番付昇進

Banzuke Shoushin
game rules – version 2.2 (December 2017)
Papercut Games (www.lajosbrons.net/papercut)

int roductory notes

Banzuke Shoushin is a sumo simulation game focusing on the whole careers of multi-
ple rikishi (sumo wrestlers) in a sumo beya (stable) and the management of that
heya. The name of the game can be roughly translated as “rise throught the ranks of
sumo”, and that is – more or less – what the game is about.
Simulating a decade of sumo or more is not possible in a short time, and conse -
quently, Banzuke Shoushin is a (very!) long game. One game year (simulating one
calendar year of sumo) takes at least one hour to play, and a single rikishi’s career
can last 10 years or more (if he is successful). It’s easy to store away the game
between years and continue later, however. And it is also no problem if players join in
or drop out between years. Furthermore, the game can continue for as long as the
players want to continue. There is no pre-determined end point, and any scoring is
intermediate.
Banzuke Shoushin is not a game for many players. Although there are 16 rikishi in
the game at any time, most of these are – and should be – controlled by the game. The
game can be played with 2 or 3 players, but solitaire is also fine. (More is possible if
players control single rikishi rather than heya.) These rules assume 2 or 3 players; the
small changes that are necessary for the solitaire variant can be easily inferred.

番付昇進 1
Given the nature of the game, a basic knowledge of the sport of sumo might be an
advantage (if not a requirement) both to understanding these rules and to enjoying
the game.

component s
The following components are provided as PDF files and need to be printed
out on heavy paper or cardboard:
- the game board (with the banzuke track and various tables) in two parts;
- 27 or more rikishi cards (9 per page);
- tournament record sheets (2 per page);
- sumo beya record sheets for all players (2 per page);
- rikishi markers (it is recommended to glue these to thick cardboard or
wooden blocks);
- the rikishi selection table (an 8-page, A5-size booklet).
The following components have to be provided by the game host:
- one or two regular 6-sided dice (hereafter D6);
- one or two color dice (hereafter CD) with the following six colors on the
faces: black, red, blue, yellow, green, and white (or another sixth color);
- 16 spirit level markers, preferably wooden discs or glass beads in white or
any other unused color;
- 15 injury markers, preferably wooden cubes or discs, in three colors: green,
red, yellow (5 each);
- one set of 5 wooden cubes (etc.) in the colors black, green, blue, yellow, red
for each player;
- 7 loss markers (wooden cubes or disks, glass beads, or any other kind of
marker that can be placed on top of a spirit level marker);
- 30 or more action point markers (coins, beads, wooden cubes in an unused
color, or anything else that can serve the purpose);
- two (or four) markers for the two rikishi in a bout (optional);
- one pencil and one red pen (or pencil) for each player, and an eraser.

2 Banzuke Shoushin
 game rules
Set-up happens as part of the normal game procedure and does not need a
separate chapter in these rules. The game is played in game years, which
represent (calendar) years in sumo. One game year consists of 5 phases.
These rules will explain these game phases one after the other. (To some
extent, the whole first year is set-up, which implies that Banzuke Shoushin has an
excessively long set-up time.)

game phases
1 – new year phase
maezumo subphase
oyakata subphase
2 – training phase
3 – basho phase
tournament results subphase
4 – banzuke phase
5 – year end phase

1 – new year phase

Each player receives 7 action point s (AP).
If there is one new player entering the game at this stage (and entering the
game is only possible at this stage), instead of starting with 7 AP, she can
start with 2 AP and two game-controlled maegashira or juryō rikishi and add
them to her stable.

