Takenoko Rules

Takenoko is a management and organization game. You are one of the courtiers of the Emperor of Japan, who has just received a giant panda. Your role will be to cultivate plots of land, irrigate them and grow bamboo there to feed the animal, taking into account its appetite and the weather.

Contents

• 1 Pond plot
• 28 Plots
• 1 Deck of objectives cards
• 1 Emperor card
• 90 Sections of bamboo in 3 different colors
• 20 Irrigations channels
• 9 Improvements
• 4 individual sheets
• 8 Action tokens
• 1 Weather dice
• 1 Panda figure
• 1 Gardener figure
• 1 Rulebook
  

Setup

• Place the pond in the center of the table; place the panda and the gardener there. 
• Place the plots face down on the table to form the draw pile.
• Place the facilities (irrigation channels and improvements) classified by type and the irrigations next to the draw pile.
• Set the Emperor card aside.
• Divide the objective cards by category and place them face down on the table.
• Give each player 1 individual sheet, 2 Action tokens and 1 objective card of each category.
• These items should not be seen by opponents.
• The tallest player starts the game.
• Play moves clockwise.
  

How to Play

Roll the weather die

• Skip this step on the first turn.

Improvements

• There can only be one improvement chip per plot.

• The improvement may have been printed on it.
• or laid as a chip.

• It can only be placed on a plot without bamboo.
• It can be used for one turn only.

• The enclosure: the panda can’t eat bamboo.
• The fertilizer: the sections grow 2 by 2.
• The watershed: irrigates a plot, without replacing the pond tile.
  

Take actions and complete objectives

• You are limited to 2 different actions per turn.
• Place 1 token under each action you want to take:

1. Place a plot:

• Draw 3 plots.
• Pick 1.
• Place the rest, face down, under the draw pile.
• Place the chosen plot.
  – Either, place it adjacent to the pond,
  – or, adjacent to 2 plots that are already placed there.

• A section of bamboo of the same color can be grown.
• For this, the plot must be irrigated. Either it:
  – is adjacent to the pond, 
  – has a watershed improvement,
  – has an irrigation channel.

2. Laying an irrigation channel:

• Take 1 irrigation channel.
• You can use it immediately.
• Or you can place it on the individual card.

• The channels always start from the pond to bring the water to the plots.
• A channel is placed on one of the edges of a plot.
• The first time a plot is irrigated, place 1 section of bamboo on it.
• A channel can be placed between two plots that are edge to edge.
• In this case, it irrigates the 2 plots at the same time.
  

3. The gardener:

• The gardener moves in a straight line by crossing as many squares as you wish.
• Place 1 bamboo section on the irrigated patch it lands on and the adjacent irrigated patches of the same color.
• A plot is limited to 4 sections of bamboo.
  

4. Move the panda:

• The panda moves just like the gardener.
• Remove 1 section of bamboo from the patch where it stops.
• This will be placed on the individual sheet.

5. Choose a new objective:

• Add 1 objective card to your hand.
• You are limited to 5 cards per hand.

Completing an objective

• As long as the conditions on a card are met, you may complete one or more objectives at any time during your turn.
• To do this, lay the card face up on the table.

Plot objective: 

• Create the configuration on the card.
• The plots in question must be irrigated.

Gardener objective:

• Grow the number of bamboo sections requested on a plot, respecting the improvement conditions on the card.

Panda objective:

• Feed the panda with the bamboo sections on the card.
• Refer to your individual sheet to find out if the objective has been met.
• The sections of bamboo in question will then be returned to the reserve.
  

End of the Game

• The player who completes their last objective takes the Emperor card, which will earn them 2 additional points.
• That player can complete more objectives during this final round.
• At the end of the final round, the points earned by each completed objective card will be added up.

Winning the Game

• The player with the highest point is declared the winner.
• The objective cards that remain in hand do not count.
• In the event of a tie, the player with the most points on the panda objective cards wins.

Official rules in PDF

Explore the official Takenoko rules in PDF.