Indie Boards and Cards | Kodama 2nd Edition | Card Game | Ages 14+ | 2-5 Players | 30 Minutes Playing Time

Product Information

In the heart of Japanese folklore, nestled within the dense, whispering forests, reside the enigmatic entities known as Kodama. These spirits, often associated with trees and natural habitats, have been the source of fascination, reverence, and cautionary tales for centuries. While to an outsider, they might merely seem like another facet of Japan’s rich tapestry of mythical creatures, to the locals, the Kodama are much more. They are the keepers of ancient stories, guardians of the forests, and symbols of the profound bond between nature and the human spirit. In today’s blog post, we will delve into the ethereal world of Kodama, tracing their origins, understanding their significance, and exploring the lessons they offer in our contemporary world. Join us on this journey as we unveil the mysteries of these forest spirits, a magical blend of myth, nature, and cultural reverence. What is a Kodama? In de Nintendo Switch-videogame The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild zijn bosgeesten genaamd "kolog" te vinden. Deze zijn een duidelijke verwijzing naar de Kodama, aangezien ze hun eigen kenmerken hebben, zoals fysiek op mensen lijken, hoewel minuscuul van gestalte, maar ook groen zijn. Ze leven in het bos van de Deku Tree, een enorme boom die de zoon of reïncarnatie lijkt te zijn van de Deku Tree uit de videogame The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Kodama's zijn geesten uit de mythologie van Japan, bewoners van dichte bossen. Ze zien er meestal menselijk uit en elk individu is uniek qua uiterlijk en persoonlijkheid. Even when a player does try to spoil it for you, you still get a huge feeling of enjoyment and satisfaction from placing your branches onto your tree. Seeing your tree grow and the animals and plants inhabit the newly created living space is much more fun than worrying about how many points you get from what card. In fact, I have seen very competitive players stop worrying about points and instead start focussing on making their kodama happy.

These widely varying interpretations of how Kodama looks only signify that this end of the Kodama lore remains open-ended for anyone to explore. 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. You've just taken a card from the display and you want to add it to the tree on the right. You test out a few locations first to see if they are legal. Kodama is the latest in my magical tree series of translations. Kodama are slightly different from my previous translation Ki no Kami, in that they are mostly considered to be lower-level tree spirits that actual gods. The Ki no Kami come down from heaven to inhabit the trees, whereas the kodama are the spirits of the trees themselves. And then there are the moidon, which are awakened trees with a soul like any human. 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.

Game Play

Because the Shinto woodcutters of Japan believed in the kodama yokai, they were very careful with the trees they were cutting. Before trying to cut down or even trim a tree, the woodcutter would first make a small incision into the base of the tree to see if it “bleeds”. A tree that bled was said to be a kodama tree and wasn’t to be touched. 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 Folklore Kodama Duo is a card placement game for 2 players that plays in 30 minutes. Players will turn over one Decree card per season to set the unique conditions. During the Growing Phase, players take turns revealing branch cards and splitting them into two piles until each player has added four branch cards to their tree. In the Kodama phase, players will each choose one of their Kodama to score and live in their tree. The game last 3 seasons (12 turns) and whoever cares for their Kodama best will be remembered for generations!

Yoruba Religion – Orisha: The Yoruba religion, native to West Africa, particularly Nigeria, believes in various spirits known as Orisha. Some of these spirits are associated with natural elements, including trees, rivers, and winds.The first is by placing branch cards with icons that match the icons on branch cards that connect to it. 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 artwork is top notch. Taking a leaf (pardon the pun) from Kigi, Kodama continues to provide a beautiful table top presence. The colour palette used helps highlight the natural, faerie-like, theme, and gives the game a sense of mystique which could have been all too easily lost if the artwork were overly realistic. While each culture has its nuances and stories surrounding these spirits, the common thread is the deep connection and reverence for nature. Such spirits often serve as guardians, protectors, or even avatars of nature’s wrath, emphasizing the importance of living in harmony with the environment. AI recreating multiple Kodamas in a forest What do I do if I see a Kodama? Japanese mythology is rich with interconnected tales and legends, where the boundaries between different spirits and creatures can blur. It is not uncommon to find stories that feature both kodama and other supernatural beings, sometimes in symbiotic relationships and other times in conflict.