2023 · Fantasy
Bamboo
Players lead a rural clan across four years divided into four seasons, tending bamboo crops and using the harvest to support their household. On each turn they burn incense in temples to gain spirit favor, spend bamboo to take actions like seeking balance, cooking, improving the home, or managing resources, and place home tiles of different classes (decoration, garden, faith, useful) on a personal board. Scoring comes from arranging home tiles to match balance patterns, supplying the family through winter with stored food, and collecting distinct spirit bonuses. An advanced setup on the reverse of the boards increases strategic complexity.
- Players
- 2–4 best 3
- Playing time
- 90–110 min
- Age
- 14+
- Complexity
- 2.9 / 5
About the game
- Design
- Publisher
Photos from Ludoya tables
All photos in Ludoya
Where to buy it
Shop prices and second-hand copies, checked every day.
On Ludoya's tables
Full stats in Ludoya- 296
- Plays logged
- 322
- Players
- 1h 19m
- Average play
- 135
- In collections
- 20
- On wishlists
7.5/10
from 48 Ludoya reviews
- Base -
Rules questions
Answered from the rulebook by Ludoya's rules assistant.
Are the coins hidden from other players or can I trade them during the game?
Coins are open information (not hidden) and you may exchange them at the stated rate (three 1-value coins ↔ one 3-value coin). (p.5)
What happens in Spring — how much incense do I get and what is the ‘gift from the forest’?
In Phase 1 (Spring) each player receives the incense shown for that round and takes one gift from the forest by choosing one of the gift actions listed for that phase. (p.7)
When I place bamboo shoots, do they all activate automatically or do I need to spend incense to activate them?
Placing bamboo shoots is separate from activation: only a limited number of shoots are activated based on the incense you offer, and you then receive new shoots as described. (p.9)
Do I have to take the Balance (Bamboo Shoot) action to score balance tiles, or do they score automatically?
You must take the Balance Bamboo Shoot action to obtain or score balance tiles (the action can alternatively give you HP instead), so balance tiles do not score automatically. (p.10, p.12)
How do home tiles score—do left/right/any sections matter for comfort patterns?
The home grid has left, any, and right sections and some home/comfort patterns require tiles in specific sections (left or right) while others can use any section; the left-vs-right comfort scoring and examples are explained in the home/comfort rules. (p.12, p.13)
What if I can’t pay enough food in Winter to feed my family?
During Phase 4 (Winter) you must pay the required food counters for your family, and for each shortfall you lose happiness points as specified. (p.16)
Free, on web, Android and iOS
Play Bamboo with Ludoya
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Game facts (players, playing time, age, credits) from BoardGameGeek.