番付昇進 3
 maezumo subphase
If there are less than 16 active rikishi (sumo wrestlers) in the game (either
because of retirements or because it is the start of a new game) new riskishi
are created until there are 16.
Rikishi have 7 different characteristics in addition to their name and rank.
These are age, fighting spirit (心) level, and five different skills:
- weight (重, black),
- endurance (耐, green),
- technique (技, blue),
- speed (速, yellow), and
- strength (強, red).
These skills, as well as age, are marked on the rikishi cards. Spirit level ( 心) is
tracked by means of a marker on the track consisting of 4 small circles above
the middle of the card. (If spirit level drops to 0 move the marker off the
card.) Skills can vary from level 0 to level 4, which is marked by filling in
small circles of the appropriate type with pencil. Skill levels can decrease due
to injury and/or age, so this needs to be done with erasable pencil.
Each rikishi has three handicaps or weaknesses; that is, in three of the five
skills a rikishi cannot reach the maximum level of 4, but only 1, 2, or 3. This is
marked by crossing out skill circles with red pen or pencil.
New rikishi are created by rolling a D6 four times in a row and looking up
that die roll in the rikishi selection table.
[example] Let’s say that you roll ⚃⚄⚂⚀. Then, look up the number 4531 in the
rikishi selection table. You’ll find the following data:

4531 : 27 / 3 0³ 1² 3¹ 3ᴾ / 5

The age of this rikishi is 27 (which is rather old). His skills are given by means
of the five larger numbers between the two slashes in the order weight ( 重 ,
black), endurance ( 耐 , green), technique ( 技 , blue), speed ( 速 , yellow),

4 Banzuke Shoushin
strength (強, red). The superscripts mark weaknesses and preferences (P). The
last number is the minimum bid for this rikishi. We’ll get to that later.

Select an unused rikishi marker. On a new rikishi card, write the starting let-
ter(s) of the name of the new rikishi in the second box from the top right.
(The name of the rikishi is to be decided later.) Mark the age of the rikishi by
filling all age circles (in the top left) with numbers below the rikishi’s current
age. Next, mark weaknesses by crossing out circles with a red pen, and skills
by filling in circles with a pencil (see example below), and mark the rikishi’s
preference (i.e. his preferred fighting style) by drawing a red dot (or other
marking) next to the larger circle associated with the appropriate skill. It is
recommended to also write the minimum bid value of that rikishi in pencil
somewhere on the card. (This number can be erased later as it becomes irrel-
evant after the new year phase.)
[example] The values for rikishi 4531, 3 0³ 1² 3¹ 3ᴾ, are marked as follows:

All new rikishi start with two spirit ( 心 ). (Place a spirit level marker on the
“2” spot of the track.)
Creation of new rikishi continues until there are 16 active rikishi. (The four
remaining rikishi markers are temporarily set aside. There are spaces for
them on the bottom right of the game board.) New rikishi fill up the open
spots on the bottom of the banzuke (which is, of course, the whole banzuke
at the beginning of the game) in the order of their minimum bid values plus
age (i.e. 27+5=32 in case of the example), with weight level as a tie breaker
(further ties are resolved randomly). Highest value goes on top.

番付昇進 5
 The easiest way to create the first banzuke is to place the rikishi markers by
minimum bid value on the banzuke track from the bottom. (So bid value 1
goes on juryō 2, and bid value 6 goes on maegashira 7.) Then from top to bot-
tom move them up a number of steps equal to their age minus 20. Finally,
rank them from the top of the banzuke to the bottom, stack by stack, in order
of decreasing weight. (Solve ties with a die roll.)

oyakata subphase
Oyakata are the heads of sumo beya – they are the rikishi’s trainers, coaches,
and bosses. During most of the game, the players – more or less – play the
role of oyakata.
In the oyakata subphase the players can bid on new, unaffiliated rikishi that
just entered the game in the previous phase. A sumo beya – or heya, for short
– can never consist of more than three rikishi. (Or in other words, a player
can never control more than three rikishi.) However, a player can bid on a
rikishi even if her heya is already full, just to prevent an opponent from get-
ting a certain new rikishi.
Admittedly, bidding on new rikishi is nothing like the real process by means
of which new rikishi are selected and hired by sumo beya, but it is the best
compromise between simulation and game that I could come up with.
If there are one or more players with open slots in their heya (i.e. with less
than three rikishi), then there is a bidding round. New rikishi are
“auctioned” one by one from the highest to the lowest ranked (i.e. top to bot-
tom on the banzuke). Bids are made and paid in action points (AP).
For each auctioned rikishi, any player can make the first bid. The first bid
must be equal to or higher than the minimum bid value of that rikishi. Other
players can either match that bid, bid higher, or pass. A player who passed
cannot rejoin bidding for the same rikishi later. Players can continue raising
their bids as long as they want. If at the end of a bidding round (when no one

