After third turn, I conquer Shimazu. => 25 armies suppley
After eighth turn, I lucky can conquer Saikaido in the next turn, but diplomacy delays it by two turn. I attack Mori meanwhile.
After eleventh turn, Saikaido is conquered, but now I have many armies in my outbreak, which I use to conquer 1 – 3 blockades.
About the 15th turn, SPY shows „Imperor“ and „Date” about 85 armies, I about 100.
Diplomacy prohibits conquering the outbreak of „Date”.
After 21th turn, SPY shows „Date” about 250 armies, I about 150. „Imperor“, almost destroyed.
If I do not attack „Imperor“, it has in turn 21 about 250 armies.

Three questions:
- How can I prohibit or use the diplomacy in turn nine and 16?
- How can I prohibit blockades?
- How can I bring „Imperor“ and „Date“ to fight against them?

Here is how I got the gold star: (30 turns)

Step 1: At turn 3: Get Shimazu for your 25 armies per turn.

Step 2: At turn 9: Surround the entire island of Saikaido. Try and allow Otomo(brown) to win territory OFF island (delay attacking the Bungo Chanel until he is off it). Make sure every piece of the island is visible when Otomo hits you with Diplomacy. He always does. Mori(purple) sometimes does... as do Asukara(yellow), Myoshi(light green), and Matsudaira(moss green).

Step 3: At turn 11: You MUST wipe out the entire island of Saikaido on this turn after the Diplomacy wears off. Watch how Otomo places his armies inside during the diplomatic turns. It is easier if you had let Otomo to build OFF the island so he can waste armies there and use them to hurt Mori. Hope Mori doesn't have diplomacy so you can bash his island of Oki and get the Sea of Japan. Sometimes you need to fight Asukara(yellow) for it. By now, you may even see Date(pink) on the Kaga Coast. Sadly, if Otomo blockades anything on your island, restart. It wastes too much armies to remove the blockade...

Step 4: At turn 12: Put everything you have available and take out Date (or Asukara still) on the Kaga Coast at the top. The Emperor(gray) will be busy fighting Myoshi, Matsudaira, and Oda(orange). Those three can be expected to be weak so you do not need to defend your borders by them too much. However, they can surprise you and hit you a good one. Then it is time for a redo.

Step 5: At turn 13: Use your own diplomacy of the Emperor(gray); even if you have not seen him yet. You will....
Smash a big hit on the Sado Coast. Date will heavily defend it. Redo if you do not win it. It all depends on luck and how much Date defends it. Do not worry about Asukara below the Kaga Coast. Send every army to the Sado Coast! If Date reaches the Izu Sea at the bottom. Use your Blockade on Kii Cape.

Step 6: At turn 14: Now pick away at Mori and Myoshi. You will not be able to get the Nankaido island bonus because the Emperor will be on some parts of it. You will have Diplomacy with the Emperor for turns 14 and 15. Tagawa Bay MUST be taken from Date! If it is lost, redo. Oh sooo close!

Step 7: At turn 15: Date's Tagawa MUST fall. Tagawa is a part of his BIG Dewa and Mutsu super bonus. Date must NOT collect that bonus during the next two rounds which will be Diplomacy rounds. Keep chipping away at taking bonuses from Mori.

Step 8: At turn 16: Diplomacy reigns with most armies. Date for sure! Sadly, Mori may also call for Diplomacy so you cannot continue your expansion on him. In my winning game, he DID use his Diplomacy on me. Which was good because the Emperor did NOT declare another Diplomacy with me. So...

Full fire power on the Emperor! Ignore the rest. Asukara is weak fighting him as well.

Step 9: At turns 18-22: Hopefully, you have surrounded Mori by now and can wipe him out. Now weaken Date further. Even out your armies between Date and the Emperor. Set up a Diplomacy with a weaker enemy so you can ignore defense there. Head towards Kyoto! Loop around the seas at the top of Date and hit him from every port. Stop him from taking his bonuses. By turn 23.... Hit one of the Emperor's rooms in Kyoto! that is a big bonus he has.

Step 10: At turns 23-24: More Diplomacy. In my game, the Emperor hit me with it but Date did NOT! Woo hoo! Date's turn to feel the wrath! Could have been the other way around. If both bosses don't declare Diplomacy, that is bad news. Too many borders now. Went on down the coast on the right and pounded Date at the bottom where my blockade was. He was surrounded. Own the oceans!

Step 11: At turns 25-28: Diplomacy wears off. Now to fight everything on land...

Here is the kicker... YOU MUST either destroy the weaker enemies, or completely surround them. You must separate the Emperor and Date! Why? because....

Step 12: At turn 29: Neither the Emperor NOR Date can win a single territory this round. NOT each other, NOT a weaker enemy, NOT YOU! YOU MUST STOP THEM FROM GETTING A PIECE OF A DIPLOMACY CARD! Make sure you see all the land and the small rooms in Kyoto!

Step 13: At turn 30: No Diplomacy for them! Normally, they would get it and it will then be IMPOSSIBLE to get a Gold Star by Turn 31. Wipe them out... all of them.

I really enjoyed this level!

I have Gold Stars for all the single level games except for two. If you want a breakdown of any of them, let me know.

If anyone can help ME with the last level called "Sri Lankan Hastiness" that would be great! I cannot get it! by turn 8 (before the infinite Diplomacy starts) I am staring at his commander and he does not fight me! He runs away! Even if I show him just ONE army! And I can not reach his hiding place by turn 8! That level is too clever for me!

Just kill his commander by turn 8 :)

That's the thing.
He has a hiding place which can only be reached by turn 9. (too late, or maybe I have not found a way to reach it by turn 8)
In one in every 10 attempts, the commander comes out of his hiding place, and when I do meet him. I have at most 14 armies which could kill a commander with 1 additional army. However, In every situation, the commander also has 3-5 additional armies, so my attack is useless. I have the blockade card but he NEVER hits it. But runs away back to his cubby-hole.
Maybe One in every thousand starts, he has but one army to hit.... dunno.

Hallo Olenthra,

you need many restarts, when something goes wrong.
Is there another way, perhaps without Gold Star, but more shure?

Thank You

Edited 8/23/2019 17:47:34

@Olenthra In most difficult strategic levels there is a good reason why you get the cards you get. I will not give you the solution but it sounds like you do not use your cards right.