Some of our review crew are great gardeners. I, however, am not. Don't get me wrong—I do love a stroll through a beautiful garden—I just don't want to plant it, water it, or weed it. Weirdly, some of my favorite games have to do with planting, growing, and harvesting. King's Vineyard is one as are Viticulture, Bohnanza, and Photosynthesis.
As far as growing games go, Flourish is in good company, and it doesn't disappoint. In fact, it exceeds expectations because it has so much going for it—gorgeous artwork, the ability to play it
competitively or cooperatively, sturdy components, and a simple setup and take down (once the initial build of its darn cute
components is complete.) The game is quick-to-play, too, thanks to a style that's
a little like Seven Wonders—another favorite.
Flourish’s play goes like this:
you pick a card from your hand, pass one to each of your neighbors
over their little rock walls, and then everyone reveals their picks at once. Scoring is based on
the things you plant and on your neighbors' choices. Keeping an eye on what
they do makes for some interesting interplay, as you try to feed them cards
that will benefit you. Some cards are scored at the end of a round and some at the
end of the game.
It's a lot of fun, both competitively and cooperatively, and once the game is done, you've created a beautiful garden that would be the envy of any master grower.
We think you’ll like this game,
even if you’re not a fan of planting things.
A by-the-numbers Game Review of Flourish
# Players . . . up to 4
Ages 14 and up
Game time . . . . . . . . 15-30 minutes
Set up . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 minute
Luck . . . . . . . .6. . . . Strategy
*Interplay depends on whether you're playing cooperatively or competitively, but it's on the higher end, either way
Visual Appeal . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Component Quality . .. . . . . 8
*Replayability . . . . . . . . . . . 9
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