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Bamboo

Game ID: GID0036664
Collection Status
Description

For generations, harvesting bamboo has brought prosperity to your home. Work, perseverance, balance and prayer have made a small town flourish that has grown at the expense of the cane fields. Today, various clans live in harmony with nature.

In Bamboo, players take on the role of clans that grow bamboo and use the fruits of their labor to take care of their family and thus add happiness points. This is an action management and tile optimization game that is both accessible and deep. With a very careful setting, Bamboo is part of the Kemushi saga, to which Bitoku and Silk also belong.

Bamboo games are made up of 4 years or rounds, which in turn are divided into 4 phases or seasons. On their turns, players will burn incense in temples to seek favor from the spirits, and use bamboo shoots to perform actions such as seeking balance, cooking, home improvement, or managing finances.

Following the doctrines of the home balance discipline allows for better optimization of home tiles, making it a fundamental pillar for progressing through the game. To score balance tiles you must use the balance action and follow the pattern indicated on the tile, which always has something to do with the type of home tiles you get during the game. There are four classes of home tiles: decoration, garden, faith, or useful. Depending on how they place them on their board, players will earn happiness points.

In addition to managing the household, players will need to prepare for when tough times come. To get through the winter, it will be necessary to feed the family members with the tea, rice or ramen that has been prepared and stored in the previous season. And all this without forgetting to honor spirits and ancestors in the temples. The player who has made the largest offering of incense in each sacred space will receive the favor of one of the seven spirits of the forest, as a token of thanks. Spirit tiles, in addition to helping players throughout the game, offer bonus points in the final phase based on the number of different spirits in each player's play area.

With accessible and easy-to-learn rules, Bamboo is a very versatile title that will fit into any shelves. However, behind its apparent simplicity lies great strategic depth, with plenty of options available to players. In addition, Bamboo has an advanced game mode on the back of the personal boards, which will give the games an extra level of demand. Harvest bamboo and find balance in your home to win the game. May the spirits be with you!

