Published by Osprey Games, and designed by the one and only Reiner Knizia.
The premise is that we are artists, following the Emperor as he strolls through the imperial gardens during the blooming of the cherry blossoms (Which are known as Sakura trees, I found thanks to some Google-Fu.
Each player is attempting to capture the Emperor’s likeness best. We do this by following the emperor around the board, as he moves throughout the garden. When he comes to a stop we want to be the closest to him, without of course touching him, as I’m sure this would cause our deaths or something like that, I’m sure that’s a big no in the customs of Japan 🙂
Based on a simple board, each player controls the movement of the Emperor, themselves or one of the other players as the Emperor strolls through the gardens and stops to admit the sakura (cherry blossoms) at specific spots along the path.
Each turn, players will select from their hand of cards one card to play. When all players have cards, the card all players have chosen are simultaneously revealed and resolved in order from the lowest number to highest. Each card has 2 actions on it, which all relate to moving either the players, the Emperor, or both, along the garden path.
Keep in mind though, that some cards will move the player who played them, while others move the player in some will help by moving the player closer to the Emperor. The game seems simple, yet there is a nice underlying strategy going on here. As you are trying to figure out how to best put yourself in a position to get the most points, but also trying to keep the other players from doing the same.
Components
The pawns are well made, have a good feel to them. The cards themselves are nicely made, I think they will hold up to play, but like always I’d suggest that you sleeve them if you want to keep them nice and crisp.
Where it all goes wrong is the board, it’s a small folding board, and mine did not want to lay flat, as much as I tried to get it to go flat, it would not. It always bumped up. I’m not sure if this because it’s a brand new print and just needs to get “wore” in, your miles might vary on this. The colors of the board are bright and pleasing, no complaints there, but man that not laying flat was annoying to me.
Final thoughts
Easy to learn and fast to play, with a surprising amount of strategy. There is a lot here. Small footprint makes this is an easy go, I can see this being a great starter game for a game night or something the whole family could play and love. Just sure wish that board would lay flat.
You can purchase a copy of the game from Osprey Games, Your FLGS, or Via Amazon.
A special thanks to Osprey Games, for sending the review copy, this as always had no effect on the outcome of the review.
The above amazon link is an AFFILIATE link, DDO Players will receive a small percent of your sale, this is another way you can help to support the site.
Recent Comments