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Pencil First Games has brought us a game that promises to give us the same relaxing feeling of having your own little herb garden with Herbaceous, but will it live up to those promises and thrive on our board game shelves, or wither away in the giveaway pile for the thrift store?
Sure, it kind of feels like you're in some kind of Mad Max post-apocalyptic world where Herbs have become the number one resource in the world, but you know what, that's just called high stakes.
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| by Pencil First Games |
Not-So-Green Thumb
So, if I am to believe Monty Don, gardening can be a rewarding and uplifting hobby that can be relaxing and often leaves the gardener with a zen-like euphoria when done well.
What he doesn't say is that it's also a TON of work!
There's the digging, the planting, the weeding, the fertilizing, and the WATERING. Oh, the WATERING. My wife and I have killed many a plant throughout our marriage, and we only have a small planter on the patio! I can't imagine what people go through when they have two full YARDS to tend to!
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| My thoughts exactly, Bart... |
Pencil First Games has brought us a game that promises to give us the same relaxing feeling of having your own little herb garden with Herbaceous, but will it live up to those promises and thrive on our board game shelves, or wither away in the giveaway pile for the thrift store?
Big Game, Small Spaces
Herbaceous is a one to four player push your luck set collecting game, where players compete to compete to grow and harvest the best herb garden they can. Each player is given a set of four different planters, ranging from a simple glass jar on the counter, to a large outdoor planter box.
On your turn, you draw a card from the deck of herbs and decide whether or not you place that herb in your own Private Garden, where you can lovingly care for it, and give it the attention it deserves, or you can place it in the Community Garden, where anybody can rub their grubby little mitts all over them.
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| Yeah... My gardening techniques get a little weird sometimes... |
The wrinkle in this is that once you make this heart-wrenching decision, you draw an additional Herb Card, and that one HAS to go in the other location. So, let's say on your turn you have a Saffron and Lavender in your Garden, and you draw a Lavender, and decide to put it in your Private Garden, so it can be with your Lavender friend. Well, the additional card you draw is Saffron, or something else you need, guess what, you have to banish the card to Community Garden, fated to be trampled and run over by crazy teens and young people on bikes!
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| *Shaking Fist in the Air* CRAZY TEENS! |
After you've amassed a sizable collection of Herbs in both your own Private Garden and the Community Garden, you can choose to Pot your Herbs in one of your planters. Each planter gives points differently, for example, the Yellow Pots give points for each pair of different Herbs, while the Blue Vase awards points for having multiple of the same Herb. You do this by collecting the Herbs you want to pot from both your Private and the Community Garden and placing them on the planter being used. Once a planter has been used once, it can't be used again for the rest of the game.
But let's think about what this means...
This means that while you can take anything from the Community Garden on your turn, so can EVERYBODY ELSE. This means that each turn you have to worry about everyone else taking your $*&#! Choosing not to Pot on your turn has you feeling like this guy when you notice someone else eyeing your Community Herbs:
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| Get away from my TARRAGON, you DEVILS! |
This means that you're gardening like the most paranoid person ever, constantly waiting for someone else to ruin your garden! It makes gardening one of the most stressful activities you could possibly partake in, but it also makes it immensely fun.
I love this mechanic, and it makes EVERYTHING you do on your turn meaningful. Where you place your Herbs MATTERS and whether or not you decide to Pot your Herbs early, or if you get greedy and hope that something better comes along can mean the difference between victory and defeat.
There is a solo variant included in the game as well. While playing solo, you must draw an additional card on your turn, and one of your Herbs is simply THROWN AWAY! So, one goes in your Private Garden, one goes into the Community Garden, and another goes into the circular garden known as the TRASH CAN. And if there are ever five or more Herbs in the Community Garden, THEY ALL GET THROWN AWAY! It's like you went to sleep one day, and at night a gaggle of raccoons went to town on your Herbs!
I actually really like these changes for solo play. They keep the tension building, and move the game along, instead of letting the player simply pick and choose when the best time frame would be, this way, there's almost a timer. If you wait more than five turns to Pot Herbs, you better come up with a different gameplan.
There is a solo variant included in the game as well. While playing solo, you must draw an additional card on your turn, and one of your Herbs is simply THROWN AWAY! So, one goes in your Private Garden, one goes into the Community Garden, and another goes into the circular garden known as the TRASH CAN. And if there are ever five or more Herbs in the Community Garden, THEY ALL GET THROWN AWAY! It's like you went to sleep one day, and at night a gaggle of raccoons went to town on your Herbs!
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| Come back with my dill, you masked menace! |
I actually really like these changes for solo play. They keep the tension building, and move the game along, instead of letting the player simply pick and choose when the best time frame would be, this way, there's almost a timer. If you wait more than five turns to Pot Herbs, you better come up with a different gameplan.
Quality Ingredients
Okay, so I love, love, LOVE the way this game looks. Each card is a GORGEOUS watercolor masterpiece that I would frame and hang from my wall if I could.
The cards and Private Garden markers all have a linen finish and just feel great and like they're of very high quality.
The card format is easily understood, and they have very little text on them. When a game does this, replacing text with icons that describe the rules, those icons and symbols better be clear, and these are. Every icon and symbol gives you solid reminder of what the corresponding rule is, and most people could probably guess what they mean without even having to read the rulebook! And if they did, Pencil First Games has included four player aid cards to help out!
The card format is easily understood, and they have very little text on them. When a game does this, replacing text with icons that describe the rules, those icons and symbols better be clear, and these are. Every icon and symbol gives you solid reminder of what the corresponding rule is, and most people could probably guess what they mean without even having to read the rulebook! And if they did, Pencil First Games has included four player aid cards to help out!
I also LOVE the custom plastic insert that comes with the game! Take note designers, Herbaceous's insert has indents for your fingers to help you pull the cards out. It's the little things, y'all. It's the little things.
Buy It!, Try It!, or Fly It!
I REALLY like this game. Yes, it is stressful, and NOT RELAXING AT ALL, but man is it fun.
Sure, it kind of feels like you're in some kind of Mad Max post-apocalyptic world where Herbs have become the number one resource in the world, but you know what, that's just called high stakes.
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| Why did you take my BASIL?!? WHY?!? |
And that's the thing, this game does so many things well, and it does them smartly. It takes a theme that could be perceived as boring or tedious, and makes it intense. You have to focus the whole time, and pay attention on every turn. This is what the best games do. They keep you engaged even when it's not your turn.
Even the solo play is engaging and fun, and the variations on how to play solo feel natural and well thought out, much like the general design of the game as a whole.
Even the solo play is engaging and fun, and the variations on how to play solo feel natural and well thought out, much like the general design of the game as a whole.
And the game is small, too! The box is no bigger than the box for Exploding Kittens, but you get SO much MORE game! Overall, what can I say other than Herbaceous is a tasty treat.
The Verdict...?
BUY IT!
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