Was it fun? It was long but it was fun strategizing.
What were the player interactions? There weren’t really any direct player interactions because everyone was only capable of controlling their own actions. Some effects caused some players strategies to fall through but that’s about it.
How long did it take to learn? It took about 20 or so minutes to learn.
Would you play it again? I think I would consider trying it again if there weren’t many options. but to me it wasn’t that compelling.
Analyze the game using the 3 act structure. Act one I would say would be us starting to build the bamboo garden and trying to understand how to achieve the goal cards. Act 2 we started to achieve the goal cards and set up ways to get and achieve more goal cards. The game still felt close as Amber and I were each at 3 or 4 goals met. Then Act 3 I made a push to meet a couple more goals and although everyone got one more round of actions, it was kinda clear I was going to win.
What are the collaborative and or competitive aspects of the game? Weirdly, although this was a competitive game, we ended up helping each other at times to follow the rules and make the best possible moves. The overall experience was very casual and though we had some disagreements about the rules at times, we still remained respectful and tried to enjoy the experience for what it was.
What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout? I think one of the game’s main metaphors was that forces outside of our control and other people can mess with our plans, but we just have to redirect and not get distraught by our downfalls. One mechanic I found really fun was the giant panda running around the garden to eat pieces of bamboo, and when a storm came the panda would run away scared and you could move the panda to any space on the board.
Game Theme: Art
- Art Heist: At a party, players set up paintings around the room like an art gallery. One player must switch the paintings out for “fakes” without getting caught. Play can last as long as the party goes on or until the thief switches out all the paintings.
- Pictionary Art Gallery: Played in rounds, a prompt is given to some players. They must draw or paint this prompt in the allotted time. All other players then vote on who’s “painting” is the best. First place gets 3 points, second 2, third 1. After everyone has had an equal number of turns to draw, the player with the most points wins.
- Abstractism: Players compete to build the best abstract painting by drawing and playing cards and filling their canvas proportionally with shapes and colors.
- Color Bomb: Using some kind of catapult of other small plastic apparatus, players take turn launching small balls covered in paint or filled with paint at a wall or canvas. Whichever player has the most area of the board covered by the end of the game wins.
- Drippy Crayons: Players compete to answer questions to get their crayons to drip further down a canvas. But one player HATES art and is preventing this project from being finished at all costs. They must sway the others in the wrong direction so they answer their trivia questions wrong. If the project gets finished in time, the artists win. If not, the hater, or critic, wins.