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⚠ WARNING
This is irreversible, and a two move-per-turn penalty is incurred for the rest of the game. Your Base Camp becomes a General — if the General is killed, you lose.
Proceed?
Shinoki is a two-player strategy game played on a 16×8 board. Each player builds an army, deploys it, and fights to destroy the opponent's Base Camp. Victory requires managing movement, facing, and coordinated attacks across a wide battlefield.
| Piece | Cost | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ⛳ Base Camp | Free | Your headquarters. Cannot move. If destroyed, you lose. Must be placed before confirming setup. |
| ⚔️ Elite | 6 pts | Powerful melee unit. Gets two moves per turn — one standard move and one free extra move. Cannot move backward or diagonally backward from their current facing. |
| 🏰 Fortification | 6 pts | Ranged unit. Cannot move once placed. Fires up to 3 squares along cardinal or diagonal lines. Starts at 1 HP — troops build it up over time, gaining HP each round until attacked. Can reach up to 300 HP if left undisturbed. |
| 🏹 Archer | 3 pts | Ranged unit. Fires up to 2 squares along cardinal or diagonal lines. Cannot move and attack in the same turn. |
| 🐴 Cavalry | 3 pts | Fast melee unit. Gets two moves per turn — one standard and one free extra. Cannot move backward or diagonally backward. Facing updates between moves, so the restriction resets after the first move. |
| 🤺 Infantry | 1 pt | Basic melee unit. One move per turn. Cannot move and attack in the same turn, and cannot attack after reorienting. Cheap and expendable — the backbone of most armies. |
1. BUY PHASE
Each player has 36 points to spend. Use the shop to buy pieces for your army. You start with a Base Camp for free. Click Buy and Sell to adjust your roster. When satisfied, click Confirm Purchase. White buys first, then Black.
2. SETUP PHASE
Place your pieces on the highlighted rows at your end of the board. Click a piece in your reserve, then click a highlighted square to place it. Click a placed piece to pick it back up. Fortifications can be placed further into the board than other pieces. You must field your Base Camp before you can confirm. Click Confirm Setup when ready.
3. PLAYING PHASE
Players alternate turns. White moves first. Each turn you have 5 moves to spend. Moving a piece costs 1 move. Attacking is free — you can attack at any point during or after your moves.
Moving
Click a piece to select it — legal move squares are highlighted with dots. Click a highlighted square to move. Most pieces cost 1 move per turn. Cavalry and Elites get a second free move on top of that, usable even at 0 moves remaining.
Facing
Every piece faces a direction shown by a small arrow. Facing determines which way a piece attacks and — for Cavalry and Elites — which directions it can move. Click a selected piece again (without moving) to rotate its facing one step clockwise. Infantry that reorient cannot attack that turn.
Advance / Withdraw All Infantry
Advance All Infantry moves every eligible infantry one square forward in a single action, costing 1 move. Withdraw All Infantry moves all infantry one square backward, even those currently in combat. Each can only be used once per turn.
Fielding Reserves
During the playing phase, pieces still in your reserve can be deployed. Click a piece in your reserve, then click a valid square on your back row (or, for Fortifications, anywhere in your half of the board). This costs 1 move.
Initiating Attack
When you're ready to fight, click Initiate Attack. The board enters attack preview mode. Melee units facing an enemy show red arrows — these attacks are pending. Ranged units with enemies in range become available to assign targets.
Assigning Ranged Targets
Click an Archer or Fortification to select it, then click an enemy within its range to assign a target. Ranged units fire only along straight cardinal or diagonal lines, and cannot fire through other pieces.
Disengaging
To stop a melee unit from attacking, click it to select it, then click Disengage. The unit takes a small hit for pulling back but will not deal damage. You can disengage as many units as you like before finalizing.
Finalizing Attack
Click Finalize Attack to apply all damage simultaneously. Melee units deal damage and receive counter-attack damage in return. Ranged units deal damage but take no counter-attack damage. Each unit can only attack once per turn.
Flanking
When two or more units attack the same target, flanking bonuses apply based on the angle of attack relative to the target's facing. Attacking from behind deals significantly more damage.
Fatigue
Any piece (except Fortifications) that falls below 33% of its maximum HP becomes fatigued. Fatigued units deal and receive 50% reduced damage for the rest of the game. This penalty does not expire.
Fortification Building
Fortifications are not pre-built structures — your troops construct them during the game. A newly fielded Fortification starts at 1 HP and gains HP each round as construction progresses. The longer it stands undisturbed, the stronger it becomes, up to a maximum of 300 HP. Once a Fortification takes any damage, construction halts and it no longer gains HP.
Cavalry & Elite Extra Move
After their first move, Cavalry and Elites remain selected so you can immediately use their free extra move. The restriction for the extra move is based on whichever direction the piece is facing after the first move — not where it started the turn.
Convert Base Camp to General
A Convert Base Camp to General button appears during your turn as long as your Base Camp is still on the board. Using it transforms the Base Camp into a General — a powerful unit that moves like an Elite (two moves per turn, no backward movement) but hits harder and inspires nearby troops.
The General's attack is 1.5× that of an Elite. All friendly units within a 5×5 square centered on the General receive a 50% attack bonus for as long as the General is nearby.
Starting HP: if the Base Camp has never taken damage (full 50 HP), the General converts at full General health — 100 HP. If the Base Camp has already been attacked, the General inherits whatever HP the Base Camp had at the moment of conversion.
The conversion comes with two permanent costs: your move allowance drops from 5 to 3 moves per turn for the rest of the game, and the General becomes your new win condition — if the General is killed, you lose. The conversion is irreversible.
The game ends immediately when a player's Base Camp (or General, if converted) is destroyed. Protect yours and hunt down your opponent's.