#Bohnanza

[platearmourpiglet]

Hold on...

I didn't realise Bohnanza was known internationally?? The pun doesn't even make sense in English. 😂🫛

[drivelikeaminister]

Generosity

When I get together with family or friends, I like to play board games. Board games give a lot of flexibility - you can go silly and simple party games, like “Pictionary” or “Apple to Apples”… or high on the strategy with “Risk” or “Settlers of Catan”… There’s also a spectrum of conflict - from direct confrontation - as with chess or checkers, to cooperative games, where there is a shared goal for all players (like in this post). Some games are good with few people, some work best with a large group. Board games can be educational, silly, gross, moral or inane. It seems like board games, and maybe all play in general - is sort of a microcosm for life. We model outside interactions through play and (hopefully) friendly competition. “Monopoly” parallels a capitalistic struggle for wealth, and oppression. “Sorry” shows the intended and unintended consequences of trying to reach a goal before others. “The Game of Life” very literally parallels a path from higher education to retirement. I could do a whole series of posts about board games and real world applications, with gatherings each time to play and discuss... Oh, I like it!

But that's an idea for later... I want to talk about one of my family's favorite games, “Bohnanza”. It’s a German game with a play on words, as the German word for bean is Bohn. “Bohnanza” is played with cards that represent different types of beans and each player is a farmer: planting, trading, harvesting and selling their beans in order to make money. The goal is to have the most money at the end of the game. Okay, that makes sense. What is really neat about this particular game is how much it parallels what I have found to be a theological truth - that the more you give away, the more you get.

There are times in “Bohnanza” when beans can be traded or held onto, discarded or shared. Depending on our different approaches to life and to gaming, some people trade a lot and others hold on to and hoard what they have. This isn’t hard to imagine. I have some green beans which I know you want, but I don’t want you to gain anything, so I don’t trade you for the red bean which could really help me. Or the opposite: I have a card which will help you and keeping it doesn’t benefit me at all so I pass it along with no material gain, only the promise for a kindness in the next round.

After many times playing and seeing the different strategies, we have found that the more generous you are, the better you will do. The person who came over to play and traded only when it also benefited them, and sometimes wouldn’t share a card in order to hinder another player... constantly came in last. When someone else was very generous with beans, that person consistently performed better. This may be how the game was designed, that the writers designed it so that generosity was rewarded. But I think there is more at work here.

Yes, it’s just cards on a table, my fake beans don’t produce more actual money if I have been generous. Yes, I might get more of what I want, but I also think there is something less tangible than game mechanics. When I share more, people around me are more likely to share and we start to create something larger than ourselves, in the microcosm of play.

I see in “Bohnanza” human nature and dare I say, theology, at play. This can be generalized and that’s one reason I think a series on games would be so neat. The generosity embodied in one action helps to grow giving and generosity in other's actions.

I generalize the lessons learned in board gaming. You can help to create a more loving world with your love. You can help to create a more loving world with your generosity. You can help to bring the holy into reality right now and right here. If you want to benefit yourself, if you want to benefit the world, if you want to win at “Bohnanza” - be generous. Give a little bit of yourself and see if you can also create a chain of generosity and love.

[boardgoats]

8th October 2024

As it was our twelfth birthday party, lots of people arrived early for pizza (or an amazing Mixed Grill in the case of Lime and some lovely veggie curry and fiery chilli for Pine), followed by GOAT cupcakes.  While everyone waited for food, arrivals from Essen were handed out, including Nucleum, Faraway and Flamme Rouge expansions; Let’s Go! To Japan and Cascadia mini expansions, and Die…

[ivory--raven]

JEU DES HARICOTS JEU DES HARICOTS

[whovian223]

Friday Night Shots - Mechanic Surprises

Friday Night Shots - Mechanic Surprises @FFGames @BitewingGames @gmtgames @wehrlegig @AMIGO_GamesUS

Welcome back to another Friday! The year is moving on, week by week, but I’m happy to have you spend at least a bit of your Friday night with me (or, more likely, your Saturday morning, but beggars can’t be choosers!). Belly up to the bar (where did that phrase come from, anyway?) and I’ll get you a drink. I have some Kool-Aid if you don’t want anything stronger. Let me just turn down the…

[haveyouplayedthisboardgame-poll]

[low-dexterity-day]

Bohnanza | Board Game Club

Another meme for y’all !

