This review continues my series of detailed reviews that attempt to be part review, part resource for anyone not totally familiar with the game. For this reason I expect readers to skip to the sections that are of most interest.
Image Courtesy of <PERSON>
Summary
Game Type – Dice Game
Play Time: 20-40 Minutes
Number of Players: 2-5
Mechanics – Dice Rolling, Dice Management
Difficulty – Pick-Up and Play (Can be learned in about 10 minutes)
Components – Good
Release - 2012
Designer – <PERSON> (All things Bohnanza, Agricola, At the Gates of Loyang, Babel, Le Havre, Ora et Labora)
Overview
When I started my journey into the new age of gaming around 2000-2001, Bohnanza was one of the first games I played and I loved it.
That still rings true today despite the fact that I play it far less than I used to. So when I heard that the <PERSON> family finally had its inevitable dice game conversion, I knew I had to try it. I prepared myself however for the worst and despite my love of dice games in general, I am getting pretty tired of the current trend to turn almost any successful game or franchise into a cheap and easy dice spin-off version.
Despite being a dice game, the theme found here holds largely true to the original card game. Players are trying to roll dice in order to plant beans (lock them in), which can then be harvested once a harvest order is completed in full. The more harvest orders that are completed, the greater the payoff when a player decides to cash-in.
So how do the old beans fair when they are on dice? Is this a cynical money making exercise or a gaming experience worth your hard earned? Let's find out.
The Components
Like any good filler dice game the components required are fairly minimal...
Dice – The stars of the show are the 7 dice that feature a total of 7 different bean types. Most are common to the card game.
What requires mention is that the dice are split into 2 distinct dice types or sets, a group of 4 like dice and a group of 3 like dice. Both sets differ in the types of beans they offer and how many of each.
Straight away it becomes evident that the game may require some dice management to maximise your results and this is certainly true.
The group of 4 like dice feature a white background, whilst the set of 3 like dice feature a beige background. At best this colouring is not highly evident and at worst it is very hard to see under poor lighting, which is a shame but not a game breaker.
Most of the time it is not an issue but something could have been done to rectify it in production.
The faces themselves are painted on rather than etched but mine are yet to show any serious wear.
Please note that in the image below the orange looking dice has been coloured by the owner to help better identify the beige from the white dice. I have not felt the need to do this.
Image Courtesy of Liumas
Harvest Cards – The other major component is the Harvest Cards, which the players are trying to fulfill with their rolls. 581
Each card features a total of 6 different orders and the criteria for each order is listed using icons that are easy to understand.
The other feature worth noting is that coins/gold or (in Bohnanza speak) Beantalers are listed on the top half of the card. These BEantalers (1-4) are the rewards on offer for completing 3 or more orders.
The backs of the cards feature the same classic image of the golden Beantaler, that every Bohnanza game tends to use. These are used to keep track of a player's score as they complete orders and collect their gold.
The cards are a nice bit of design. It isn't necessarily impressive but it does the job, is easily understand and allows the game to flow quickly and easily. The cards also feature a matte or linen finish, which is in keeping with the European quality standards that companies like Amigo tend to uphold. Bravo!
One element I do like about the Harvest Cards though is that there is much variety in the orders that you need to complete. In all there are a total of 64 cards and 9 different types of orders (with many variations within those types) that need completing. This variety helps the game to feel varied.
Image Courtesy of Artax
Bean Field Template - A box-sized Bean Field Template is also provided. This is an important feature as it serves as a location for the players to move their 'locked-in' beans to and helps avoid having rolled dice hitting 'locked-in' dice. It also helps to easily identify which dice are still active and which are not. 872