Games
Games are an important tool at court, serving as a vital outlet for the rivalries that develop in the highest circles of power and as a crucial opportunity to maintain and develop relationships, especially outside of the strict confines that one’s station would usually dictate.
As a result, success at games is one way a new arrival at court can earn distinction and get access to people of much higher rank, whom they would otherwise be unable to approach. However, only the truly naïve overlook the fact that games are merely one more means to an end in the shifting world of court politics. The games of Kiga are as varied as the clans, but first among them is Go, a game played with black and white stones and a wooden board. Played by peasant and Emperor, young and old, bushi and monk, it can be found in all walks of life in Kiga. The rules are simple, but mastering the game requires years of dedication; proficiency is always worthy of respect.
Other games include Fortunes and Winds, a dice game many samurai see as a pastime for the lower classes; Sadane, a game of biting insults that courtiers enjoy; Karuta, a card game of trick-taking using both illustrations and lines of poetry; and Shōgi, a tactical game of generals, cavalry, and assorted soldiers.
Games Approaches
The Games skill can be used as follows with the appropriate ring:- Reason Approach (Earth Ring): Playing without upsetting your opponent, playing cautiously, instructing someone else in the basics of a game, minimizing your losses.
- Charm Approach (Water Ring): Using a game to build a rapport with your opponent (or someone else present), playing casually, using a game to get your opponent to trust you.
- Incite Approach (Fire Ring): Using a game to make your opponent angry or afraid, playing aggressively, spurring your opponent to wager more, developing new tactics in a game.
- Trick Approach (Air Ring): Using a game to uncover your opponent’s strengths and weaknesses, playing deceptively, cheating, losing deliberately (without being obvious), sending a subtle message through your play.
- Enlighten Approach (Void Ring): Using a game to shock your opponent into seeing something clearly, playing minimally, leaving the fate of the game to pure chance.