6 Banzuke Shoushin
wants to raise anymore) two or more players are tied, they roll D6s. The
higher roll wins the rikishi and pays her bid to the AP stock.
The winner of the bidding round gets the rikishi, unless she has no empty
slots in her heya. Even then she has to pay her bid, however, and she can
choose to take an “option” on that rikishi (see below). If she has no empty
slot, and – of course – in case no one bid on that rikishi, the rikishi becomes
game-controlled.
If the rikishi becomes game-controlled, write “game” in the sumo beya box
in the top right (marked 部 屋 heya); if it becomes player-controlled, the
controlling player writes the name of her heya in that box.
If a player won a bid on a rikishi, but has no open slot in her heya, then she
can keep an option on that rikishi. This is marked in pencil in or above the
sumo beya box on the rikishi card (in addition to writing “game” – see
above). If in some later year, that same heya has an opening, the player can
decide to let that rikishi (i.e. the one she has an option on) join her heya.
Next, the name of the rikishi is decided. (Note that names of new rikishi are
also decided at this point if there are new entrants but no bidding round.) If
the rikishi becomes game-controlled the players decide together; if the rik-
ishi becomes player-controlled, then the owning player decides. In either
case, the name of the rikishi must start with the kana (letter) shown on the
marker used for that rikishi.
At the time of writing these rules, over 80% of active rikishi had names start-
ing with one of the kana shown on the rikishi markers.
The following variants are possible, but many are uncommon: ka→ga, ki→kya/kyo/
kyu/gi/gya/gyo/gyu, sa→za, ta→da, te→de, to→do, chi→cha/cho/chu, shi→sha/
sho/shu, ha→ba/pa, ho→bo/po, hi→hya/hyo/hyu/bi/bya/byo/byu/pi/pya/pyo/pyu.

New heya members are recorded on the sumo beya record sheet. Their pre-
tournament banzuke rank is written as small as possible in the top of the cell
in the banzuke column of the row in which they first appear. (Normally
banzuke positions are only recorded at the end of a year, but for new
entrants their starting position needs to be recorded as well.)

番付昇進 7
 2 – training phase
In the training phase, under the guidance of their oyakata, rikishi try to
improve their skills and raise their spirits. Player-controlled rikishi train
before game-controlled rikishi. (Actually, they all train at the same time, but by
doing it in this order the players are unable to respond to the training of game-con-
trolled rikishi in the same year. That’s the closest to simultaneous.)

player-cont rolled rikishi

The table below shows what spirit increases and skill improvements cost
(paid in AP). Prices (here simulating effort required) depend on the age of
the rikishi. Training more results in more improvement, but at a higher cost.
The following table shows age brackets in rows, the number of “upgrades”
(spirit increases plus skill improvements) in columns, and cost in AP in the
remaining cells.
# of upgrades
age 1 2 3
21-26 0 2 4
27-30 1 3 5
31-33 2 4 n.a.
34+ 2 4 n.a.
心 心

[example] A 28-year old rikishi can get 2 upgrades (2 skill improvements or 2

spirit increases or 1 of each) for 3 AP.

A rikishi aged 34 or older cannot get any skill improvements.

Limitation. – A skill cannot improve more than one step in a year. (Or in
other words, players can buy at most one skill improvement per skill
type/color per rikishi in their heya.)