[genderjester]

Hyperspecific poll time

[kangamommynow]

Board Game of the Day 4

6/16/24 - Dahlias

Related to yesterday's game, Applejack, in that they are by the same designer, Uwe Rosenberg. His first game, Bohnanza, was a big hit and is still sold but I absolutely hate the artwork. Last year, they re-skinned it as Dahlias. It's the same idea, same mechanics, but now with artwork by Beth Sobel, well known in the game community for her work on Wingspan and many, many other games.

It's quick, easy to learn, fun to play. Certainly worth a look for even a novice gamer. (yes, it's a card game. I don't make a distinction between board games and card games)

[ablegaming]

Accessibility in Board Gaming

Board gaming can be a fantastic alternative to video gaming, allowing you the freedom to take your turn in your own time and the ability to stop and check the directions or ask someone for help/clarification at any time. More and more board games are being released with a solo mode these days as well, which I appreciate!

Colorblindness can be a real concern when board gaming, so it’s best to play in a well-lit room and choose player/meeple colors that can be easily identified and differentiated, and substitute if needed. Photosensitivity and motion-sickness thankfully aren’t much of a concern in board gaming, aside from the occasional dizzying pattern design. Physical impact and pain can be an issue with board gaming, due to card shuffling, fast tile playing, and setup/teardown for gameplay. Having someone to help you set up and put away games, playing slower-paced games, and using an auto-shuffler may help reduce these concerns.

I’ve chosen my top 20 favorite board games, which I’m sure will change over time haha. I gravitate towards fun easy-medium complexity games that are fairly simple to set up and aren’t too much of a time-sink. My hope is that you discover a new game or two to play and enjoy!

1) Everdell* 1–4 players (6 with expansion), 40–80 minutes Everdell is a card collection, resource management, and worker placement game where you play as a group of animal meeples trying to collect the most victory points by adding buildings and settlers to your village.

2) Dominion* 2–4 players (6 with expansion), 30–60 minutes Dominion is a deck collection card game in which you compete against other players to collect money and purchase the most land for your dominion.

3) Fjords Original release: 2 players, 30 minutes Re-release: 2–4 players, 30–45 minutes Fjords is a tile-laying strategy game where players create the landscape in the first phase, and compete for the most connected settlements in the second phase.

4) Cottage Garden 1–4 players, 40–60 minutes Cottage Garden is a relaxing polyomino puzzle game where players compete to plant flowers in order to complete the most garden plots.

5) Bohnanza 2–7 players, 45 minutes Bohnanza (or Beans as it’s often called) is a card collection game where players compete to plant different types of beans in their fields by drawing and trading cards, harvested crops are then worth victory points. There is a 2 player only version also available called Bohnanza: The Duel.

6) Cascadia 1–4 players, 30–45 minutes Cascadia is a tile-laying strategy game where players expand their landscape and try to create patterns in their wildlife populations in order to score points.

7) Scrabble* 2-4 players, 40 minutes Scrabble is the classic two player word puzzle game, where players draw letter tiles and attempt to make words on a shared crossword-style board.

8) Wingspan* 1–5 players, 40–70 minutes Wingspan is a card collection game about attracting many species of birds to your region, collecting and storing food, and laying eggs. Wingspan: Asia is also available and plays up to 7 players.

9) Agricola: All Creatures Big and Small or Family Edition Agricola: All Creatures Big and Small 2 players, 30 minutes Agricola: All Creatures Big and Small is a two-player worker placement game in which players expand their farms and raise animals to collect victory points. Agricola: Family Edition 1–4 players, 45 minutes Agricola: Family Edition plays similarly to All Creatures Big and Small but accommodates up to four players, and in addition to raising animals players must also grow crops to feed their families.

