The Tattoo Parlor 

I really enjoyed this game and I think it has so much potential! The art for this game could be super super cool and I hope you experiment with that! 

  • What was the most frustrating moment or aspect of what you just played? People not having the same humor as me, but you’ll have that in any party game like this so it’s really not that big of a deal. 
  • What was your favorite moment or aspect of what you just played? I really enjoyed drawing and seeing how everyone else interpreted the same tattoo prompt. 
  • Was there anything you wanted to do that you couldn’t? Maybe add color? But other than that, not really. 
  • If you had a magic wand to wave, and you could change, add, or remove anything from the experience, what would it be? 
  • What should be improved with the next version? I would clarify the end of the game. I would maybe put the first to X amount of cards instead of 8 rounds, because at the end of the rounds it is possible to have a tie. The inclusion of the Cards Against Humanity cards was nice but I would love to see your own cards! As a couple ideas: You could also add the option of making players draw in a specific tattoo style like traditional, minimalist. Another idea would be to have players decide where the tattoo would be placed (like arm, leg, back, etc.) or that could also be a card in itself where players need to draw a back tattoo fitting the prompts. 

Describe the game in 3 words. Funny, creative, dirty (a lil)

Decks Out – Dillon

  • What was the most frustrating moment or aspect of what you just played? The rules were a little bit confusing at times, although they probably would be more easily understood if I had more experience with role playing games. Additionally, the game seemed like it would go on forever because the board was so big everyone could kind of just stay away from each other and no one would actually die. 
  • What was your favorite moment or aspect of what you just played? I like how the dice determine so many different aspects of the game like your character, abilities, what loot you get, etc. 
  • Was there anything you wanted to do that you couldn’t? I wanted to have the opportunity to battle with other players more or maybe do more actions that affected other players. 
  • If you had a magic wand to wave, and you could change, add, or remove anything from the experience, what would it be? I think I would make it easier for players to run into each other to battle, but not too easy. 
  • What should be improved with the next version? I think mostly the rules could use some clarification. You could also add some wording that will prompt the role playing aspect of the game a little bit more to get players that aren’t as familiar with role playing games like myself into the story. It might also be interesting to not have all of the players start at the same place; there can be multiple entrances to the dungeon so that some players don’t die right away. Also maybe make the board a little bit smaller or have a board that adapts to the amount of players in the game so that the playing area isn’t too big for 3 players or too small for 6 players. 
  • Describe the game in 3 words. Intriguing, combat, imaginative 

I may leave a comment on your rules post with a few more suggestions! I look forward to seeing where this game goes.

Dare the Deep – Evelyn 

  • What was the most frustrating moment or aspect of what you just played? A lot of the gameplay being entirely luck-based. The dice would not give me the numbers I wanted. Also, running out of oxygen immediately, but that was also partly my fault. 
  • What was your favorite moment or aspect of what you just played? I really like the concept and art of this game. I think it has a lot of potential. I also liked seeing what little treasures I collected each turn. 
  • Was there anything you wanted to do that you couldn’t? I wanted to be able to buy more oxygen tanks or be able to make more strategic decisions besides just relying on the dice to give me the numbers I wanted. 
  • If you had a magic wand to wave, and you could change, add, or remove anything from the experience, what would it be? Have more risk as you move further down in the water. 
  • What should be improved with the next version? I would make it riskier the further you go down in the water, like maybe the numbers that you need to get get smaller and smaller as you go down. I think it would also be cool to be able to buy oxygen tanks with the gold coins. I think it would be nice also to have player mats. 
  • Describe the game in 3 words. Luck-based, creative, enthralling 