8 Banzuke Shoushin
 game-cont rolled rikishi
The training of game-controlled rikishi is guided by the following table:

21-26 27-30 31-33 34+

1 00 00 00 00
2 10 10 10 00
3 01 01 01 00
4 21 11 10 10
5 12 02 01 10
6 22 22 12 20

Roll a D6, this gives the row number. Check age to find the right row.
[example] Let’s say that you roll ⚄ for a 26-year old rikishi. You need to cross
the row marked “5” with the column of the age bracket that includes 26. In
that cell, you’ll find “12”.

In most cases, there are 2 numbers printed in the cell found; the firs t is
increase in spirit level; the second is the number of skill improvements. Roll
the CD to determine which skill or skills improve. White counts as the rik-
ishi’s preferred skill (the one marked with a red dot). If a skill is rolled that
cannot improve (because it is already filled to the maximum) the CD is not
re-rolled.
[example] Continuing from above: “12” means that the rikishi gets one spirit
level increase, and – at most – two skill improvements. The CD is rolled two
times. Any roll of a maxed-out skill is ignored.

3 – basho phase
The basho ( 場所 tournament) phase is the heart of the game and takes by
far the longest. In 49 bouts a whole year of sumo is simulated. The program
of bouts is shown on the main board. It starts with the bout between the

番付昇進 9
maegashira 8 and 10 on day 1, and ends with the bout between the yokozuna
and ōzeki on day 7. Bouts are decide by a roll of one or two dice per rikishi.
Every time during a tournament and in the banzuke phase when a play-
er-controlled rikishi gains a spirit ( 心 ) while he already has four (the maxi-
mum), the player controlling that rikishi gets an action point (AP) instead. In
case the rikishi is game-controlled, he gets nothing.

bout procedure
A bout is won by the rikishi with the highest modified die roll:
D6 + bout skill level + bonuses
The step-wise bout procedure is as follows:
1 – choose bout tactics of player-controlled rikishi;
2 – roll bout tactics of game-controlled rikishi;
3 – determine bout skill;
4 – look up bout skill levels and determine bonuses;
5 – roll D6 (one for each rikishi);
6 – calculate result (for each rikishi);
7 – resolve ties;
8 – determine winner;
9 – determine injuries;
10 – apply other bout results.
Bout skill (i.e. the skill that is decisive in this particular bout) is determined
by comparing the bout tactics of the two rikishi involved. Players can
freely choose the bout tactics of their rikishi, unless both rikishi in a bout
belong to the same sumo beya. In that case, both rikishi are game-con-
trolled during that bout. The bout tactic of game controlled rikishi is deter-
mined by a CD roll. If the CD turns up white, that rikishi’s bout tactic is his
preferred skill (i.e. the skill marked with a red dot); otherwise it is the skill
rolled.

10 Banzuke Shoushin
If a player-controlled rikishi fights a game-controlled rikishi, the player
reveals her rikishi’s bout tactic by placing a cube in the color of the skill
selected on the rikishi card before the bout tactic of the game-controlled rik-
ishi is rolled. If both rikishi are player-controlled, the two players involved
secretly select a cube in the color desired and simultaneously place those on
the rikishi card. If both are game controlled, roll a CD twice, once for each
rikishi.
If the bout tactics of both rikishi in the bout are the same, then that is the
bout skill.
If the bout tactics of the two rikishi differ, then one of the two becomes the
bout skill, as follows:
- weight (重, black) wins against endurance and speed;
- endurance (耐, green) wins against technique and strength;
- technique (技, blue) wins against speed and weight;
- speed (速, yellow) wins against strength and endurance; and
- strength (強, red) wins against weight and technique.
This is also shown graphically on the game board:

The bout skill is determined before a D6 is rolled for the two rikishi. Both rik-
ishi add their levels in the bout skill to their D6 roll.
In addition to that, three further kinds of bonuses are added:
- 1 point if a rikishi has spirit level 4 (note that a loss markers reduced the
spirit level by one, so a rikishi with a loss marker can never have spirit level
4);

