Takenoko: A Review

 

The story is set in the Japanese Imperial Court, after many years of arguing the diplomatic relations between China and Japan are finally on the mend.  The Chinese have sent a scared Giant Panda to celebrate the alliance.  

The Japanese Emperor has entrusted his court members (the players), with the task of caring for the animal by setting up his bamboo garden.  The court members will cultivate land plots, irrigate them and grown of the three species of bamboo on the plots, with the Imperial gardeners help.  

The court member who grows the most bamboo, managing the panda's ravenous hunger for the delicate bamboo, and the plots will win the game.

Components  

The components for Takenoko are beautiful and top quality.  The plots are large hexagonal pieces.  They come in three colors, green, yellow and pink.  There is also the starting "pond" tile where bamboo does not grow.

The wooden bamboo comes in two different shapes; the base / top and center pieces. They also come in the same three colors of the plots; green, yellow, and pink.

Because the bamboo needs water there are included wooden blue irrigation sticks.  The last wooden component is the weather dice.  It is rolled to determine what the weather condition will be during a players turn.  

There are also three types of improvement chips that players can use to help the bamboo grow.  There are three categories of objective cards that help players earn victory points.  At the end of the game the Emperor card will visit the garden and declare the winner.

My favorite components are the Gardener and Panda.  The Gardner supervises the bamboo to make sure the bamboo grows.  The Giant Panda roams freely through the bamboo and eats the bamboo the Gardner has tried to grow.

Game Set-Up

The special "pond tile" should be placed in the center of the playing space.  The Gardner and the Panda are placed on the plot.  The remaining Land Plot tiles are mixed to form a draw pile, and placed face down.  The irrigation channels and improvements (sorted by type) are placed next to this draw pile as a reserve.

The Emperor Card is set aside and the other cards should be sorted by category (plot, gardener, and panda) and shuffled to form three draw piles.

Each player should be given an individual player board, two action chips, and one card of each category.  The tallest player should start the game.  

Game Play

On a players turn, a player must perform two steps in this order.  First they must determine weather conditions and then perform actions and complete objectives.

1.  Determine Weather Conditions

During the first round of play the weather does not come into play, player ignore this step and 

proceed directly to the next.

The player rolls the weather die and applies the effect of the climatic conditions obtained.

Sun - "Great sun shines on the bamboo garden."  the player gains an additonal action.  This action must be different from their two regular actions.  

Rain - "A fine rain nourishes young bamboo shoots."  The player may place a bamboo section on the irrigated plot of his choice, up to a limit of four sections per plot.

Wind - "A refreshing breeze blows through the bamboo garden."  The player may, but is not required to, take two identical actions in this round (instead of two different actions). 

Storm - "The sky rumbles and lightning strikes, frightening the panda."  The player can put the panda on the plot of his choice.  To recover from his fear, the shy animal  eats a section of bamboo.  

Clouds - "Gray clouds darken the sky.  Never mind, it is time to go on and perform same handy work."  The player chooses an Improvement chip from those available in the reserve.  It can then be placed immediately on a plot or stored on his individual board.  If no Improvement is available the player applies the effect of another climatic condition of their choice. 

Question Mark - If they get the "?" face, the player chooses what conditions they wish to apply this turn:  Sun, Rain, Wind, Storm or Clouds. 

2.  Perform Actions and Meet Objectives

The player has two actions to take which must be chosen from among five options.  These actions must be different from one another.  To finalize their choices, the player puts two chips on the appropriate spaces of their individual board.  The order in which the actions are resolved is chosen by the player.  Then the player passes the weather die to the player on his left.  

Plots - The player draws three plots and chooses one.

Irrigation Channel - The player takes an irrigation channel from the reserve.  He can use it immediately or keep it in his reserve for later rounds.  

Gardener - The player moves the gardener in a straight line in the direction of his choice.  He grows a section of bamboo on the plot where he finishes this movement as well as one all adjacent plots of the same color.  Remember:  Section only grow on irrigated plots. 

Panda - The player moves the panda in a straight line in the direction of his choice.  The panda eats a bamboo section from the plot where he finishes his movement.

Objective - The player draws an objective card of the category of their choosing and adds it to his hand. 

