Masters secretly train Students to become lineage holders while an ambitious new Emperor tries to unify his people under one banner.Lineage is a strategy game that embraces the universal concept of the Tao (the way). This game is deeply rooted in Chinese philosophy and carries with it the concepts of yin and yang the four seasons chi (energy) and the eight directions.Players are always competing to win but they may need to cooperate on occasion to prevent another player from running away with the game. This kind of player interaction coupled with the ever-changing circumstances of the board make for a compelling game that requires players to develop a sixth sense for taking the right action at the right time.To win a player must collect the Five Animal cards from the Masters around the board then return both his Master and his Student to the middle before the other players have met their victory condition.The victory conditions for the player controlling the Emperor and the General are different - if this player guides the General to convert Towns in the four corners of the board the game is over and this player has won.