番付昇進 11
- 1 point if the player spends one AP before rolling the D6 (in which case the
AP marker is placed on the card until the bout is resolved and is discarded
after the bout);
- 1 point if it is a game-controlled rikishi, and it is day 7 of the tournament,
and that rikishi has exactly 3 wins and 3 losses in that tournament. (This sim-
ulates the extra effort made by rikishi to reach kachikoshi. It is recommended to
place AP markers on the cards of rikishi that get this bonus at the beginning of day 7.)
[example] Rikishi あ selects bout tactic technique ( 技 , blue). Game-controlled
rikishi き rolls yellow (speed 速 ). Technique wins against speed, thus tech-
nique ( 技 , blue) becomes the bout skill. Rikishi あ has level 3 in technique; き
has level 1. It is day 7 of the basho, and き had 3 victories on previous days,
resulting in 1 bonus point. Neither あ nor き has 4 spirit. The player control-
ling あ decides to spend 1 AP. Next the D6 is rolled for both rikishi. あ rolls ⚃;
き rolls ⚅. Thus, あ’s score is 4+3+1=9 and き’s score is 6+1+1=9. It is a tie!
Tie breakers are – in order – spirit level ( 心), weight level (重, black), tech-
nique level ( 技 , blue). If that does not resolve the tie, re-roll D6s (without
adding anything to the result) to determine the winner.
The bout result is recorded on the tournament record sheet. (Write 1 in the
row of the winner and 0 in the row of the loser in the cells with the same bout identi -
fier number.)

injuries and other bout result s

If a rikishi’s D6 roll turns up ⚀ (1), then he (possibly) has an injury.
If that rikishi had no previous injury that tournament, roll the CD. If
endurance ( 耐 , green), strength ( 強 , red), or speed ( 速 , yellow) is rolled,
place a marker in that color on the rikishi’s card. This cube represents a
minor injury; it does not affect the rikishi’s skill level.

Major injury. – If, however, the rikishi already has a minor injury
(i.e. there already is a green, red, or yellow marker on the rikishi card), and

12 Banzuke Shoushin
that rikishi rolls 1, then the injury marker is discarded. If that rikishi had
level 1 or higher in that skill, he drops one level. (Use an eraser to erase one
pencil-filled skill circle from the rikishi card. Note that the skill can be
regained later in training.) If that rikishi had level 0 in that skill, his handi-
cap/weakness level increases one level. (Use a red pen to cross out one more
skill circle from the rikishi card. Note that this effect is permanent.)
In case of a loss a rikishi loses spirit. If the rikishi has no loss marker yet, a
loss marker is placed on top of (or next to) the spirit marker. A loss marker
effectively reduces the rikishi’s spirit level by one. If a rikishi suffers another
loss while he has a loss marker, that loss marker is discarded and the spirit
level marker moves down (i.e. to the left) one level. If a rikishi wins a bout
while he has a loss marker, that loss marker is also discarded, but without los-
ing a spirit level.
Kinboshi. – If a maegashira wins a bout against a yokozuna or ōzeki, he
receives 1 spirit ( 心 ). If a player-controlled rikishi wins against a yokozuna
or ōzeki, the player – additionally – gets 1 victory point.

tournament result s subphase

The players record the numbers of wins and losses for each of their rikishi on
their sumo beya sheets. Players receive one victory point (VP) for each of
their rikishi who reached kachikoshi (more wins than losses). (VPs are
recorded on the sumo beya record sheet.)
At the end of the tournament all loss markers and minor injuries are dis-
carded.
The rikishi (singular or plural!) with the largest number of victories is/are
the tournament winner(s). (In reality, there are 6 tournaments each year, so
there can be multiple winners.) Tournament winners that are not yokozuna or
ōzeki receive 1 spirit (心).

番付昇進 13
If the yokuzuna (highest ranked rikishi) has makekoshi (more losses than
wins; i.e. 3 wins or less) he immediately retires (forcibly). If the ōzeki (second
highest ranked rikishi) has makekoshi and is 31 or older, he immediately
retires.

