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Sprucewillis5's Takenoko (Other)
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| [February 10, 2014 12:07:39 PM]
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Takenoko: Game 2
My second playthrough of Takenoko went by much faster and felt more competitive than the previous. I played with only 3 people this time, so there wasn't as many turns to process. Due to some lucky weather rolls I was able to obtain an early lead, which I maintained throughout the whole game. Going into the game knowing the rules I was able to pick up on the strategy elements of the game as I played. Most mission cards are similar so it's very easy to determine when your opponents are trying to complete certain cards. This allows you to come up with strategies to stop your opponent from completing cards while still pursuing your own cards. You also have the strategy have allowing other players to complete cards for you, since any player can score a card as long as the requirements are on the board. This is a popular strategy towards the end of games, as players will choose new tile cards since most of the patterns already exist. This technique is how I ended the game and won with a score of '36'.
Theme:
The theme of Takenoko seems very silly at first glance, but after playing a few games I quickly discovered how relaxing and strategic this game could be. The cartoony look of the game may be a turn off to some, but I found it a very nice change of pace and nice to look at it. Most strategy games can be very hectic and stressful, but this game never feels that way.
Limitations:
Players can only choose two options per turn (unless sun is rolled). Players must choose two different options each turn (unless wind is rolled). Tokens can only be moved in straight lines (If thunder is rolled the panda may move anywhere). Tiles must be irrigated to grow bamboo. Irrigation sticks must connect to the main watersource. Tiles are only irrigated if touching a watersource horizontally. Tiles of a certain color will only grow bamboo of that color. A player may only have 5 mission cards in their hand at a time. A powerup can be added to a tile to prevent the panda from eating off that tile.
Affordances:
Players are given the options of adding new tiles, irrigation sticks, and mission cards or moving the tokens each turn. Players are given three mission cards to start out with. Players may roll a weather die to determine their weather forecast that turn. Players can grow bamboo for the panda to eat. Powerups can be added to tiles to allow for faster bamboo grow or immediate irrigation.
This entry has been edited 1 time. It was last edited on Feb 10th, 2014 at 14:16:50.
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| [February 10, 2014 12:56:42 AM]
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Takenoko: Game 1
This was my first time playing Takenoko so the first game went by slowly as I picked up the rules. I played with 3 other people who were experienced with the game. For my first entry I will also explain the basic rules and objectives of the game.
In Takenoko you are tasked with taking care of a Panda and growing food for it to eat. The game starts with one hexagon shaped tile, for the board, that represents a water source. During a player's turn they have the option to add more tiles to the board, move the bamboo farmer, move the panda, buy irrigation sticks, or draw another mission card. The player may choose two different choices each turn (unless affected by weather, explained later)
Tiles:
The hexagon shaped tiles are what make up 'the board'. As previously stated the board starts with one center piece that represents a water source. If a player chooses to add new tiles on their turn, they are given three and choose one to add to the board. All tiles exist so that a player may grow bamboo on them, and move the panda and farmer tokens. Tiles come in 3 colors (green, yellow, red) and grows bamboo of the same color. Adding tiles to the game is almost always one of a player's choices in the early rounds of the game.
Irrigation:
Tiles must first be irrigated in order to grow bamboo. Any tile directly touching the water source tile is automatically irrigated. To irrigate tiles far away from the water source, the player must choose to obtain an irrigation stick and make a path from the water source to the tile. Some tiles do come pre irrigated and do not need a link to the water source to grow bamboo. Whenever a tile first becomes irrigated it grows one piece of bamboo on it
Moving Farmer & Panda Tokens
When a player moves the farmer to a tile, that tile and all adjacent tiles grow a piece of bamboo. Tiles may grow up to a maximum of 4 pieces of bamboo. When moving the panda onto a tile, the player collects one piece of bamboo off the tile as the panda "eats it". Both the panda and the farmer may only move in straight lines.
Mission Cards:
Mission cards are what represent the objectives of the game. Each card contains an objective for the player to meet and a point value that is won once the player meets the objective.Each player starts off with one of each kind; a farmer card, a tile card, and a panda card. Farmer cards task the player with growing large amounts of bamboo on tiles, or maybe large amounts of one color. Panda cards ask the player to have the panda eat certain colors of bamboo. And tiles cards are won by simply having the requested pattern of tiles on the board (must also be irrigated). The game is over once a player has completed the requested amount of objective cards and another full round of play as finished. Then all players add up their scores to determine the winner. In addition, the player that first reaches the set amount also gains the "emperors favor' card which adds +2 to their score. Its rare that the player that wins this loses the game but it can happen.
Weather:
After the first turn each player rolls the weather di which determines their turns weather forecast.
Sun: Allows the player three choices a turn
Rain: Player may grow bamboo on any irrigated tile he/she wishes
Wind: The player may choose the same choice twice in their turn
Cloud: Player may choose one of 3 powerup tokens (discussed later) to place on a tile
?: Player may choose any weather forecast they would like
Powerups:
Tiles may contain 3 different powerups; The irrigation powerup, the fertilizier powerup, and the no eating powerup. The irrigation powerup allows a tile to grow bamboo without a link to the watersource, although new irrigation sticks cannot start from this tile. The fertilizer causes the tile to grow two stalks of bamboo each time it grows. And the no eating powerup keeps the panda from eating bamboo on that tile. (useful when trying to grow large amounts to satisfy farmer cards) Some tiles already have powerups on them, and the rest can be added by the player. Only one powerup may exist on a tile.
My first run through of the game was played with 4 people. In a 4 person game, 7 is the number of mission cards required to end gameplay. The game moved somewhat slowly as I was learning as I played, and made several mistakes that had to be corrected by my friends. While I didn't immediately pick up on the game I wouldn't say the rules were complicated. I believe that small children could play this game successfully. I immediately noticed the colorful theme and relaxing feel to the game. As I'm normally playing games centered around death or destruction this was a very nice change of pace. I felt very relaxed while playing the game, and while I was competing against other players I didn't feel very competitive playing Takenoko. During the first game I mainly focused on placing more tiles on the board to complete tile cards, as I had fun watching the board grow. My friends all focused on the high point farmer cards that require very specific requirements to complete. This paid off for two of them, but not so much for the third. Ultimately I came in 3rd with a score of '22' behind a score of '26' and '29'. (last place had '19'). This game worked well for us as it wasn't too serious nor too long. The game took about 45 minutes from start to finish.
This entry has been edited 1 time. It was last edited on Feb 10th, 2014 at 09:11:03.
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Sprucewillis5's Takenoko (Other)
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Current Status: Playing
GameLog started on: Saturday 8 February, 2014
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