name used in New Zealand and the Maori word for ''one''.

Gameplay

Rising Sun takes place in a mythical version of Japan. You lead a clan to conquest and gain the favors of the Gods. The game consists of three played seasons. Players, in order to achieve their goals, can Train, Marshall, Harvest, Recruit or Betray. Each of these phases allows different actions. At the end of the season, players resolve combat in provinces claimed by two opponents. The combat has different options:

Seppuku , sometimes referred to as hara-kiri (, , a native Japanese kun reading), is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honour but was also practised by other Japanese people ...

, Hostage,

Rōnin A ''rōnin'' ( ; ja, 浪人, , meaning 'drifter' or 'wanderer') was a samurai without a lord or master during the feudal period of Japan (1185–1868). A samurai became masterless upon the death of his master or after the loss of his master's ...

and Imperial Poets. Monsters can be obtained to support the clans.

Release and reception

''Rising Sun'' was initially sold via Kickstarter, with about 31,262 backers contributing to $4,228,060 during the campaign. It was delivered to backers in April 2018 and then released in retail stores. ''Rising Sun'' won the ''2018 RPC Fantasy Award Tabletop & Miniatures''. The website

BoardGameGeek BoardGameGeek (BGG) is an online forum for board gaming hobbyists and a game database that holds reviews, images and videos for over 125,600 different tabletop games, including European-style board games, wargames, and card games. In addition to ...

gave it the score of 8/10 with close to 10,000 ratings and 2,000 comments. The initial reception of the board game was mixed, but favored positive reviews. Ars Technica described it as "A cerebral board game of conquest, diplomacy, and betrayal" and Board Games Land noted that the game is a "showpiece that looks epic and feels grandiose".

Expansions

There were four official expansion released in 2018: * ''Dynasty Invasion'': adds 2 new clans to the game (Moon Clan and Sun Clan), allowing it to be played by 6 players. * ''Daimyo Box'': contains all the exclusive stretch goals unlocked during the Kickstarter, including the Fox Clan * ''Kami Unbound'': new ruleset which makes the presence of the Kami even more potent * ''Monster Pack'': adds four monsters (Oni of Plagues, Fire Dragon, Jinmenju and Jorogumo)

References

External links

how to play by the publisher ''CMON Limited''

on ''GameBoyGeek''

on ''Show Me How To Win'' * {{bgg, 205896 Board games Board games introduced in 2018 Multiplayer games Eric M. Lang games