Takenoko - Second edition FAQ

[sourisdudesert]

Dear Takenoko players,

We are happy to introduce today the Second Edition of Takenoko on Board Game Arena, that will be available in shops in the next few days.

Important: the Second Edition is now available as a BETA. We need your feedback to identify the bugs that may be still there.

What is this Second Edition in few words?

This new edition is really close to the original game:
_ only a few rules changes
_ some balancing adjustments
_ some art redesign

If you are familiar with Takenoko, you shouldn't be disoriented

Is the First Edition still available on BGA?

Yes, you can select it as an option when starting the game.

At BGA we are always trying to make you comfortable with changes on games, because we know that each of you has preferences, specific tastes, and so on... This is not something that is easy to understand for publishers, but thanks to Bombyx and Matagot we will be able to continue to offer First Edition on BGA: a big thank you for that!


What are the rules changes?

• You must place immediately improvements and irrigations when you get one.
• If there are no more improvement, you can move an improvement already placed.
• You can place an improvement on a tile even if there is bamboos on it.
• To validate gardener objectives, the gardener must be located on one of the tiles corresponding to the objective.
• The rain allows you to add a bamboo on a non-irrigated tile.

What are the balancing adjustments?

• Some Panda objectives points has decreased (ex: 5 points instead of 6 for green/yellow/red).
• The two colors Plot objectives scheme is slightly different

What are the art redesign?

• New icons for improvements
• Objective cards with support for color-blinded
• Weather dice icon redesign

What if I have some bug with the new (or the old) version?

This is not easy to make an upgrade on a popular BGA game like Takenoko...

We work hard to make sure there is no problem, but obviously we can never be 100% sure. This is we need your feedback to help us to identify the potential remaining problems.

We will continue to work a lot on the adaptation (until all problems are fixed), so please report any issue in our bug system:
https://boardgamearena.com/bugs?game=37


What about the Arena?

For the current season: nothing changes - the First edition remains.

Starting new season, the Second edition will be the Arena setting, as this will be the new official version of the game.

[sourisdudesert]

Okay, this is not really part of the FAQ, but as this is a question that has its importance :p

What do you think of this new edition as a player?

I am a fan of Takenoko from day 1. As a mid/heavy games player, this game is obviously a little bit "family oriented" for me (yes, we are talking about this die result on the last turn that allows your opponent you to fulfill the last objective, or this plot objective that is already fulfilled when picked...). However, for casual/family play, this is a must, and maybe one of the best game on this category. And it's beautiful on a table, yes.

I'm happy to see that one of my main frustration - the 6 points for Panda objectives - has been fixed. A lot of players were only considering the "Panda rush" strategy, and even if this strategy has some limits, it's often frustrating to see your beautiful garden ruined by the greedy Panda

The other main big change is the immediate placement of irrigations. In the first Edition, taking an irrigation tends to be the "additional-action-you-do-when-nothing-else-to-do". You were able to store an infinite number of irrigations, which was always good to fulfill an future Plot objective. Now, you have to choose carefully the moment where you choose this action. This makes the game a little bit more harder to master, and also accelerate a little bit the irrigation of the garden. I think that this change has more positive than negative, since it both makes the game easier to handle (no more "additional actions") and harder to master. Also, this is more in the theme of the game (no, in a real garden, you cannot dig a giant irrigation in just a day).

For improvements, this is obviously the same, with a huge difference as the arrival of the improvements are linked to the die - so it's random. Surprisingly, the new rules makes the gardener objectives little bit more easy to fulfill, because you can now place the improvements on a plot with a number of bamboo which is close to what is needed. The good thing is that it breaks the tendency to store Watershed improvements at the beginning of the game to help for Plot objectives, which sometimes looks to me like "no luck with die = no Watershed = big difficulties for Plot objectives".

About the design: it is for sure more "clean" than the previous edition, especially for improvements. Honestly, I don't really care about that: as long as there are beautiful bamboos and nice figurines, the game looks beautiful to me

So.... to conclude, my overall impression is that it simplify the game somehow (no more "additional actions"), with no major changes, while fixing some obvious issues of the game.

We hope you'll like it too!

[LightKnight]

Wow I'm very excited to play it!
I'll give my feedback then.
Thanks for the hard work, we're lucky to have such a leading team (that's totally "fayot" but absolutely honest in the same time).

[T72on1]

Trying my first game with the new version now. It definitely takes some time to get used to the new art. But that's always the case, no?

The changes in rules that you can't stack up on improvements and irrigation channels seems like a big one to me. But it probably doesn't come out of nowhere, so we'll see how it goes.

Edit: o yes, this might have been addressed somewhere else, but can we expect the Takenoko expansion here at BGA at some point?

[orgyporgy]

One comment : The action of place the irrigation inmediately has no much sense, especially in the first turn.

[whovian223]

That just means people won't get an irrigation channel on the first turn.

So it will definitely change most people's opening turn.

[sourisdudesert]

One comment : The action of place the irrigation inmediately has no much sense, especially in the first turn.

Yes. In second edition, irrigation action is a real action and its timing is really important.

It's a real challenge to find new good openings

[dschingis27]

The artwork and balancing adaptions are very good. The fact that you need to play irrigations right away fits the theme. But at the same time, it makes plot objectives less appealing!

For me, it seems that the most dramatic change is the need to have the gardener at the right plot to get the objective. At least in 2p games, the game revolves strongly on good positioning of gardener and panda (try to place them good for you but bad for opponent). Now the gardener objectives are harder to solve, and with ability to place upgrades on plots with grown bamboo, there is even more counterplay to the gardener objectives.

I'd say (but have played only one game yet) that panda objectives are better than ever. Plot objectives and gardener objectives are harder to get and there is plenty of necessety to grow bamboo food for the little panda (gardener needs to move more often to get to the right place, non-watered tiles can grow bamboo, irrigation needs to be done during game and not at game end).

[Clarit36]

Excellent idea that to solve the gardener goal, the condition is to have the gardener on that box. It sure makes the game harder to accomplish the goals. Before, in fact, everyone took 2 or 3 gardener cards and did not solve them immediately and then leave them at the end and score so many points. I found it disadvantageous. I like the beta.

[TopCzipsy]

Wow, in my opinion thats not "really close to the original game". Those rules changes gameplay completely. Good old tactics wont work (e.g. passive start, blind collecting bamboo) but the game became less luck dependent (i hope at least).