Plots

The player draws three plots, chooses one and places the other two back on top of the deck, face down in order of his choice.   The selected plot is then put into play following either one of both of the following rules:  The plot is adjacent to the special "pond tile."  The plot is adjacent to two plots already in play.

Each plot can grown one and only one bamboo shoot of its color.

Note:  the plots next to the special pond and those with the watershed improvement are automatically irrigated!  a bamboo section is immediately added (see irrigation).  Regardless of color, some plots have built in improvements. 

Irrigation Channel

The player takes an irrigation channel from the reserve.  Irrigation can be put into play immediately or stored in subsequent rounds.  If a player has an irrigation channel in his reserve, it can be used at any time during his turn; this does not count as an action.   Irrigations are placed on the border of two plots and form a network that always starts from the corner of the special "pond tile."

A plot is irrigated if it has at least one of the following conditions: 

1. It is adjacent to the special "pond tile," in which case irrigation is automatic.
2. At least one of its six edges hosts an irrigation channel.
3. It has a watershed improvement.

When a plot is irrigated fro the first time, a section of bamboo of its color is added.  A plot is eligible for this first shoot only once.  If an irrigation channel irrigates to plots simultaneously, a a section of bamboo is added to each.

Gardener

The player moves the gardener in a straight line, any number of plots in the direction of his choice.  The gardener is only allowed to move over plots, not empty spaces between plots.   he grows a section of bamboo on the plot where he finishes his move as well as on all directly adjacent plots of the same color. 

If a plot has bamboo at a height of four sections, then no section is added, because four sections in the maximum size of a bamboo shoot. 

Remember:  Sections never grow in non-irrigated plots even if the gardener finished his move on the plot or on an adjacent lot.  

Panda

The player moves the panda in a straight line, any number of plots in the direction of his choice.  The panda is only allowed to move over plots not empty spaces between plots. 

The panda eats a bamboo section from the plot where he finishes his movement.

The player keeps this bamboo section on his individual board.  It can be used to fulfill a Giant panda objective. 

Details on movements:  The Panda and Gardener can cross or end their movement on the special "pond tile."  They cannot cross an empty space between two plots and must stop before the empty space.  To benefit from their action, a player must move them at lest one space.

Objectives

The player draws an objective card of the category of their choosing and adds it to his hand. 

Remember:  a player can only have a maximum of five cards.  If a player has five cards in their hand they cannot draw a sixth card.  They must complete at least one objective before drawing again.

Plot Objectives:  These cards represent three or four adjacent plots.To fulfill this objective, the configuration shown on the card must be reflected in the bamboo garden.  To be a valid combination it must be entirely composed of irrigated plots.

Gardener Objectives:  These cards represent either:  a bamboo shoot of four sections, with a specific improvement, a bamboo shoot of four sections, without improvement, a group of several bamboo shoot of three sections without any improvement constraints.  To fulfill this objective, the configuration shown on the card must be reflected in the bamboo garden.

Panda Objectives:  These cards represent two or three bamboo sections.  To fulfill this objective the player must have the required sections on their individual board.  These sections must be put back into the reserve after the objective is completed.  

Improvements

The improvements can be built into a plot (in which case they are printed on the plot) or can be added if a player has acquired an improvement chip thanks to the "Clouds" weather condition.  If a player has an improvement in his reserve, it can be used at any time during his turn; this does not count as an action.

Improvements can only be added to plots were bamboo has not yet grown (this means plot which were just placed, plots which are not irrigated,  and plots where the panda has just eaten everything!).

Each plot can have one and only one Improvement (whether built-in or added), and if not possible to change it later.

Enclosure:  The enclosure protects the bamboo in its plot.  The panda can move across or stop here, but he cannot eat any bamboo there.

Fertilizer:  Fertilizer increases the growth of bamboo on its plot.  Each time the bamboo grows, two sections are added instead of one (subject to the usual four sections maximum).

Watershed:  the watershed provides the bamboo in its plot all the water it needs.  Therefore this plot does not need to be irrigated and automatically benefits from the addition of first growth related to irrigation.  A watershed cannot be used as the beginning of a new irrigation system. 

End of the Game

The game end conditions depend on the number of players:

- 2 Players:  when a player completes his ninth objective, it triggers the last round.

- 3 Players:  when a player completes his eighth objective, it triggers the last round.

- 4 Players:  when a player completes his seventh objective, it triggers the last round.

