Nippon: Zaibatsu · Board game rules
What is the influence difference between 4 players and 2/3 players?
Quick answer
In 2/3-player games, there are fewer available Influence spaces per Local Market (2/3 vs. 4), limiting how many tokens players can place.
Details
The rulebook specifies different limits for available Influence spaces in each Local Market based on player count: [p.14 — Local Markets Action]
- 4-player game: 4 available Influence spaces per Local Market
- 3-player game: 3 available Influence spaces per Local Market
- 2-player game: 2 available Influence spaces per Local Market
This means players in 2/3-player games have fewer opportunities to place their Influence tokens directly. However, the rulebook includes a special rule for 2/3-player games: you may place a token on a 3rd/4th empty space beyond the limit, but only if that token's value is higher than at least one token already in that Local Market. If you do, you must immediately return the lowest-value token from that Market to its owner. [p.14 — Local Markets Action]
Additionally, in 2/3-player games, there are fewer available spaces for Ships and Trains on the Main board as well. [p.24 — Remember]
Watch out: The space limit applies per Local Market, not per Region—each Region has multiple Local Markets (one per Demand tile), so you still have multiple opportunities to place Influence across a single Region.