Title: Takenoko Media: Board Game Approx length: 45 minutes gameplay Where to find it:Anywhere boardgames are sold, or the apps on the Apple or Google stores (https://studiobombyx.com/en/jeu/takenoko) What is it, in summary?: "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."
What do you love about it?: The build quality, from the adorable cartoon character figures to the art in the pieces, cards, and supplementary materials, and especially the concept of a rivalry/competition between a bamboo-hungry panda and an emperor's gardener; it's also a fun and well-balanced strategy game that doesn't take long to learn and play.
What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: There's lots of potential for humourous, hungry panda hijinks, and for the gardener to find creative ways of outsmarting the panda to meet his goals, and imagining how the emperor could aggravate the gardener by asserting increasingly specific, fussy garden designs depending on his mood.
Are there sections of canon (rather than the whole canon) that can be consumed by themselves to fulfil your requests, or that showcase particular characters and relationships?: If you don't have access to the game or don't have time to play it, there are plenty of freely available Let's Play and review videos out there, especially via Board Game Geek (https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/70919/takenoko)
Takenoko (board game)
Media: Board Game
Approx length: 45 minutes gameplay
Where to find it: Anywhere boardgames are sold, or the apps on the Apple or Google stores (https://studiobombyx.com/en/jeu/takenoko)
What is it, in summary?: "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."
What do you love about it?: The build quality, from the adorable cartoon character figures to the art in the pieces, cards, and supplementary materials, and especially the concept of a rivalry/competition between a bamboo-hungry panda and an emperor's gardener; it's also a fun and well-balanced strategy game that doesn't take long to learn and play.
What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: There's lots of potential for humourous, hungry panda hijinks, and for the gardener to find creative ways of outsmarting the panda to meet his goals, and imagining how the emperor could aggravate the gardener by asserting increasingly specific, fussy garden designs depending on his mood.
Are there sections of canon (rather than the whole canon) that can be consumed by themselves to fulfil your requests, or that showcase particular characters and relationships?: If you don't have access to the game or don't have time to play it, there are plenty of freely available Let's Play and review videos out there, especially via Board Game Geek (https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/70919/takenoko)
Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence): none