Samurai is a turn based strategy/war game where you control an army of samurai and ninja attacking Japanese imperial forces in a temple. On starting the main game, the screen shows a top-down view of part of the area around a temple which is surrounded by a moat, and has stairs and bridges. Play consists of a number of turns, each consisting of a movement phase followed by a combat phase. The player alternates turns with the computer until one side has completely destroyed the other's units.