#Bohnanza
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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.
#Bohnanza#board game#board game geek#play#fun#generosity#gain#money#winning#love#selfish#share#trade#card game
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2nd April 2024
While Blue, Pink and Cobalt were finishing their supper, Plum led a quick game of Draftosaurus with Black, Purple and Cobalt (who had already finished his pizza). Cobalt was new to the game, so after a quick rules explanation the group were passing dino-meeples left and right and building themselves exciting dino-parks. The game is really quick and simple: players start with a handful of…
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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…
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#Bohnanza#Card Games#Cole Wehrle#Cosmic Encounter#Geoff Engelstein#Here I Stand#Mark Herman#Negotiation Games#Pax Pamir - 2nd Edition#Reiner Knizia#Uwe Rosenberg#Versailles 1919#Zoo Vadis
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The kids and I dove into our first game of #Bohnanza today and it was so much fun! Great mechanics of limited fields to build beans, while negotiating trades along the way. This was such a huge hit I can see it already being a family favorite after one play. #tabletop #boardgames #geekyparent #wineyparent #tabletopgames #uwerosenberg #cardgame #beans #family #games https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd3kra1LWD-/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
#bohnanza#tabletop#boardgames#geekyparent#wineyparent#tabletopgames#uwerosenberg#cardgame#beans#family#games
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Bohnanza | Board Game Club
Another meme for y’all !
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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
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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.
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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.
#podcast#audiodrama#scifi comedy#scifi#the soft-boiled detective#ask me questions#ask me anything#ask me stuff#character asks#radioplay#fiction podcast#audiodramas#comedy
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Board Game 30 Day Challenge
Day 26: Is there a specific designer and/or publisher you particularly like or dislike? Will you ever buy or stay away from a game based solely on the designer and/or publisher?
Yes! I really like Uwe Rosenberg’s games. I don’t have all of them but I probably should. His tile placement games New York Zoo, Nova Luna, Applejack, Patchwork, and Framework are some favorites. I really ought to play Agricola and Feast for Odin. The only real reason I haven’t bought Bohnanza, his first big hit, is because I hate the artwork.
There’s another designer, Vital Lacerda, whose games always look fantastic but when I read about them I’m 😳. They are always very complex, more complex than I want.
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6th February 2024
People were still eating when Ivory rolled up nice and early to start setting up Ark Nova. Although it was not the “Feature Game“, we are planning to feature the Marine Worlds expansion in the next few weeks and wanted to play the base game before we did. So, Ivory was soon joined by Cobalt, Plum and Green on the other side of the table, leaving the rest to decide who would play the “Feature…
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#Ark Nova#Ark Nova: Marine Worlds#Azul#Azul: Joker Tiles#Azul: Special Factories Promo#Bohnanza#Cubirds#Terraforming Mars#Ticket to Ride#Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries#Ticket to Ride: Northern Lights#Zoo Break#Zooloretto
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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....
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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…
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#Age of Innovation#Can&039;t Stop#Combat Commander#Fantastic Factories#Favor of the Pharaoh#Smash Up#Terra Mystica#Titan#Wurfel Bohnanza
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Preferred card game (traditional, e.g. poker, blackjack, Jim Rummey)
Prefferred card game (non-traditional, e.g. magic the gathering. yu gi oh, Weiz Schawrz)
Ooooh traditional I'd say Scarto or Canasta, but I was keen on Cribbage for a while too. I haven't played many non-traditional ones but High Society is very fun, as is Bohnanza. Unfortunately I never got into anything like MtG or Yu-Gi-Oh, but I bet I'd enjoy them.
Oh does Gloom count? Gloom is great fun, I made some custom cards for that
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So... I was going to try and rank all of the board games (as well as dice and card games) that I've played since that's sort of become a hobby of mine lately, but then I realized that that was going to be way more difficult than I thought it was going to be (though I may try again in the future), so I'm just going to list what all the games for now (in no particular order).
Tokaido
Azul
That's Pretty Clever and the whole Clever series
Camel Up
Fireball Island
Disney's Jungle Cruise game
Horrified
The Buffy the Vampire Slayer Board game
Kingdom Hearts Talisman (I also played the original Talisman at Gen Con)
Kingdom Hearts Perilous Pursuit
Machi Koro
Ticket to Ride
Letter Tycoon
Paperback
Just One
Bohnanza
Alchemist
Patchwork
I also own Everdell, The Search for Planet X, The Lost Expedition, and Aladdin's Dragons and need to play them:)
And you know what? Even though I played these before I really got into the whole board game thing, I'm going to count them--as I feel board game aficionados also love them or would love them:
The Great Dalmuti
Love Letter
Hanabi
Forbidden Island
Kill Doctor Lucky
Disney Codenames
Edit: Some more I want to include:
Superfight
Uno: Namely Uno Flip
Apples to Apples and Cards Against Humanity, of course
So many versions of Clue, that I'll always love
Sequence
Rummikub
Red Flags
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Last Seen Blogs
arrietty-oconnor
My Own Worst Nightmare
fowl-leaf
Art Blog, maybe
soo-ra
An unexpected journey
raybyanothername
Fandom Fanatic
poptepipic-post
My Final Form