Reviews: Bohnanza & Chrononauts
Card games have been around for centuries. And at their core, most
of them fit into very narrow play parameters: you draw a card and
play a card. A few new subspecies of card games--the collectable
card phenomena and turnless "real time" card games, for
example--have shaken up the status quo, but very few of these deviate
from the "draw then play" format. New battlefields, same
weapons. Other games boast unique rules that are little more than
gimmicks, attached to otherwise lackluster games.
The two card games in this review review are noteworthy not only
for their innovative play mechanics, but also for how well the rules
and theme fit together. Both are favorites of mine.
Bohnanza
The cards in your hand must be played in
sequence. Trade away the duds and reap the rewards of the
good stuff!
|
|
|
Players: 2-7
Time: approx. 45 min
Publisher: Rio Grande/Amigo
Price: $16
|
The gist: earn the most cash by shrewdly harvesting beans
Type of game: trading, set collection
The cards in this game depict cartoony, anthropomorphized beans.
The red beans are embarrassed, the coffee beans are spazzy multitasking
officeworkers, and the green beans are feeling sick to their stomachs.
But, like Hare
and Tortoise, it's a mistake to think cute art makes Bohnanza
a children's game. Like any card game, there's a large "luck
of the draw" element. But careful planning and shrewd trades
can turn even unlucky deals to your advantage.
Players each have two bean fields, wherein bean cards are planted,
then harvested for money. A harvested field is worth zero to four
coins, depending on how full it is. End the game with the most coins
and you win.
So why would anyone sell their beans before the field is worth
four coins? First off, each field can only hold one type of bean.
So if you're collecting chili beans in one field and red beans in
the other, and you want to plant a wax bean, you have to first empty
one of your other fields.
Secondly, each bean type has a unique commonality, and all beans
"mature" at different rates. For example:
|
Type: Wax Bean
|
Number of Wax Beans in game: 22
|
|
To get one coin
|
To get two coins
|
To get three coins
|
To get four coins
|
|
Sell 4 beans
|
Sell 7 beans
|
Sell 9 beans
|
Sell 11 beans
|
|
Type: Red Bean
|
Number of Red Beans in game: 8
|
|
To get one coin
|
To get two coins
|
To get three coins
|
To get four coins
|
|
Sell 2 beans
|
Sell 3 beans
|
Sell 4 beans
|
Sell 5 beans
|
All of this information is printed on the cards, so players always
know the relative value of each bean card. But that doesn't make
the decisions any less agonizing.
You have three red beans in your field. Do you sell them for two
coins? Or do you hold out, hoping that another one or two red beans
will appear? Wax beans are almost three times more likely to show
up, but they take more than double the amount to pay four coins.
And since wax beans are more common, it's likely your opponents
will be after them as well...
Furthermore--and this is a core element of the game, so it feels
weird explaining it this deep into the review--you may be forced
to plant things you don't want. Unlike 99.9% of other card games,
in Bohnanza, players are not permitted to change the order of the
cards in their hand. No sorting, no rearranging. When you draw new
cards they go to the back of your hand. And each turn, you are forced
to plant three cards: the first card in your hand, and two random
cards from the draw deck. The only way to circumvent this forced
planting of unwanted cards is to trade them away to your opponents.
That's the brilliance of Bohnanza. Let's say I'm planting coffee
and chili, and the second card in my hand is a chili bean, but the
first card is a red bean. If I can trade away the red bean, not
only will I get to plant my chili bean, but hopefully I'll have
traded the red bean for another chili or a coffee! Meanwhile, Ron
is desperately searching for red beans, but is considering collecting
coffee himself, and Stephanie won't trade me a chili because Peter
has a blue bean Stephanie needs so she's saving chili for him...
You can also purchase a third bean field, allowing you to collect
three bean types at once. The cost of a third field depends on the
number of players; most of the time it's worth it.
The simple brillaince of Bohnanza is how it forces everyone to
trade. Since you must start each of your turns by planting the first
card in your hand, you have to trade it away before your turn starts
or you're stuck with it. The deals are social, and everyone constantly
watches for trade opportunities. In a way, no one is your enemy.
I've never seen a game of Bohnanza where someone has said "screw
you, I'm not trading with you for the rest of the game." I
don't think iy's possible.
The strategy is knowing what beans to stick with and what to ditch.
To paraphrase Kenny Rogers: You got to know when to save 'em, know
when to trade 'em, know when to plant yer beans, and know when to
sell.
As with most hyper-successful games these days, Bohnanza spawned
a slew of expansions and sequels. The first German expanion contains
minor rules tweaks to allow games for two, six, or seven players
(the original game was for 3-5). The English-language version includes
the cards and rules from expansion one. The other add-ons and spinoffs
have gotten reviews all over the map, from warm to lukewarm to scathing.
The only consistancy is the puns.
La
Isla Bohnita allows players to load their beans on merchant
ships and trade them at a central island, running the risk that
pirate ships might incercept them and steal the beans.
Players construct a wild west town in High
Bohn, buying buildings. Each structure grants its owner a superpower
(plant mixed beans in your fields, bury the top card if you dissaprove
of it).
In Mutabohn,
planted beans can mutate into the next most common bean type, and
fields that contain a specific series of related beans (listed on
gene cards) are worth extra money.
Ladybohn
adds female counterparts to the beans. A field matures faster if
a female bean is the last card planted. Also includes beans that
steal coins from opponents when harvested.
Al
Cabohne is a two-player or solitaire version pitting players
against a game-controlled opponent: the mob. Al Cabohne and Don
Corlebohne want to make you an offer you can't refuse...
Finally, Bean
Trader is a boardgame version of sorts, where traders must travel
from city to city selling beans in lieu of planting them.
What's to like: Once the game starts rolling, the deals
fly in a flurry of social trades
Be warned: Glazed looks in their eyes when you start to explain
the rules
Buy Bohnanza
Chrononauts
Change key points in history and create rifts
in the space-time continuum. Patch 'em up with alternate events
before the universe collapses.
|
|
Players: 1-6
Time: 30-45 min
Publisher: Looney Labs
Price: $20
|
The gist: Rewrite history to match your secret goals
Type of game: hidden agenda, beer & pretzels
This review does not yet exist in this space-time
continuum.
What's to like: Fun chaos, with well thought-out historical
basis
Be warned: Subject matter skirts the heavy side, randomness
means game can end quickly
Buy Chrononauts
Back to Game Reviews
Copyright ©1999-2010 My People
Connection, LLC. All rights Reserved.
|