—description from the publisher

Year Published
2023
Transcript Analysis
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 8
This page: 8
Sentiment: pos 6 · mix 0 · neu 1 · neg 0
Mentions per page
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Showing 1–8 of 8
Video zJAjpq5wzKM Rolling Dice and Taking Names general_discussion at 54:20 sentiment: positive
video_pk 10201 · mention_pk 30084
Video thumbnail
Click to watch at 54:20
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
  • Elegant action selection from bamboo shoots
  • Tight two-player tension with quick setup
Cons
  • Complexity can spike with advanced strategies
  • Thematic cohesion may feel muted to some
Thematic elements
  • balancing life and household decoration in a game-y context
  • Traditional home/decor theme with bamboo and incense
  • glossed cultural theme with abstract mechanics
Comparison games
  • Ottawa
  • Bonanza
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • Four-color bamboo shoots and incense tracking — Actively manage color tokens to select actions and activate spirits.
  • Temple action selection and sliding shoot order — Pull shoots, spend incense, and slide pieces back to reconfigure future options.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • Retrograde is a fantastic board game that I would highly recommend to anyone who loves strategy games.
  • I really like it as a two player 30 minute Euro type game.
  • Beer and Bread is a multi-use card game for two players.
  • 1815 Scum of the Earth is a card-driven battle game and I enjoyed it.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video nCsptWvEVjk Foster the Meeple haul at 18:03
video_pk 7518 · mention_pk 22340
Video thumbnail
Click to watch at 18:03
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • Don't sleep on this game folks.
  • It's a lunchtime game now.
  • It's a strictly card based game.
  • This is a really unique racing card game you're like doing a bike race with these fun creatures.
  • It's a freaking hoot.
  • I am so excited to try it.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video QZC2ymGGzec Foster the meeple general_discussion at 23:32 sentiment: positive
video_pk 6664 · mention_pk 19842
Video thumbnail
Click to watch at 23:32
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
  • size fits the cube nicely
  • cute aesthetic
Cons
  • may feel light to some players
Thematic elements
  • cute, tactile tile placement
  • gentle, charming farm/forest theme
  • family-friendly
Comparison games
  • Calico
  • New York Zoo
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • tile placement — place bamboo pieces to build patterns.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • it's a fantastic engine building game
  • Rules are important for checking mine
  • cheater cheater pumpkin eater
  • I am crushing you like a grape
  • Town 66 going right above
  • that Lord of the Rings confrontation pack
  • this is the cube challenge
  • Calico fits perfectly in the cube with room to spare
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video poYTa8gmPJw Foster the Meeple general_discussion at 7:37 sentiment: positive
video_pk 5095 · mention_pk 15104
Video thumbnail
Click to watch at 7:37
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
  • Tactile and satisfying to manipulate
  • Great for quick plays
Cons
  • Abstract feel may not appeal to all players
Thematic elements
  • tactile, satisfying placement and extraction
  • abstract/tactile abstraction in wood/board building
  • abstract
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • tile/piece placement — placing bamboo-like tokens to form patterns and control areas
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • snacking during board gaming is like almost as essential as like the games themselves
  • this is the best thing we ever decided to do
  • Rhino Hero Super Battle Run over here is a big boy
  • it's the best game ever
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video MLGBQ_Yfb-o Foster the Me top_10_list at 8:18 sentiment: positive
video_pk 4392 · mention_pk 12825
Video thumbnail
Click to watch at 8:18
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
  • cute theme
  • engaging action system
  • interesting family prosperity arc
Cons
none
Thematic elements
  • clan prosperity through bamboo farming
  • Japanese family prosperity
  • resource management
Comparison games
  • Boku
  • Silk
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • Area Control — incense majority for spirit bonuses
  • bamboo farming — growing bamboo for actions
  • set collection — collecting house pieces for prosperity
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • it's not just like how good is this game it's like how is our experience playing it
  • a lot of these ranking lists people rank for different criteria mhm our criteria is primarily around fun fun and experience
  • it might be my favorite polyomino game
  • I love the theme I love that it's like this magical Library
  • the mechanisms match the theme so well
  • it gave me slay the Spire feel feelings
  • my favorite solo button shy game ever
  • chaos incarnate
  • one of the best gaming experiences I've had this year
  • if you love puzzles if you love those deduction style games like I think you'll love this
  • I am a big fan of area control um and games that can do two-player area control well are very rare
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video HxOA1uKABLw Positively Board Gaming general_discussion at 1:15 sentiment: neutral
video_pk 2871 · mention_pk 8408
Video thumbnail
Click to watch at 1:15
Overall sentiment (raw)
neutral
Pros
  • solid Euro feel with a tight 90-minute playtime
  • strong thematic flavor through Japanese-inspired design
Cons
none
Thematic elements
  • bamboo elements and Japanese motif
  • Japanese-themed Euro game
  • abstract/resource-management
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • Resource management — players manage bamboo and related resources to optimize actions and scoring
  • set collection — players collect sets of tiles/resources to trigger scoring
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • "Shared topics actually work."
  • "This is what I love about Stonemire what you do."
  • "There's this sort of nervous excitement, but just generally getting it out there and seeing the response and seeing people enjoying themselves."
  • "goosebumps thinking about it"
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 0G-zGC4IrU4 Foster The Meatball game_review at 9:12 sentiment: positive
video_pk 1732 · mention_pk 5006
Video thumbnail
Click to watch at 9:12
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
  • Incredibly cute aesthetics; tactile, colorful wooden components
  • Deep and interwoven planning in a compact box
  • Family-friendly with strong potential for kids and non-gamers
Cons
  • Can be complex to teach; breadth of interactions may overwhelm new players
  • Requires careful teaching to ensure all rules are understood
Thematic elements
  • cozy, cute tableau-building with interlocking actions
  • Toku Silk world; a family builds a home while interacting with spirits
  • engine-driven with visual storytelling
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • Bamboo stock feedback loop — Spent bamboo returns to the global stock and can be advanced to gain more bamboo.
  • Bamboo tile placement and action triggering — Place bamboo tokens to areas on your board to activate corresponding actions.
  • End-of-round feeding and home-building — Each item in your home requires food; players balance growth with resources.
  • Interlocking planning for future turns — Players plan for two turns ahead, not just the immediate next turn.
  • Objective-based scoring — Score from placing objects that match village symbols (tree, sandal, etc.).
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • I adore this game so much and I am absolutely enthralled with this game.
  • this is a really really cool way to do a skirmish boss battler
  • the bosses have different parts of their body that you have to hit
  • it's a campaign-based narrative story with a skirmish component
  • I think it would be a really good one to Break to the table and say hey do you want to try this game over
  • it's adorable
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video LWMn9iiTTQk Foster the Meeple top_10_list at 7:35 sentiment: positive
video_pk 1095 · mention_pk 3186
Video thumbnail
Click to watch at 7:35
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
  • Beautiful components
  • Beautiful cover art
  • Part of Uku World series
  • Adorable game
Cons
none
Thematic elements
  • bamboo growing, family care
  • fantasy
  • abstract fantasy
Comparison games
  • Silk Batoku
  • Batoku
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • abstract gameplay — Abstract fantasy game
  • Resource management — Grow bamboo and use fruits for family happiness
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • it was one of the coolest experiences I had at Pax
  • anything that involves tile placement I am here for
  • it is just a freaking blast
  • the mechanics are just so good that none of the other stuff really kind of like matters to me
  • I've fallen so much in love with undaunted
  • if you put a cute cover on a game I will buy it I will play it and there's a very good chance that I will love it
  • it looks incredible
  • final girl is definitely one of my favorite games of all time
  • the cover art drew me in it reminded me of like old war propaganda posters
  • if anyone out there wild has red red ball or seen the red wall artwork this game is that
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
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