The Gardens Review

boardgamequest.com:

We review The Gardens, a cozy tile laying game published by Grail Games. The Gardens is a set collection game that will have you creating the Sydney Botanical Gardens.

Soothing water features. Winding walkways. Majestic bin chickens. What else could a person want in a beautiful botanical garden? It turns out that it’s up to you to decide! In The Gardens, players draft cards to design their own version of the Royal Botanic Garden in Sydney, Australia. Will visitors to your corner of the gardens see a variety of delicate trees in bloom? Will they get to admire scenic statuary? Or will they be stuck on a dead-end path to nowhere? Play to find out in this tableau creation game for 1-4 players.

A score track with changeable scoring goal tiles is placed in the center of play. Each scoring goal corresponds to features in the garden card decks. Players are given their own board in three parts, a left, right, and center section. Assembled, the board has a grid spots for 12 cards to be placed, divided into three rows (A, B, and C).

Throughout the game, players will take turns drafting cards with different garden features on them from the A, B, and C decks, placing them into their gardens strategically to try to earn the most points. Each row on the player board has its own meeple ‘tourist’ who activates when a new card is placed in their row. Some cards will score when the meeple travels through them, and some features accumulate points, scoring at the end of play.

In the end, the player who plans out the highest scoring garden wins the game.

The Gardens is a very pleasant game. It has pleasant colors and pleasant art. There are happy little birds and pretty little fountains. The competition is gentle, and, once you understand scoring, it’s easy to teach and play. This is the kind of game that knows exactly what it wants to be, an easy-going showpiece, and delivers well on that promise. It’s a great choice for fans of aesthetic games like Wingspan and Flamecraft, looking