27. Takenoko

In this episode, we have a very special guest joining us to review Takenoko, a game that teaches you what to do in the unlikely event someone gives you a panda.

Takenoko is a 2011 game designed by Antoine Bauza and published by Bombyx Studios. In the game, players work together to grow a bamboo garden and send a friendly panda around that garden eating bamboo. Each player has a number of secret goals, however. They use these goals to score points by building the garden in certain ways or having the panda eat certain kinds of bamboo. The game’s aesthetics are both colorful and relaxing, and the components are charming, with little panda and gardener figures along with wooden bamboo pieces you can stack on top of each other.

Our special guest for this episode is Jared Richardson, co-host of Level With Us, a podcast where Jared and his brother Marcus have a cozy video game discussion every week. Jared doesn’t just play video games, however, he plays a lot of board games, too. In fact, we connected when he found the First Player Token podcast. Takenoko is one of Jared’s favorite games, and we have a fun discussion about the game on this episode. In fact, we borrow a few segments from Level With Us, including Star Pieces, Quick Jabs, and Who’s the Fake Fan.

For more of Jared Richardson, you can listen to Level With Us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Be sure to follow them on Bluesky, too, @levelwithus.

Buy Takenoko on Amazon.

See my photos of Takenoko.

Visit the First Player Token website.

Order a First Player Token coffee mug.

Join the First Player Token Facebook group.

Follow @firstplayertoken on Instagram.

Follow @firstplayrtoken on Twitter.

Music: “Open Road” and “Summer in Paradise,” https://www.purple-planet.com/.