Five Board Games with Plants!
Intent: Inspire you to play games that revolve around plants!
Have you ever lost yourself, enamoured by the landscapes around you? Do you love nature, plants, hikes and the glorious outdoors? Well these games can certainly satisfy your passion. They utilize various species of trees and plants and bring to life a game that not only educates you, but creates a memorable experience as well.
The beautiful thing about board games is you can create a memorable, fun experience around really any theme. There’s games about space, animals and today we want to talk to you about plant-based games. There are many board games that include and centre around plants, these are games in our collection that we wanted to share with you!
Let’s learn about some of these games, shall we?
Bosk
Designers: Daryl Andrews and Erica Bouyouris
Artist: Kwanchai Moriya and Matt Paquette
Publisher: Floodgate Games
Player Count: 2-4 Players
Length: 20-40 minutes
Overview:
Bosk is a strategy area control game, where you not only plant trees but drop leaves as well hoping to cover the various areas of the board. In this game, your goal is to score the most points by the end of the year. You’ll be taken through all four seasons, which all act in different ways. In the spring you’ll take turns placing trees in various intersections of the board. In the summer, you’ll score each row and column by adding up all the values of the trees. In Autumn, the trees you place will drop various amount of leaves (of your choice) in various directions. In winter, you will score the areas where there are the most leaves! You’ll be able to overlap leaves and compete for various spots on the board, however, you do have a squirrel which once placed cannot be challenged. The theme is absolutely wonderful and this game really pushes you to think ahead. Will the winds blow in your favour to create the perfect storm of leaves?
Plant Facts:
Bosk has four different types of trees and they’re so wonderful to look at! The tokens, the tree standees, you’re really immersed in the theme. My favorite part is that there is some Canadian representation here as you can choose to be the red maple leaf! Maple syrup is made by boiling the sap of the maple tree, however, the tree needs to be at least thirty years old before that can happen.
Herbaceous
Designer: Eduardo Baraf, Steve Finn and Keith Matejka
Artist: Beth Sobel and Benjamin Shulman
Publisher: Pencil First Games
Player Count: 1-4 Players
Length: 15-20 minutes
Overview:
Herbs make for delicious dishes, only if used appropriately. Before they make way to your dinner plate, they need to be grown and in Herbaceous you’re doing exactly that, growing and potting herbs! The goal of the game is to score the most points by potting in your four containers. In turn order you’ll pick up two cards, one by one. You’ll decide if you want to plant the first herb you get in your private garden OR the community garden. After making that decision, the next herb you draw will be planted where you did not plant the first one. Now, before even drawing you have an opportunity to pot the herbs, choosing one of your four containers and collecting herbs from your personal and the community garden. Each container is scored differently, asking for the same type of herb, unique, pairs and point herbs. The catch and unique element of the game is the timing of when you pot. The community garden is shared, so timing to take herbs from there is essential if you want to beat your opponents. Will it be your thyme to shine?
Plant Facts:
Did you know that Dill actually belongs to the celery family? It is also a great source of calcium and a good source of various nutrients including Vitamin A, iron, potassium and more. Sage is actually a member of the mint family. It was rubbed on teeth to make them whiter in nineteenth-century America.
Ohanami
Designers: Steffen Benndorf
Artists: Christian Opperer
Publisher: Pandasaurus Games
Player Count: 2-4 players
Length: 20 minutes
Overview:
Building a peaceful garden? Yes. In Ohanami, you will competitively draft cards (from a deck of cards ranging from 1-120) to build up to three gardens. Your goal is to score the most points by the end of the game. There are three rounds in the game and you’ll begin with ten cards each round. You’ll choose two to place and pass the rest. You’re able to place cards in up to three columns, which represent the various gardens you maintain. You’ll keep passing until all the cards have been played, which marks the end of the round. The catch? You can only place cards in ascending or descending order, which means as the game goes on it gets a bit more trickier. Each round has different scoring as well, so it’s more beneficial to build water features and plant features earlier in the game, while maintaining the growth of your cherry blossoms as the more you have the more points you will score at the end of the game! Will you have the most peaceful garden?
Want to learn more? Check out our video right here!
Plant Facts:
Cherry Blossoms are Japan’s national flower and picnicking beneath the trees is a Japanese tradition. There are four hundred cherry blossom trees in Amsterdam that are individually named. There is Cherry Blossom flavored ice cream, neat!
Arboretum
Designers: Dan Cassar
Artists: Philippe Guérin, Chris Quilliams, Beth Sobel and Waldo Ramirez
Publisher: Renegade Game Studios
Player Count: 2-4 Players
Length: 30 minutes
Overview:
In Arboretum(which refers to a botanical garden devoted to trees), your goal is to build the best arboretum by placing cards in front of you and outsmarting your opponents by strategically thinking ahead. The game starts off with seven cards being dealt to each player. On each player’s turn they will do the following in order, draw two cards, play a card into their arboretum, and discard a card. The twist is how the cards are scored, as not only do you need to build ascending paths, (which start and end in the same suit,) you also need to ensure you still have that suit in your hand and have the most combined total to even be eligible for scoring. It’s a beautifully illustrated game. Easy to play but tough to master as you always want to pay attention to what your opponents are doing, while maintaining your own strategy. Will your arboretum thrive or just be a bunch of trees aimlessly hanging out?
Plant Facts:
There are TEN different types of trees present in this game and they are simply a joy! There are over four hundred species of the willow trees, most found in the Northern Hemisphere. Dogwood trees produce fruit, which is known as drupe (stone fruit), it is an oval, berry0like, usually red or pin and filled with one or two seeds.
Photosynthesis
Designer: Hjalmar Hach
Artist: Sabrina Miramon
Publisher: Blue Orange Games
Player Count: 2-4 Players
Length: 30-60 minutes
Overview:
Have you ever had a ray of sunshine bathe your face in the cold weather? Did you catch yourself smile as this happened? Well Photosynthesis is a game where you can embrace that sunshine AND steal it away from others. Your goal is to grow and compete to score the most points by the end of the game. Each round will consist of two phases, Photosynthesis and Life Cycle. In the Photosynthesis Phase you will collect light points, but depending where your trees are stationed shadows may be cast by your opponents or even your own trees preventing you from claiming that light. In the Life Cycle Phase, you will take turns Buying seeds or trees, Planting a Seed, Growing a Tree or once it has reached it’s peak Collecting scoring tokens in exchange for the tree! The sun moves around the board in six different locations and once it has revolved the board three times the game comes to an end. Will you be the most successful in harvesting the sun or spend your life in the shadows?
Plant Factor:
Plants are green because of chlorophyll, which is used to absorb solar energy, driving the reaction between water and carbon dioxide. Chloroplasts are organelles that exist in plants that perform photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is essentially the reverse of cellular respiration and creates oxygen for us to breathe.
Plant Trends!
Strategic games which tickle your brain and create a competitive and thematic environment.
So many beautiful colours and illustrations that bring joy to your life. Incredible artists, which you should definitely check out.
Tree standees which gives your board game table a glorified presence.
Note: Bosk, Ohanami and Herbaceous were provided to us by their respective publishers. Photosynthesis was provided by Pe Metewe Games, our local indigenous-owned FLGS that is all about creating an inclusive community in board games. Check them out here!
What plant games do you enjoy? Let us know by connecting with us on social media and commenting on various platforms!