After placing a branch card, look at the icons on that card. You score 1 point for each instance of those icons in that contiguous line of cards. You do not score points for other instances of that icon if they are not part of this contiguous line of cards. Kodama are spirits associated with trees, particularly ancient or sacred trees. The term “Kodama” can be broken down into “Ko,” meaning old, and “Dama” or “Tama,” signifying spirit or soul. Historically, they have been considered protectors of the forests, representing the animistic belief that every entity in nature has a spirit. 2. Appearance

The player with most points has made her Kodama happy and thriving! The forest will grow verdant and bountiful in her care. The echoes seem to linger in the air, almost playfully evading immediate return. Symbolic Interpretation of Falling Trees The Japanese have always known that some trees were special. For whatever reason—maybe because of an interestingly shaped trunk, or a sequence of knots resembling a human face, or just a certain sense of awe—some trees were identified as being the abodes of spirits. Depending on where you lived, these spirits went by many names. But the most common term, the one that is still used today, is kodama. And due to the natural mountainous terrain of Japan, traditional locals tend to look after trees as a way of paying their respects to Kodama. Thanks to Miyazaki, kodama are well-known in Japan (unlike some of the obscure folklore on familiar to true yokai lovers), although most would associate kodama with the white bobble-head from Mononoke Hime.These widely varying interpretations of how Kodama looks only signify that this end of the Kodama lore remains open-ended for anyone to explore.

Kodama gained significant prominence in Japanese folklore as revered entities associated with trees. They were regarded as protectors of the forests, bestowing vitality upon the surrounding lands. Communities honored trees inhabited by Kodama by marking them with sacred ropes called shimenawa. Notice where the branch extends off the edge of the card? That part must touch the branch of another card. (IN other words, it should look like a growing branch). The forest is growing fast! As caretakers for Kodama, the tree spirits, you must keep the forest a healthy and lush home for your little friends. There is also very little player interaction, even though it is competitive and everyone draws branch cards from a central pool of cards. It is possible to take the branch that would give your opponents the most points, but most of the time you’re better off focussing on what you need, rather than ruining other players’ plans.Each Kodama card depicts a tree spirit and the conditions they prefer for their new home. Decree Card I’m pretty sure Kodama: The Tree Spirits is the cutest game I own, and I mean that as a compliment. There’s clearly a benefit to a creating a game that’s so visually appealing that it makes folks want to play it. Its cute aesthetic is thoroughly worked into every facet of the game, from its theme all the way down to its gameplay, as players grow trees to please the alien child-like spirits of the forest. After each player has scored a Kodama card, the first player passes the marker to the player with the lowest score. If there is a tie, give it to the tied player closest to the left of the current first player. Then start the next Decree Phase. They do this by tying a sacred rope called shimenawa around the body of certain trees 一 those that are old enough to supposedly be inhabited by the tree spirits.

The winner of Kodama is the player who scores the most points, shown as . Players score points in two ways: Incidentally, kijimuna is a type of kiinushii 一 which are tree spirits that resemble Kodama in more than a few ways. These icons are incredibly important, as these will determine how you will score during each turn and round. Trunk cards are placed with the bottom of the card in line with the table edge – this is important as I will describe later on. Players will also be dealt four Kodama Cards, which are used by players at the end of each round as a means to score bonus points. In ancient times, kodama were said to be kami, nature dieties that dwelled in trees. Some believed that kodama were not linked to a single tree but could move nimbly through the forest, traveling freely from tree to tree.

Kodama are primarily associated with trees, especially old and significant ones. It’s believed that cutting down a tree that houses a Kodama brings misfortune. For this reason, in many parts of Japan, significant trees, particularly ancient or oddly shaped ones, might have a sacred rope called a shimenawa tied around them, indicating their sanctity and warding off harm. 4. Behavior and Characteristics The enormous number of variations on how you place branch cards gives Kodama plenty of replay value, and the game adds to that further with 15 season “decree” cards that introduce small tweaks to the rules or new scoring opportunities to each season (also creating an obvious place for future promo cards or expansions). Most of these are minor, but there’s one for the final season that significantly changes game play. The standard rules limit players to moves that score a maximum of ten points (if placing a branch would earn you more than that, you can’t place it). However one Fall decree card changes that to twelve points. While you can’t see any season decree card until the previous season has ended (meaning you won’t be able to plan ahead for it), the player best set up to take advantage of that one card can garner a large advantage in the final round. In de videogame Super Mario Galaxy 2 verschijnen kodama's als een paasei. Als je het eerste gezichtspunt gebruikt op een berg in de Shiverburn Galaxy, zie je drie mysterieuze wezens naderen. Er is geen manier om ze van dichtbij te zien, ook al hebben sommige mensen geprobeerd dit te doen. Hetzelfde gebeurt in de videogame Super Mario 3D Land, waar een geest verschijnt aan het einde van Wereld 4-4, als je op de laatste paar platforms springt voordat je het level hebt uitgespeeld. More often than not, however, people can just hear the kodama as the prolonged groans of old forests, lingering in the air. These noises are usually interpreted as the death of a kodama and its tree, or as a prophecy of an upcoming tragedy. Sometimes, the noises simply indicate the continued work of the kodama yokai whose main charge is to tend to their forests.

With traces of Japan’s belief in Shinto, as well as influences from animism, the lore of Kodama persists to tell of the different ways life exists in this world. On Okinawa Island, tree spirits are called "kiinushii" and whenever a tree is cut down, one would first pray to kiinushii and then cut it. Also, when there is an echoing noise of what sounds like a fallen tree at the dead of night, even though there are no actual fallen trees, it is said to be the anguishing voice of kiinushii and it is said that in times like these, the tree would then wither several days later. The kijimuna, which is known as a yōkai on Okinawa, is also sometimes said to be a type of kiinushii or a personification of a kiinushii. [2] [5] Oni are depicted as malevolent spirits, sometimes associated with forests or natural disasters, while yōkai encompass a wide range of supernatural entities. Kodama, on the other hand, are generally regarded as benevolent spirits, existing in harmony with nature and offering protection to the forests they inhabit. Overlapping Legends and FolkloreKodama ( 木霊, 木魂 or 木魅) are spirits in Japanese folklore that inhabit trees. The term is also used to denote a tree in which a kodama supposedly resides. The phenomenon known as yamabiko, when sounds make a delayed echoing effect in mountains and valleys, is sometimes attributed to this kind of spirit and may also be referred to as "kodama". No one really agrees what kodama look like. In ancient legends they are either invisible or indistinguishable from regular trees. Toriyama Sekian, who has set the standard for the appearance of many creatures of Japanese folklore, drew kodama as an ancient man or woman standing near a tree in his famous Gazu Hyakki Yagyō (画図百鬼夜行; The Illustrated Night Parade of a Hundred Demons). B.Though you do have a flower on your newly placed card, you won't score for the flowers because this card interrupts that contiguous line.