Takenoko 8.5/10
What an
impressive game. And I don’t mean that it’s the most fun or the most innovative
game, but rather that it is, in my opinion, a beautifully designed game. Now
don’t get me wrong, this game is fun, but like any game, you need the right
crowd to get the most out of it. Players looking for a significant strategic challenge,
big highs and epic comebacks might be left feeling disappointed. But on the
other hand if you are looking for a great family game or a relaxing experience
with beginner board gamers, this is the game for you.
BoardGameGeek.com describes it as follows:
‘’A long time ago at the Japanese Imperial court, the
Chinese Emperor offered a giant panda bear as a symbol of peace to the Japanese
Emperor. Since then, the Japanese Emperor has entrusted his court members (the
players) with the difficult task of caring for the animal by tending to his
bamboo garden. In Takenoko, the players will cultivate land
plots, irrigate them, and grow one of the three species of bamboo (Green,
Yellow and Pink) with the help of the Imperial gardener to maintain this bamboo
garden. They will have to bear with the immoderate hunger of this sacred animal
for the juicy and tender bamboo. The player who manages his land plots best,
growing the most bamboo while feeding the delicate appetite of the panda, will
win the game.’’
The game itself
The
goal of this game is to complete hidden objectives in order to accumulate
victory points. The first player to complete a certain number of objectives (depending
on how many players you have) will receive a bonus victory point card (the emperor)
and will trigger the last round. There are three types of objectives; Plot
objectives (placing tiles in a certain configuration), Gardener objectives
(making the gardener grow certain types of bamboo) and panda objectives (making
the panda eat certain types of bamboo). To achieve those objectives, players get
two actions per turn.
Those actions can be; placing a
plot tile, collecting and placing an irrigation tile, moving the gardener,
moving the panda or drawing an objective card. In addition to this you get to
roll a ‘’Weather die’’ that will give you a certain bonus (extra action point,
movement bonus, growing bonus and so on).
As
you can imagine, since everyone is controlling the same plots, gardener and
panda, a player might do something that will benefit them while at the same
time being harmful to the objectives of another players. Unfortunately, it is a bit difficult to know
how your actions will influence other players since the objectives are hidden.
While this makes for a less strategic game, it does make thing less confrontational
which may appeal to a more casual or younger crowd.
If
you would like to take a bit of luck out of the equation, the rules offer a
variant for ‘’advanced’’ players. In this variant, if players pick an objective
card that is already completed on the board, he must discard it and pick a new
one. In my opinion, this variant should
be a mandatory rule. Without it, the luck of the draw when picking objective
cards plays too big of a factor in completing objectives. I found this to be especially
true with the Plots objectives which made the game feel a bit unbalanced.
So, what makes this game so good?
Well,
this game offers a large number of simple game mechanics that all interact
together seamlessly. Because of the simplicity of the mechanics, the well-paced,
well-illustrated and concisely explained rules, It is easy to learn and easy to
teach. Many people (including myself) will be impressed by the quality of the
components and the beauty of the artwork. As mentioned earlier, the fact that
the gameplay isn’t confrontational will appeal to a more casual and younger
crowd making this a great game for a family games night or for introducing
non-gamers to the wonderful world of board-gaming.
The Good
- Gorgeous art and
design
- Quality components
- Lighthearted and fun
game
- Will appeal to younger
players and non-gamers
Seamless interaction between theme and mechanics
Seamless interaction between theme and mechanics
The Bad
- Feels unbalanced without
the ‘’variant’’ rule
- Luck plays a big roll
and there is not much strategy to it. Although this could be a positive aspect
in some settings.
The bottom line
- Looking for deep strategic play? Look elsewhere
- Looking for light family fun? The emperor’s
garden is the place for you.
- A must have for family board game lovers
- When considering the target audience, I would
give this game an 8.5/10
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