4 – banzuke phase
The new banzuke (ranking) is determined in two steps.
Step 1 – From bottom to top, move rikishi markers on the banzuke section of
the main board up or down depending on their tournament results and to
the left column. A rikishi that won all 7 bouts moves up 6 spots; 6 wins is +4; 5
+2; 4 +1. Below that, rikishi are makekoshi (more losses than wins) and move
down. 3 wins is -1; 2 -1; 1 -4; and 0 (all bouts lost) is -6. If there already is a
rikishi marker on a space and another moves there, put the last moved
marker on top.
The yokozuna (highest ranked rikishi) gets a bonus move of 1 space up.
(This makes it more difficult to take over the yokozuna spot, which simulates the rule
that a yokozuna cannot demote.) The yokozuna gets this bonus move before any
other rikishi markers move.
The two juryō rikishi did not fight. Both move to the juryō 1 space in the left
column, the juryō 1 ranked rikishi goes on top.
Step 2 – Move markers back to the right column from top to bottom. The
highest on the left column goes on the yokozuna spot in the right column,
and so forth. Higher on a stack means higher position on the right column.

banzuke effect s
The yokuzuna cannot demote. If he does not end up at the top of the rank-
ing, he immediately retires.

14 Banzuke Shoushin
If a rikishi demotes to juryō (i.e. one of the bottom two ranks) and is 31 or
older, he retires. If a rikishi aged 30 or younger demotes to juryō, he loses 1
spirit (心). If a game-controlled rikishi has spirit level 0 before demotion, and
thus cannot drop any further, he retires instead.
Players record the new banzuke positions of their rikishi on their sumo beya
record sheet. For each rikishi in her heya with rank komusubi or higher, a
player gets one victory point.

5 – year end phase

All rikishi age 1 year (fill in or cross out the next age circle on the rikishi
card). Although active rikishi can be older than 35, this has no further game
effects and is not shown on the rikishi cards.
Loss of skills. – For all rikishi that are 31 to 33 years old, roll the CD twice.
Reduce the endurance ( 耐 , green), strength ( 強 , red), or speed ( 速 , yellow)
skill levels (i.e. erase pencil-filled circles) in accordance with the die roll.
(Rolling two green results in an endurance skill decrease of two. Rolling col-
ors other than the three mentioned has no effects.) For all rikishi that are 34
or older, roll the CD three times. Otherwise the effects are the same as those
for 31-to-33-year olds.
Loss of spirit and ret irement s. – If a rikishi is 31 to 33 years old and is
either maegashira or juryō, remove 1 spirit ( 心). If a rikishi is 34 or older and
is either maegashira or juryō, remove 2 spirit. If a rikishi has insufficient
spirit available, he retires.
Player-controlled rikishi can retire (if the controlling player wishes to do
so!) if they are maegashira or juryō and have 1 spirit (心) or less.
Optionally – if no player objects – all rikishi of rank maegashira 3 or
lower that have a spirit 心 level of 0 (zero) retire. (This is recom-
mended only if all players have less than two rikishi and if there are few
other retirements.)

番付昇進 15
If there are retirements, move up rikishi to fill empty slots. Empty spaces on
the banzuke should always be at the bottom.

ot her rules
If the players decide to end the game at the end of a game year, the player
with the mos t victory point s plus action point s (AP) wins the game.
(There are no tie breakers.)
If a player leaves the game, her rikishi become(s) game-controlled. If that
same player rejoins the game later and her rikishi have not retired yet, she
re-opens her sumo beya with the same rikishi.
Everything not covered in these rules (or nor covered clearly enough) is
decided by the players together bearing in mind that the intention of the
game is to simulate sumo careers and sumo beya management.

credits – The font used for headers in these rules is “From Where You Are” by Kimberly Geswein:
www.kimberlygeswein.com. The sumo wrestler picture on the game board is based on an ukiyo-e
style picture by Daimon Kinoshita of sumo wrestler Takahanada (1985).

16 Banzuke Shoushin