In Shoudo, two players face off across the battlefield of the Sengoku Jidai - the Japanese civil war. The players assume control of one of four great clans - Uesugi, Mori, Tokugawa, or Shimazu - and attempt to defeat their opponent to become the Shogun.
Shoudo is a terrain-based strategy game. The board, which consists of 40 cards, is shuffled and laid out in a random 5x8 configuration at the start of each game. Each player controls 3 armies which they may use to "burn" enemy lands and attack enemy armies and castles. The first player to destroy their opponent's Daimyo castle wins the game.
To win, players must engage in combat. When attacking an enemy army or castle, combat is fought over 3 rounds. Each round, both players roll a 6-sided combat die and add the strength of their unit and its terrain bonus - the higher roll wins the round, and the first player to win 2 rounds wins the combat.
Special clan abilities, inspired by the traditional clans, affect gameplay, giving each clan a unique advantage. These abilities can give tactical advantage or greater sustainability.
—description from the designer