Sugoroku rules

Picture sugoroku (e-sugoroku) is a race game, a cousin of the Game of the Goose. This one follows the Tōkaidō, the coastal road between Edo and Kyōto, and its 53 post stations.

The road

Everyone starts at Nihonbashi (振出, the start). On your turn, roll the die and move your pawn that many squares. The first to reach Kyōto (上り, the finish), in the middle of the sheet, wins.

The finish

You must land exactly on Kyōto: extra points are counted going backwards.

The red seals

休: rest for one turn, at the Hakone pass, the Ōi river ford at Shimada and at Seki. 戻: go back, on the Satta cliffs at Yui and the Sakanoshita pass; 関: the Arai checkpoint does the same. 進: go forward, by the Totsuka shortcut, the long Okazaki bridge and the Miya ferry. 再: roll again, at Ejiri harbour, with the Kakegawa kite and the Kusatsu rice cakes. An effect does not chain with the square it leads to.

The pictures

Each square shows the station's landscape from Hiroshige's Tōkaidō series: the morning mist at Mishima, the night snow at Kambara, the long Yahagi bridge at Okazaki, the sails at Kuwana.

Against the AI

The AIs roll the die on their own: in sugoroku, only chance decides.