10) Mountain Goats 2–4 players (5 with expansion), 20 minutes Mountain Goats is a simple dice-rolling and strategy game where players roll dice to race to the top of each mountain and collect the most points.

11) Qwirkle 2–4 players, 30 minutes Qwirkle is a tile-laying strategy game where players make patterns with matching colors and shapes, building off of the previous moves to create score combos. Colorblindness can make this game a little bit confusing, I recommend playing in a well-lit room and keeping colors that you have a hard time differentiating a ways apart from each other. For example, one of the sets of colors I struggle with is blue and purple, so I’ll keep the blue and purple tiles in my “hand” separated upright on the table so I won’t mix them up.

12) Bananagrams 2–7 players, 10–20 minutes Bananagrams is a fast-paced letter tile crossword-style game, similar to Scrabble but there is no game board, it’s a race to the finish, and up to seven players can play.

13) Village Green 1–5 players, 30 minutes Village Green is a card collection strategy game where players attempt to collect the most points by creating patterns of flowers, statues, and water features in their village green.

14) Settlers of Catan* 3–4 players (6 with expansion), 60 minutes Settlers of Catan is a cut-throat strategic resource management and building game, in which players compete to build roads and settlements.

15) Shifting Stones 1–5 players, 20 minutes Shifting Stones is a strategy game where players attempt to line up tiles in specific patterns in order to gain points.

16) Pokemon: The Card Game* 2 players, 20–30 minutes Pokemon TCG is a card deck building and battling game, where two players face off off battling Pokémon until all six of their opponent’s Pokémon are knocked out.

17) Dawn of Peacemakers 1–5 players, 60–120 minutes Dawn of Peacemakers is a unique strategy game in which players work together to cleverly attempt to stop two warring armies from fighting at the same moment. There is an over-arching story that is gradually revealed across many playthroughs. There is also an alternate skirmish mode where battles can be fought against each other.

18) Forbidden Island 2–4 players, 30 minutes Forbidden Island is a cooperative game in which each player has a different kind of character and movement ability, and all players must work together to collect the four island treasures and escape the island before it’s fully submerged underwater. There are two other games in this cooperative series: Forbidden Desert and Forbidden Sky, so if you like the concept but prefer either a desert or a steampunk theme check ‘em out!

19) Kingdom Builder 2–4 players (5 with expansion), 45 minutes Kingdom Builder is a strategy game where players compete to build the most settlements in specific patterns across several terrain types in order to score the most points.

20) Hive* 2 players, 20 minutes Hive is a two player strategy game that is similar to chess, in which players use their insect tiles (different insect types move differently) to try to surround and capture their opponent’s queen bee.

Several of these games are available in digital editions as well, on Android, iOS, Steam, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox X/S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5. Games with digital versions available are marked with *

Keep an eye out for my future accessibility reviews of digital board games, and please feel free to comment with your favorite board game recommendations!

This post can also be read and listened to (text-to-speech) on my Medium page at: https://medium.com/@AbleGaming/accessibility-in-board-gaming-1cd028944221

[boardgoats]

9th July 2024

When Blue and Pink arrived, Crimson and Cyan were already there on their first visit, finishing their supper and playing a game of Molehill Meadows.  This is a new game by the designer of Zuuli, that they had picked up at the UK Games Expo (meeting the designer Chris Priscott and his delightful family in the process).  In Molehill Meadows, players take on the personality of Mika the Mole, who has…

[haru-dipthong]

List 5 things that make you happy, then put this in the askbox for the last 10 people who reblogged something from you! get to know your mutuals and followers (ू•‧̫•ू⑅)♡

Playing board games with my friends. I own (and love) Heat, Great Western Trail Argentina, Bohnanza, Scout and Terraforming Mars, but other games I have played a lot and really enjoy are Brass Birmingham, Hansa, Viticulture, and Scythe.

Doing stuff alone. I really love the feeling of going for a long walk somewhere alone with a bag of stuff in it (book, nintento switch, journal etc) then settling in somewhere and deciding what I want to do then.

