by henrysunset
bradandmary wrote:
I would say that the only similarities are the Japanese theme and the beautiful artwork.
Having played Takenoko about 10 times, and Tokaido for the first time today, I actually think the bigger similarity is in the "feeling" that these games convey. Both are excellent examples of beautiful games with modest decisionmaking and very little confrontation. Takenoko feels more like a "game" in the way we are all used to here on BGG, wheras Tokaido feels like Candyland w/ real decisions to make and point accrual through set collecting.
Tokaido's greatest strength is probably it's art, followed by it's simplicity (great for kids?), followed by the fact it brings a whole new level of "calm" to a board game - through it's art and gameplay choices.