Game: Bohnanza
Number of Players: 2-7 (Best with 5, recommended for 3-7)
Playing Time: 45- 60mins

Bohnanza is a popular and very interactive card game all about bean farming. The object of the game is to collect different types of beans that will make you the most money. You collect them by trading them, planting them and harvesting them for money. At the end of the game, after the draw deck has been exhausted 3 times, whoever has the most money wins.

How the Game Works
Each card in the game represents a different kind of bean. There are coffee beans, green beans, soy beans, cocoa beans… all kinds. All worth a different amount. On every card is indicated how many of that particular type of bean are in the entire deck, as well as how much money you can make by planting and harvesting them. Depending on the bean, you’ll need 2-4 of the same type to earn 1 coin, so one bean by itself is worth nothing. Of course, the more of each type of bean you collect (by planting and harvesting), the more money you can make.

Some beans are more rare than others, and are therefore worth more. It’s easy to get a hold of the more common beans, of course, but you’ll need to plant/collect lots more of them before they earn you any money. Everyone can only plant 2 different types of beans at a time. You can plant a 3rd type if you spend 3 coins on a 3rd bean field, but that’s the most you can do. Because planting space is limited, you have to carefully decide which beans you are invested in, but also be ready to switch markets when the time is right.

Sounds pretty straight forward right? However, there is a unique and *significant* problem that everybody has to deal with throughout the whole game: everyone starts out with 5 bean cards, but you may *not* rearrange them. They *have* to be planted in the order that you received them. On your turn, you always have to plant the very first card in your hand regardless of whether or not it is a bean that you were trying to collect.

I will have to plant the stink bean at the beginning of my turn unless I trade it away before my next turn begins.

The key to this game then, is “rearranging” the cards in your hand by trading the beans you don’t want to plant away, and hopefully getting something useful in return. Sometimes, you can be desperate enough to get rid of something to keep it from ruining your existing plantation that you give away unwanted beans for free. And of course, if you’re lucky, you might find yourself at the receiving end of these great bargains. You’ll find that trading favors and IOUs are not uncommon in this game.

The catch, though, is that everything that is traded has to be planted immediately after the trading is done. It can’t be set aside, or put in your hand for later. That means, you have to be careful what you take from a trade too.

In any case, you will find that if you don’t plan carefully, you may be forced to harvest your bean collection prematurely for no money at all, just to make room for a new bean that you *have* to plant .

Turn Order

Turns go like this:

1. a) Plant the 1st bean card in your hand
b) Plant the 2nd bean card if you’d like.
***You can no longer plant from your hand on your turn. ***

2. Flip over 2 cards from the draw deck.
These 2 cards are yours to plant (at the end of your turn) if you want, or if you don’t want them, you can trade or donate them to the other players.
***Remember: All traded bean cards are set aside to be planted at step 4.***

3. Trade away any unwanted cards from your hand
This is a good time for other players to try to get rid of their unwanted cards – but they can only trade with you since it’s your turn.
***Again, everything that is traded is set aside to be planted immediately after the trading is over***

4. Everyone plants what they received from the trades.
You can harvest your beans at any time and plant your traded beans in any order you’d like.

5. Draw 3 new cards, one at a time, and put it at the back of your hand (Remember, no rearranging!)
This signifies the end of your turn.

This is considered a light game by most gamers. There is some luck involved in which cards you draw, but since those cards can be traded away, most often, the winner is the person who made the savviest trades, and planted and harvested the right kind of beans at the right time.

This game has a couple more steps and mechanics than Uno or Phase 10, so it takes non-gamers 2-3 rounds before they get familiar with what to do on their turn. The mechanics may feel a little clunky and unnatural at first, and some people dislike the game right off the bat for that reason but ultimately, it is not difficult to grasp. The decisions are usually fairly easy to make. Once you get the hang of it, the game moves fairly quickly and the trading gets livelier as you go. There is a little bit of strategy, which many people figure out after a few plays, but you can still have lots of fun without playing strategically.

What do I think?
I enjoy using Bohnanza as a gateway game: a game to introduce non-gamers to the world of more interesting games. It doesn’t offer the same kind of satisfaction more serious gamers might look for in a game since there’s really not that much to it, but it can be a lot of fun. Because this is a trading game, there is a lot more interaction here than you might find in a lot of non-party games, and like many interactive games, how exciting it gets is largely dependent on how into it the crowd is. I bought this without knowing anything about the game except that it was a popular gateway game and I have never regretted this decision. It is an indispensable part of my game collection.

Conclusion
Bohnanza is a great blend of interactive fun and careful planning/meaningful decisions. The decisions won’t hurt your brain, but it doesn’t insult your intelligence either. It’s a solid game for a crowd that’s new to gaming or wants to try something different. Try it!