This is a recent development but... clothes shopping. I'm slowly coming out as agender and one of the main things about that has been feeling free to wear clothes I actually like!

Writing an article, posting, and seeing the reblogs and likes come in! It's an incredible feeling to see people engaging with my posts and saying that they find them interesting or clever. I'm addicted to checking my notes

Thesis-antithesis-synthesis discussions

[soybeeftacos]

A pretty great haul at the thrift store today — an ANR core set for $3! As well as a bunch of other FFG games, plus Small World Underground, the 1993 TSR Dragon Strike VHS game, a Bohnanza expansion (I think?), etc. Each for $3 or less, the whole haul for $25.

[whovian223]

Friday Night Shots - How Much Luck is Too Much Luck?

Friday Night Shots - How Much Luck is Too Much Luck? @alderac @gmtgames @beziergames @Capstone_Games

It’s another Friday night and you’ve chosen to spend a few minutes with me. I love that! Thank you. Ok, it could be Saturday morning when you’re reading this, or it could be December 22, 2025. Who knows? Pull up a chair in front of the fire (wait, that shouldn’t be on fire…hold on a moment). Anyway, let me grab you a drink! It’s lucky you were here to help put that out. Speaking of…

[thesoftboileddetectivepodcast]

Would any of the characters have favorite games?? Board games, card games, etc

Most definitely!

HBD and his twin, Harriet, would like any kind of game with a mystery element. It' actually a Christmas tradition for this family to have a murder mystery dinner. Every year, they take turns being the dead body.

HBD and Harriet also love the Betrayal at House on the Hill board game.

Hans' favorite games are all traditional Old Country Games, like the Frozen Dead Man Race. Everyone in the village races the corpse of a townsperson who froze to death 100 years ago down a hill. He didn't freeze to death in the winter, but because he was locked in a meat freezer. It was his dream to bring the community together in death so they race his corpse before it fully thaws out. Once they race is done, he's returned to the freezer.

Hans also really loves the card game Bohnanza.

Tiffany isn't big into card or board games, but she does like video games. She's a sucker for anything death related, like The Mortuary's Assistant or A Mortician's Tale. She loves relaxing video games though, like Animal Crossing or Stardew Valley.

[la-appel-du-vide]

12•31•23 - New Year’s Eve! 🪩

This year, we were more prepared for NYE than we've been in awhile! Beach and I had decided it would be fun to get an Airbnb with a hot tub somewhere, and just spend the night in with a little house party. The best option for us ended up just being a basement in Ogden, but it had a hot tub, a pool table, skee ball, an air hockey table, arcade games, foosball, a ping pong table.... the works.

We set up balloons and a backdrop to make it festive, and it turned out great. We went to dinner at Tepanyaki, and then went back to the house for games and snacks. We took a ton of photos, played a couple of games, and then headed for the hot tub. The temperature and jets felt great, but there was SO much chlorine in there that we were all choking on vapors and fumes. No one could really take deep breaths, except B who handled it the best. Beach and Jason had skin irritation and itchiness also, so we didn't spend as much time in there as we had planned. Unfortunate for sure.

We went back in and changed, and then gamed and snacked while we had the Times Square show on the projector screen. Beach and Jason brought some fun ones like Blink, The Game, and Bohnanza, and we did Pop Culture, Sounds Fishy, and Tengo Duo!

When it got close to midnight, we got up to countdown, dance, and celebrate.

But then we went back to games until very late in the night.

Jason earned a ten dollar gift card from the Airbnb host by reaching a certain high score on the basketball arcade game, and I beat Brayden TWICE.

I was terrible at skee ball, but we had a good time, and everyone but me tried out ping pong. Beach got cute hats for everyone to wear, and overall, it was the best night. We were able to sleep in luckily, before we had to get up, clean up, and head out.

I have a lot more reflecting to do on 2023, but overall, it was everything I hoped it could be and more. Now here's hoping that this new even year is nothing like its last two predecessors....