The player who started the final round takes the special "Emperor" card (worth 2 points) and finishes his turn.  

Note:  A player may still complete other objectives during the turn in which he triggers the final round.

The other players then each have a final turn in which they can attempt to complete objectives to improve their scores.

Finally, the Emperor rewards the most deserving of his servants after an extensive inspection:

Each player totals the points indicated on their objectives completed during the game.  Any cards still in hand have no value.

The player with the highest score wins the game and receives the congratulations of the Emperor.

In case of a tie, the player with the most points on their Panda objective cards wins.  In the event of a further victory the tied players share the victory.  

My Thoughts

A cute giant panda, colorful bamboo, and a hard working Gardner create a visually stunning game.  These outstanding components draw players in and makes them want to stay.  The figurines are adorable and high quality.  The bamboo pieces are stunning and one can imagine a bamboo forest sprouting into a beautiful garden as the game is played.  Of course, the Panda might eat it all.

These wonderful components are safely kept in the brilliant box insert.  Everything has its place where they are securely kept.  It is also easy to take the pieces in and out of the box without fear of tearing or damaging them.  I really wish other games came with such wonderful inserts.  It is also usable during the game.  We keep the box on the table and take the pieces out as needed during the game.

Another beautiful component is the rule book.  It starts with a comic about how the Panda came to the Japanese Emperor.  This is a really cute way to set the tone for the rest of the rulebook.  The rules are easy to read and understand.  The pictures give you a clear idea of how to set up the game and play each turn.  The approachable rules, quick playing time, and charming components make it a great family game. The pieces are small so families will want to be careful with young players. 

Takenoko is also a great couples game.  My husband is my main gaming partner and we are always looking for games that play well, or best, with two.  Takenoko is definitely one of those games.  Anyone looking for a game to play with their significant other should consider Takenoko. The game was a very sweet Christmas present from my husband.  It certainly isn't a game he would buy for himself; but he knew I would love it.  If you do play with more than two players it may be a good idea to play with the variant rule that says if you draw a card and the condition is already met you should discard it and draw another.

Takenoko is a superbly elegant game.  The components and game play combine to create a game that is both visually stunning and fun to play.  Like many Euro style games, Takenoko is about efficiency.  Players must use their two actions to reach their objectives before their opponents.  Knowing when to draw new objective cards, take an irrigation canal, or move the Gardner over the Panda.  This isn't the most strategic game, players may only be looking one or two plays ahead, but it is an important aspect of game play.

The Gardner growing bamboo, the Panda eating the bamboo and the modular board all merge to create a unique game.  This also lends to the re-playability of the game.  Every game will be a unique experience. 

Luck plays a big role in the game.  The weather die can give a player extra actions while letting another take the same action twice.  A player may also get the luck of the draw with the objective cards.  Some will be easier than others to complete and they may even draw one that is already complete.  Players can agree to discard objective cards that are completed when drawn as a variant rule.  A few players may be turned away by the luck.  I like luck in games and I'm glad it is included.  I really like the weather die.  I feel it is thematic how weather affects the bamboo garden, scaring the Panda or helping the bamboo grow.  


 

Overall I have really enjoyed playing Takenoko.  It may not come to the table every week but it is an option any night.  The components, the sweet figurines, and unique game play make it a hit with me.  The beauty and elegance combine to create a relaxing game play experience.

Quick Stats

Designer: Antoine Bauza

Artists: Nicolas Fructus, Picksel, Yuio

Publishers: Asmodee, Asterion Pres, Bombyx, Hobby Japan, Matagot, REXhry

Players: 2-4

Game Length:  75 minutes
Ages: 8 and up

Picture Credits:  Humphrey Clerx (hclerx), Laszlo Molnar (lacxox), Henk Rolleman (henk.rolleman)(2), Oceluna (jueguetistorias) (Oceluna), Laszlo Molnar (lacxox), Ama Honeymoon (LoLoGalaxy), Antony Hemme (Toynan), Henk Rolleman (henk.rolleman) (2), Laszlo Molnar (lacxox), Oceluna (jueguetistorias) (Oceluna), Mario Brunelli (sprunx), Henk Rolleman (henk.rolleman), Arnaud MATAGOT (arnaud4matagot), Henk Rolleman (henk.rolleman), Laszlo Molnar (lacxox), Jybe Jybe (Jybe)