Takenoko Fan Site

Rating:	7.3 Good
Popularity:	47
Difficulty:	Very easy
Year:	2011
Players:	2-4 players
Playing time:	45 minutes
Age:	8+

Official Site: Takenoko @ Bombyx product page

Created by: Antoine Bauza, Nicolas Fructus, Picksel, Joël Van Aerde, Yuio

Published by: Bombyx, Matagot, Asmodee

Alternate Names: タケノコ, 御竹園

Description:

After a long series of disputes, diplomatic relations between Japan and China are finally on the mend. In order to properly celebrate this alliance, the Chinese Emperor gifted to his Japanese counterpart a sacred animal, a Giant Panda bear, a symbol of peace.

The Japanese Emperor has entrusted his court members (the players), with the difficult task of caring for the Giant Panda by setting up a bamboo plantation. The players take the role of courtesans and will cultivate the land plots, irrigate them and grow one of the three species of bamboo (Green, Yellow and Pink) with the help of the Imperial gardener.

They will have to bear with the ravenous hunger of the sacred animal for the juicy and tender bamboo. The player who grows the most bamboo, managing his land plots best while feeding the delicate Panda will have a big chance to the game. The game ends when a player has completed 7 to 9 objectives and the player with the best scores is the winner.

Prices:

Retail Price:	$40
Amazon:	$31
Ebay:	$40

Expansions:

Takenoko: Chibis

Awards:

Ludoteca Ideale Official Selection Winner 2013
Games Magazine Best New Family Game Winner 2013
Tric Trac Nominee 2012
Spiel der Spiele Hit für Familien Recommended 2012
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Takenoko Game Rules

Components

28 Plots
36 Green Bamboo sections
30 Yellow Bamboo sections
24 Pink Bamboo sections
20 irrigation channels
9 Improvements
46 "objective" cards
4 Individual boards
8 action chips
1 weather die
1 Panda
1 Gardener
1 Rule booklet

Setup

Place the special "pond tile" at the center of the playing surface. Place the gardener and the panda figurines on this plot. Mix the remaining Land Plot tiles to form a draw pile, face down.

Lay irrigation channels and improvements (sorted by type) next to this draw pile as reserve.

Set the "Emperor" card aside and sort the remaining cards by category (plot, gardener, panda) and shuffle them to form three draw piles, face down. â€¦

Tips to win Takenoko

Lacking a green thumb? Here are some gardening tips:

Be sure to take a plot during your first turn: you will need a piece of land in order to start working.
You can store the irrigation channels. Use this option! You will see that water can run out quickly during the game.
You can play your first game without including weather. It will be a little less fun, but it will give you time to familiarize yourself with the rest of the game mechanisms. â€¦