Eiroku: Path of the Wanderer

Eiroku: Path of the Wanderer is a Sengoku-era simulation game set in feudal Japan.

■ A living map of Japan

A map of Japan rendered in the style of traditional ink-wash painting.

Twenty-three daimyo clans and 195 locations—including castles, towns, farming villages, ninja hamlets, and shrines—come to life on this single map, complete with shifting seasons and times of day.

■ Raise a warband, command the battle

What you can recruit depends on where you are: ashigaru in villages, samurai in towns, mounted samurai and horse archers at castles, warrior monks at shrines, and shinobi and kunoichi at ninja villages. Where you raise your army is part of the strategy.

Troops who survive battle gain experience and are promoted along branching lines: ashigaru into archers, then into arquebusiers or horse archers; spear cavalry into the elite Red Guard or White Guard; genin into chunin and jonin.

Every soldier costs daily wages and provisions. A large army is strong, but it eats your purse and your granary.

Warlords who join your retinue serve as quartermaster, strategist or recruiter, and lead your troops in battle as your lieutenant.

■ Talk with people, choose your life

Encounter over 100 historical commanders; deepen your bonds with them and recruit them as your retainers.

Will you enter the service of a feudal lord to gain a stipend and powerful backing? Or will you seize an ownerless castle, raise your own banner, and found a clan of your own?