Takenoko

Objective of the Game

In "Takenoko," you are gardeners in the imperial garden, aiming to please a hungry panda while developing the bamboo garden. The goal is to accumulate the most points by expanding the garden with tiles, growing bamboo, and feeding the panda. The player with the most points at the end of the game is the winner.

Game Components

• 28 hexagonal garden tiles
• 36 objective cards (12 each in three categories: gardener, panda, garden)
• 20 irrigation canals
• 24 green, 12 yellow, 8 pink bamboo sections
• 9 improvement chips
• 1 imperial gardener figurine
• 1 panda figurine
• 1 weather die
• Player boards and markers

Setup

• Place the starting Pond tile in the middle of the table.
• Each player takes 2 action markers and a player board.
• Shuffle the tiles and keep them face-down in a stack.
• Organize objective cards into three decks and shuffle them.
• Place the panda and gardener figures on the Pond tile.

Gameplay

"Takenoko" is played over multiple rounds until a player completes a certain number of objectives, depending on the number of players: - 2 players: 9 objectives - 3 players: 8 objectives - 4 players: 7 objectives

Each round consists of the following phases:

1. Weather Phase: The active player rolls the weather die and performs the respective action:
2. Sun: Gain an additional action.
3. Rain: Add a bamboo section to an irrigated plot.
4. Wind: Perform the same action twice.
5. Storm: Move the panda and eat bamboo.
6. Cloud: Take an improvement tile.

7. ?: Choose any weather condition.

8. Action Phase: The active player performs two different actions from the following:

9. Draw a garden tile: Choose 1 of 3 drawn tiles and place it.
10. Take an irrigation canal: Use it to irrigate plots in later turns.
11. Move the gardener: Grow bamboo on an irrigated tile.
12. Move the panda: Eat a bamboo section.

13. Draw an objective card: Draw a new objective from one of the decks.

14. Objective Phase: At round's end, check completed objectives and score the points.

End of the Game

Once any player has completed the required number of objectives, the round finishes and the game ends. Final scoring includes points from completed objective cards and potentially other achievements.

The player with the most points wins the game.

Strategic Tips - Plan moves ahead and decide when to expand tiles, move the gardener or the panda effectively. - Keep an eye on opponents for potential counters or synergies. - Leverage the weather effects, especially when the weather die lands on “?” which allows any condition of choice.

Enjoy playing "Takenoko"!