opening Sekigahara (2nd edition)

Allen bought Sekigahara when it first came out, and I played two games with him. I really enjoyed the game, and was tempted to buy it. Unfortunately the first edition sold out quickly, and GMT Games had to start a P500 project for it to determine there was enough demand to warrant a second printing. The response was good, and GMT decided to go ahead with the printing even before they reached 500 orders. I signed up for it a few months ago, so it was just a short wait for me. I received the game last week, and here's the unboxing:

It's always a joy to receive a parcel. Thankfully I was at home when the postman came. Else he would have left a note and I would need to go to the post office to collect the game, which would be a hassle.

The game was sent from the USA on 17 Sep, and I received it on 25 Sep. Only 8 days! Actually I should count it as 7 days, because of the time difference of around 12 hours between USA and Malaysia.

Upon opening the box, I found the game well protected by bubble wrap.

After taking out the top layer of bubble wrap, there was more! Also, all four sides of the game were padded with bubble wrap.

There were two free postcard games. I have not played this type of game before. It seems you only need some dice and a standard deck of cards to play. You need to cut out some counters - they are along the edges of the postcards.

The rules are in tiny font on the back of the postcards.

The 2nd edition game box is thicker. Width and length are the same. The first edition box was too small to fit everything comfortably. GMT is now selling the 2nd edition box by itself too, for 1st edition owners.

Rulebook, two reference sheets, and two sticker sheets. After I affixed the stickers onto the blocks, I would not be able to see the sticker sheets in this form, so I needed to take a photo.

The game board is thick, and consists of eight sections. The game comes with two black bags and two decks of cards - the Tokugawa deck and the Ishida deck.

The wooden blocks are hidden under the box insert. I don't like storing my games this way, so I dismantled the box insert, refolded it, and put it back. Now my game looks like this:

I found a small black rectangular box, and now I use it to store the small cubes and the special tokens. The army blocks are stored in the two black bags that come with the game.

And of course I have my loyal reference sheet prepared too.