This addictive party card game will have you beaning your opponent in no time...
Written: Jan 10 '07
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Pros: Frantic trading and dealing, unpredictable gameplay, humorous card art, great party-game, appeals to both genders.
Cons: Needs 4 or more players, relies on some luck, can get old if overplayed.
The Bottom Line: Laughter, luck, trading, teasing, tension, frustration, excitement, competition, victory! All this in less than an hour makes Bohnanza a great game for friends and family.
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| openroad's Full Review: Bohnanza Card Game |
Bohnanza
Publisher: Rio Grande Games
Players: 2 to 7
Time: 20-60 minutes
Ages: 9 – Adult
Ease of play: Very easy
MSRP: $14 - $15
Card games are usually categorized under two simple genres, Classic Playing Card games (poker, war, euchre, etc.) and Number/Matching Card games such as Uno, Phase 10, Ziggity, and others. It’s not too often you find a strategy game based on farming and played with cards, in my experience Bohnanza is the only one. Bohnanza originated in Germany and was originally released in 1997 to a European audience. Rio Grande Games then picked it up for release in the USA and converted the game to English. The quirky name comes from a play on two words, the German word for bean (Bohne) and Bonanza, loosely translated Bohnanza would read Beananza, which doesn’t really make any more sense than the German title. Either way Rio Grande left the title alone and thus we have Bohnanza.
----- Game Overview -----
The object of the game is to be the richest player at the end of the game by harvesting crops and reaping gold coins as a result. The crops are various types of beans of which there are 8 varieties, each depicted in a cartoon-like way on the card. As in the real world of farming some beans are prolific while others are quite rare. Unsurprisingly the rarest of beans (Cocoa Beans, Red Beans) are worth the most while the common beans (Coffee Beans, Blue Beans) have a smaller payoff and require more beans to harvest.
The twist to this game is that you may only have two bean fields at the same time and they may each only contain one strain of bean. This doesn’t sound hard until you hear the next rule; you start the game with 5 bean cards in your hand, these cards (and any future cards you draw) must be played in order… you cannot swap, shuffle, or otherwise rearrange the cards in your hand. I’ll describe in more detail how this affects the game in the next section, now on to the last feature.
Each play may purchase a 3rd Bean Field card which allows him to grow three different types of beans at the same time. This gives you two fields to shuffle cards through and one field to grow a long term crop. You may only purchase one 3rd Bean Field card and may have only two or three bean fields at any time.
----- How to play -----
Each player is dealt a hand of 5 cards for their starting hand after which the first player is decided and play passes around the table in a clockwise rotation. Again, you start the game with only two bean fields to plant in. On their turn each player must play the first bean card in their hand (the card on top) to one of their bean fields. They may plant the card in an open field if one is available, they may add it to an existing field if the beans are the same variety, if neither option is possible they must harvest one field and plant the bean from their hand. The harvest may result in a payoff if enough beans were planted, otherwise the crop is discarded.
Next the player may choose to play the 2nd card in their hand, however if they don’t wish to they don’t have to.
The third step is mandatory and requires the active player to take 2 cards from the draw pile and lay them face up in his trading area. All players may offer trades for the face up card(s) using cards from anywhere in their hands. Trading ends when the player whose turn it currently is decides to close trades. All traded cards must go in front of each player involved in that trade and be played in that player’s bean field at the end of trading. The results of trading may never be placed in a player’s hand.
The last phase of a turn involves drawing three cards from the deck and placing them in order at the back of your hand so they are the last cards to play. Each time you draw cards you must place them at the back of your hand and keep them organized in the same order as you pick them up.
Play then passes to the next player in a clockwise rotation. The game is over when the deck has been exhausted for the third time. This means you completely shuffle the deck twice and after the last card is drawn from the pile after the 2nd shuffle the game is finished.
----- Bottom Line -----
I’m impressed with the illustrations and amusing action shots on each card. The card artwork is very good in a cartoony, caricature manner with each bean type looking distinctly different. Stereotypes are alive and well in the caffeine addled Coffee Bean, smokin’ hot Chili Bean, punch drunk Black Bean, and hemp lovin’ hippie Soy Bean. The cards are fun to look at, feature bright colors, and provoke plenty of humorous player outbursts thanks to the exaggerated bean depictions. I’ve noticed the cards are holding up well to aggressive playing and seem to be made of durable card stock.
The game shines best with 6-7 players, is still a good game with 4-5 players, and isn’t really worth playing with 2 – 3 people. The trading, haggling, and planting action is much more enjoyable with a lot of people, I guess this is just a social type of game. Thanks to the simple instructions it’s not hard to teach new players and most games are over in under 45 minutes.
It’s hard to describe exactly how fun this game really is through a review; with Bohnanza it’s all about the intangibles. The interaction between players is hilarious as each person tries to haggle the best deal for his own bean fields. The biggest difference between Bohnanza and all other card trading games is the fact you can’t rearrange the cards in your hand. Since the rules prohibit shuffling the cards around in your hand the only way to get rid of unwanted cards is to trade them or give them away before you are forced to harvest a field prematurely just to plant them.
Another aspect unique to Bohnanza is the subtle blend of competitive and cooperative strategies which unfold every game. Several of my friends are hawkish capitalists when playing games and always try to screw their opponents whenever possible. On the other hand are my relatives which always play very fairly and want everyone to get a good deal on their trades, sometimes at their own expense. Bohnanza is one of the few games that rewards both strategies and allows very different groups of people to play together. Children may not grasp the subtle aspects to the game but kids younger than 12 can definitely play and enjoy Bohnanza. It’s fun to watch them if for no other reason than to watch them laugh at the card illustrations.
Bohnanza is fun for the whole family, appeals to men and women alike, it’s easy to teach and addictive as chocolate, and has a street price of around $15. Is that a perfect game to you? If your answer is yes, go to your nearest hobby store and request Bohnanza… if you can’t wait you can buy it online at many game sites and stores. Order it now and you too can enjoy the best farming card game that’s ever bean!
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Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 15
Type of Toy: Board Game
Age Range of Child: 9 Years or Older
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