The White Castle: Duel

Two clans compete for influence at Himeji Castle, the White Heron, and you have a handful of turns to build an engine and score for it. You place lamp tokens to claim actions: each lamp fetches resources and lets you act, and where it goes changes both. Points come mainly from the icons you collect: flags, katanas, kabuto helmets and origami figures, each scored its own way at the end. Actions include buying and upgrading influence cards, placing your clan's seals in the gardens and training grounds, moving your courtier inward through the circles of influence, and trading with the Portuguese. Cards do double duty, so much of the skill is reading which use you need now. This is a proper mid-heavy two-player game in forty minutes, a leaner cousin of the original White Castle. For a couple who want something meatier than Jaipur, done in under an hour.