The Tōkaidō line of the Shinkansen started construction in 1959 with the aim of inaugurating the fastest train of the time, just before the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

In Shinkansen: Zero Kei, players will take on the role of its builders. They will take charge of building this historic railway line and all its corresponding stations. They can also assist the Olympic venues in their preparation for the Games. The player who proves themselves to be the most efficient in their role will be declared the winner of the game.

In every round of a game of Shinkansen, you will build your own bullet train, each carriage card you add to your train will provide you with an action or an ability. These actions mainly allow you to build tracks and stations, collaborate in the preparation of the Olympic venues and obtain new carriage cards. The carriage cards are associated with cities which the line passes through. If you manage to construct them in the correct order you will be rewarded in victory points. After five rounds, corresponding to the five-year construction of the line, the player with the most victory points wins the game.