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Studio Ghibli releases free-download board game — Here’s how to play it without reading Japanese

Casey Baseel Sep 13, 2024
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The sugoroku trip around Ghibli Park is also an Easter egg hunt.

Ghibli Park does things a little differently than other theme parks. It focuses more on art and atmosphere than parades and rides, and it’s spread out among multiple sections of Aichi Expo Park, encouraging guests to explore and appreciate the natural surroundings during their visit.

So when it came time to design a new poster/newspaper ad for Ghibli Park, Goro Miyazaki, who takes point on most of Ghibli Park’s initiatives, didn’t want to just slap the park’s logo on a piece of paper with a “tickets available online” notice. He wanted to do something more artistic and fun, and the result is a charmingly beautiful illustrated board game. What’s more, it’s yours for free, as long as you’ve got access to a printer, a pair of scissors, and some tape.

▼ The poster includes Ghibli Park’s website URL, a QR code, and a reminder that tickets can be reserved on the 10th of every month, but all the rest of the space is dedicated to art and play.

The provided materials even include sections to use to make the playing pieces and die, which is where the scissors and tape come in.

▼ Yes, the 1 on the die is a Makkurokurosuke/Soot Sprite!

The board game falls into the sugoroku category, a popular, easy-to-play game in which you just roll the die, move your piece the indicated number of spaces, and follow the directions for wherever you happen to land. Whoever reaches the goal first is the winner, and while the provided artwork includes four playing pieces, you can really have as many players as you want, as long as you’ve got something to keep track of where everyone is.

▼ Your goal, naturally, is the giant Totoro at the center of the board.

A PDF of the board is available here through the Ghibli Park website as a free download. We’ll be back soon with more cool stuff from Ghib- oh, what’s that? You’re a Ghibli fan who’d love to play the game together with friends, family members, or your Totoro, Jiji, and Yakul plushies, but you can’t read Japanese? OK, just give me a second and…all set! Here’s an English explanation for every space you can possibly land on.

▼ You start here, at the lower right, on the space with リニモ愛地球博記念公園駅 (Linear motion car Aichi World Expo Commemorative Park Station) written on it

●リニモ愛地球博記念公園駅
Linear motion car
Aichi World Expo Commemorative Park Station

●ロタンダ　風が丘
Rotunda Kazegaoka
Buy onigiri rice balls

●エレベーター塔
Elevator Tower

●忘れものをして駅にもどる
Looks like you forgot something! Go back to the station to get it.

●地球屋
World Emporium
Sing “Concrete Road”

●猫の事務所
Cat’s Office
If you land here, jump ahead to the Cat Castle playground equipment space.

●夢のトンネル
You fell into a life quandary in the Tunnel of Dreams. Go back 5 spaces.

●青サギ
You met the Gray Heron. Go forward 2 spaces.

●ジブリの大倉庫
Ghibli’s Grand Warehouse
Everyone has to stop here. On your next turn, if you roll a 1, 3, or 5, follow the red arrow. If you roll a 2, 4, or 6, follow the green arrow.

☆Red Arrow Path
●ネコバスルーム
You’re playing in the Catbus room. Skip your next turn.

●プラモデル
You stopped to buy a plastic model. Skip your next turn.

●カフェ大陸横断飛行
Transcontinental Flight Cafe
You got hungry and stopped to eat a sandwich. Skip your next turn.

●写真をとりに
You went back to take a picture. Go back 3 spaces.

☆Green Arrow Path
●２マスすすむ
Go forward 2 spaces

●４マスもどる
Go back 4 spaces

● ここに止まったら猫の城の遊具へ
If you land here, head towards the Cat Castle playground equipment (follow the red arrow)

●猫の城遊具
Cat Castle playground equipment

●タタラ場
Tataraba
Everyone has to stop here. On your next turn, if you roll a 5, follow the Catbus (brown) arrow. If you roll a 5, you stop to eat goheimochi. Skip your next turn. If you roll a 2, 3, 4, or 6 follow the black arrow.

☆Catbus Arrow Path (to be continued later)
●「私たち風になっている」
You ride the APM Catbus! Shout “We’re riding the wind!” and jump ahead to the Dondoko Forest Entrance space.

☆Black Arrow Path
●魔女の家
Witch’s House
You cast a spell, and all other players have to move back 3 spaces.

●噴水で遊ぶ
You stop to play in the fountain. Skip your next turn.

●「人生」の言いながら３回まわる
You ride the merry-go-round. Spin around in a circle three times while saying “Life.”

●ハウルの城
Howl’s Castle
Everyone has to stop here. On your next turn, if you roll a 6, jump ahead to Satsuki and Mei’s house.

●グーチョキパン屋
Gütiokipänjä Bakery
Play rock-paper-scissors with the player on your right. If you win, take another turn right away.

●オキノ邸
Okino Residence
Leave home to train as a witch. Go back 3 spaces.

●２マスすすむ
Go forward 2 spaces

●バスを乗りまちがえる
You took the wrong bus. Go back to Tataraba.

●サツキとメイの家
Satsuki and Mei’s House
Shout “Come on out, Makkurokurosuke!”

☆Catbus Path (continued)
●どんどこ森入口
Dondoko Forest Entrance
You take a little break. Skip your next turn.

●どんぐりを拾いに
You get caught up gathering acorns. Skip your next turn.

●山道
You get tired out walking up the hills. Go back 4 spaces.

●ゴールどんどこ堂
Finish! Dondokodo pavilion
You’ve reached the finish, so do the dondoko dance!

What’s the dondoko dance you have to do in order to claim victory? It’s the “pulling up plants” motion from the moonlight garden scene in My Neighbor Totoro.

▼ If you don’t recognize it, you’re probably not in the game’s target audience.

In addition to Ghibli Park attractions, the board is filled with callbacks to Ghibli anime, with drawings of things like Seiji’s violin from Whisper of the Heart, Arrietty’s hairclip, and the tataragami from the opening of Princess Mononoke decorating spaces with no special instructions. There are also subtler references too, like having to say “life” on the merry-go-round space, since the most famous piece from the Howl’s Moving Castle soundtrack is titled “Merry-Go-Round of Life.”

So it turns out that not only is Ghibli Park’s poster a board game too, it’s also an Easter egg hunt for Ghibli fans.

Related: Ghibli Park official website
Source: Ghibli Park
Top image: Ghibli Park
Insert images: Ghibli Park, Studio Ghibli
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