A green thumb and a good attitude is sometimes all you need to get a good garden going. With so many options out there to grow, where do you begin? Personally I love the variety and ease of a succulent garden! Easy to grow but still requiring a lot of work and care, your succulent garden is something to behold. Let’s take a look at that garden and what it looks like to compete with other gardeners!
Succulent is designed by J.Alex Kevern and illustrated by Anna Daviscourt. It is published by Renegade Studios for 2-4 players and plays in 45-60 mins.
Overview
In Succulent players compete by growing a succulent garden with each other, vying for the most prestigious projects to secure your position as the most successful gardener in town!
Gameplay
The game is setup with eight garden plots in the middle of the table and all of the different supplies set up next to the garden. The project cards are shuffled and a number are drawn to form the project row based on the number of players. Each player is given a Greenhouse and a certain amount of flowers based on the number of players as well. A small and medium flower bed is given out as well.
The game plays over a series of rounds, each player taking a turn in clockwise order. Your turn consists of 1. performing an action and 2. completing a project.
- Performing an Action:
During this step you will do one of two possible actions. You can either Place a Flower Bed or Gain Flower Beds.
To Place a Flower Bed from your collection you cover up any amount of garden plots that are face up. For each space you cover you gain one cutting from the supply to your inventory. Droplets covered will allow you to gain one from he supply as well. To gain a flower bed you are able to move it on to any project card and claim the flower beds listed on it from the inventory.
2. Complete a Project
In this optional step a play may complete a project by spending the cutting for the project’s cost or using the droplets from full selections in the greenhouse. If there are any bonuses you gain them immediately and if there is a gardner on the card it is returned to its owner and they gain a large droplet.
The game ends when one player has placed their last flower or completed a certain number of projects based on player count. The current round is finished and then everyone plays one more round. Final scoring is based on completed projects, scoring spaces and remaining objects. The winner is the one with the most points!
Impressions:
What could be better:
The art. The idea of succulents, especially when you start with the cover of this box, sound like something that should be a great piece of work that really pops. The cover art is deceiving though in my opinion because once you get into the game, this isn’t as vibrant as the cover. The game board in particular is not ideal-it is a large stone map of the garden plots and as the focal point of the game, I don’t think it is vibrant or appealing.
Actions. This game only has two actions to pick from, but at times it felt like I wanted more choices and options available to me. At the very least I would have liked ways to string actions together a but to cascade your choices. Not a bad feature, just something that could be better.
What I liked:
Accessibility. This game is an easy game to teach and easy to learn so it is one I would expect players to be able to pick up on easily and play without much difficulty. I think this makes it a game that families or newer gamers could really get into.
Components. The game brings some simple components, but each is done well and the production is very well done. I love any games with wooden and gem-like pieces that are already included in the game.
Time. This is a game that clocks in easily at under an hour, so it is another plus for accessibility for players. For those looking for a quick and easy to play game, this may be a good choice to consider.
Overall:
Succulent brings a very popular gardening trend to the board game table for players to see what it would be like to compete and try their luck as gardeners trying to best each other in their gardens. The idea and the intent of the game work well, and overall it is an interesting game that didn’t quite live up to the expectations I had for it. Personally I would have loved to have seen better art, tighter and more fluid choices that played off of each other and a little more pop on the board to really make this one shine.
If you are looking for an easy to play and learn game for someone that is into the gardening/horticultural world, you can’t go wrong with this one as a good ease into more hobby style games. If succulents are your thing, this is a great choice as well. And if you are looking for an overall easy to learn, easy to play and get to the table in less than an hour game, than this one is for you as well.
Make sure to check out Succulent at your local game store or directly from Renegade Studios to give this one a try!
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