11/30/2022 – Berkshire Gamers Session Report #22-47

8 at Purple Dragon Games on 11/30/2022

Plants, Trees and Gardens were the theme
12/7 will be a request session – what did you miss the first time around? new/recent games you’d like to try?
12/14 will be entertainment games – films, plays, TV and music – from among games like Traumfabrik/Dream Factory, Hollywood, Show Manager, Show Biz, Vinyl, The Networks, and ShowTime

11/30/2022 Plants/Trees and Gardens
IN: Steve & Sandy, Sean & Wendy, Tim, Amy, Rob, Quinn
 
ON OUR TABLES:
Arboretum  (led by Tim) 2015 strategy card game that combines set collection, tile-laying and hand management while playing in about 25 minutes. Players try to have the most points at the end of the game by creating beautiful garden paths for their visitors.

The deck has 80 cards in ten different colors, with each color featuring a different species of tree; each color has cards numbered 1 through 8, and the number of colors used depends on the number of players. Players start with a hand of seven cards. On each turn, a player draws two cards (from the deck or one or more of the discard piles), lays a card on the table as part of her arboretum, then discards a card to her personal discard pile.

When the deck is exhausted, players compare the cards that remain in their hands to determine who can score each color. For each color, the player(s) with the highest value of cards in hand of that color scores for a path of trees in her arboretum that begins and ends with that color; a path is an orthogonally adjacent chain of cards with increasing values. For each card in a path that scores, the player earns one point; if the path consists solely of trees of the color being scored, the player scores two points per card. If a player doesn’t have the most value for a color, she scores zero points for a path that begins and ends with that color. 

Kodama Forest (led by K-ban) 2020 tile game where everyone works with their neighbors to cover as much of their shared player boards as possible. Every round, each player places one tile on the board to their right and one tile on the board to their left. Forests are penalized for every uncovered dirt section and the game ends when one board has covered all of its “5” and “10” dirt spaces. Players score both of their shared boards, with the lowest combined score determining the winner.

Balancing cooperation and competition is the key to victory. If ‘Between Two Cities’ and ‘Patchwork’ had a child it would be Kodama Forest.

Verdant (led by Sean) 2022 puzzley spatial card game from the team that brought us Point Salad, Truffle Shuffle and, Dollars to Donuts. You take on the role of a houseplant enthusiast trying to create the coziest interior space by collecting and arranging houseplants and other objects within your home. You must position your plants so that they are provided the most suitable light conditions and take care of them to create the most verdant collection.

Each turn, you select an adjacent pair of a card and token, then use those items to build an ever-expanding tableau of cards that represents your home. You need to keep various objectives in mind as you attempt to increase plant verdancy by making spatial matches and using item tokens to take various nurture actions. You can also build your “green thumb” skills, which allows you to take additional actions to care for your plants and create the coziest space!

Flourish (led by Amy) 2021 closed card-drafting, garden-building game in which players plan and build the garden of their dreams over the course of the growing season. Players plan their gardens throughout the game to collect the most points.

This easy-to-learn game offers both competitive strategy and co-operative game modes..

Zen Garden (led by K-ban) 2020 open tile drafting with point salad scoring, as the Emperor’s preferences for Japanese Garden design change from game to game. A 4×4 puzzle with conflicting goals and interesting choices over 16 turns.
Living Forest (led by Tim) 2021 Kennerspiel des Jahres (German Gamers Game of the Year)  As a nature spirit trying to save the forest and its sacred tree from the flames of Onibi, you are not alone in your mission as the animal guardians have come together to lend a hand around the Circle of Spirits where you progress. 

You have one of three ways to achieve your goal: by planting 12 different Protective Trees, by collecting 12 Sacred Flowers to awaken Sanki the great Guardian of the Forest, or by extinguishing 12 Fires to permanently repel Onibi


K-ban

8 at Purple Dragon Games on 11/30/2022 Plants, Trees and Gardens were the theme 12/7 will be a request session – what did you miss the first time around? new/recent games you’d like to try? 12/14 will be entertainment games – films, plays, TV and music – from among games like Traumfabrik/Dream Factory, Hollywood, Show Manager,…

8 at Purple Dragon Games on 11/30/2022 Plants, Trees and Gardens were the theme 12/7 will be a request session – what did you miss the first time around? new/recent games you’d like to try? 12/14 will be entertainment games – films, plays, TV and music – from among games like Traumfabrik/Dream Factory, Hollywood, Show Manager,…

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