Week 8 Questions

  • Question Set 1
    • what is the difference between a game designer and a game developer? A game developer does not design the game, but “they make a lot of the games you buy better” (pg. 74). The game developer helps perfect the game by suggesting often minor changes to the rules, mechanics, etc. The designer comes up with the idea and inspiration for the game, but the developer turns this into a finished product. 
    • what commonly occurs during the game development process? Initial playtesting, reviewing and editing the rules, blind playtesting, and settling on titles and theming. 
    • what are the challenges of balancing a game? Players should be able to feel like they all have a chance to win and that makes balancing a game difficult, especially when there are cards or mechanics that have drastically different rarities or power levels.  Additionally, the interactions between the components need to be balanced, not just the components themselves. You also need to consider a card or components value. You also need to consider the different strategies that players may use in the game and if there are special techniques that will dominate over others and win every time. 
    • what should every player of your game believe? Why? Every player needs to believe that they have a chance to win up until the end of the game. Games become uninteresting if you know that you are not going to win; it just feels like the game is dragging out and you want to get it over with. Players also want to feel like they have some sort of control over the outcome of the game. 
    • how can you avoid stealing players fun?Based on Dave Howell’s guidelines, “don’t kick a player out out before the game is over”, avoid kingmaking (including kingchoosing, kingmaking, and kingbreaking), “don’t reward the leader”, “include inherent declaration”, “a player’s ability to influence other players should fall between none and lots”, and “don’t force a reverse”. 
    • what 10 maxims should you follow when writing rules? Use no intermediary terminology, use real words, make no more work than necessary, add flavor (but not too much), make your text no smarter than your reader, discard rules that can’t be written, take a breath (aka break up your rules), go easy on the eyes (not too much bolding and capitalization), get your final version playtested, fix any errors that pop up after publication in the faq 
  • Question Set 2
    • how has play testing changed your game? Playtesting has made me realize quite a few critical flaws in my game rules and design that I wouldn’t have considered. For Garden Sabotage, I didn’t anticipate players planting plants that they didn’t want in their garden and I had no way for players to remove them. For The Lamp, a lot of the fun cards of the game went unused because I didn’t realize I had put too few spaces in the game. 
    • who from class would you like to play test your next game or version 2 of your first game? For Garden Sabotage test two, I would like to have some of the people in the class that are interested in garden games or sabotage games test them, because I think they are similar to what my target audience would be. 
    • who is the audience for your game? I haven’t taken much time to consider the audience for my games. But for Garden Sabotage, I think it could include people who are interested in plants and flowers and also people who want to be able to sabotage other players. For The Lamp, I’m honestly not sure what the audience would be. I think I need to take further time to establish an audience for both games. 
    • who should play test your game outside of class? Ideally, my target audience would be the playtesters of these games. Because quite a few of my friends and family are interested in plants, I think they would be good for a primary test of Garden Sabotage. 

The Lamp Playtest – Game Maker’s Notes

  • What questions did your players have? If they could only go forward, if when you decide to stop playing you can change your mind, 
  • How quickly did they learn to play? The players seemed to learn pretty quickly. The only thing that took them a while to get the hang of was what the numbers on the die indicated (lamp on or off, and 1-2 orbs)
  • What kinds of interactions did the players have? Players didn’t really interact much in terms of the gameplay. They kind of reminded each other of the rules and mechanics at times and suggested when they might be getting a little too close to the lamp. 
  • What confused players? The dice and what each of the numbers meant
  • What made players excited? The mini lamp
  • What did your players enjoy doing? I think the players enjoyed the trading post cards although they didn’t really get to use them very often. I think they enjoyed being able to turn on and off the lamp too. The players also enjoyed having their own paths on the board, versus one path for everyone. I believe they also enjoyed the art. 
  • Did any aspect of the game frustrate players? Players wanted to be able to use the trading post cards more because there were so many of them and so few spaces on the board. 

Potential changes

  • Make sure that next time I have the ON and OFF dice instead of a 1-6 die, like I originally intended
  • Include reminders on the board itself to let players know what the number on the die means for collecting orbs
  • Make the board bigger
  • Create more opportunities to collect trading post cards 
  • Add functions to the trading post cards that allow you to distract players with the new light source
  • Create opportunities where players will move backwards as well, such as when the light is off or when someone plays a trading post card
  • Clarify that when you choose not to roll anymore you cannot change your mind and go back into the game
  • Create more ways to earn points
  • Change the shape of the board path a little bit
  • Maybe incorporate action dies or cards that affect turns 
  • Add more opportunities for player interaction

Evelyn’s Counterfeit Couture

Overall, I really enjoyed this game and I think it is my favorite of your playtests yet.

  • What was the most frustrating moment or aspect of what you just played? Running out of money to buy some fashion items and there being no minimum price when you sell one of your pieces. 
  • What was your favorite moment or aspect of what you just played? I really enjoyed how the values aren’t attached to the cards so each game will be a bit different and it’s more replayable. 
  • Was there anything you wanted to do that you couldn’t? I wanted to have more control over the personal auctions when I place something up for sale. 
  • If you had a magic wand to wave, and you could change, add, or remove anything from the experience, what would it be? I would change the experience of the personal auctions to both be able to impose restrictions on the minimum price but also keeping the secretiveness of what the true value of the card is. 
  • What should be improved with the next version? Maybe clarify that the auctions go around in a circle; I was a tiny bit confused at first. I would also explore some different alternatives to the way that the private auctions work. Additionally, I would explore how people can get restocked on money throughout the game board. 
  • Describe the game in 3 words. Strategic, suspenseful, intuitive

Playtest Review – Sara’s A Box for my Trinkets

I loved this game and all of your little trinkets! I think it has really good potential!!!

  • What was the most frustrating moment or aspect of what you just played? Not having super clearly defined rules about the actions you can and can’t take on your turn. Also the fact that having players offer to trade with you meant that you might have to give up a random trinket that you want to keep. 
  • What was your favorite moment or aspect of what you just played? I loved all of the different trinkets in the game. It was super fun pulling them out the bag and seeing what I got. 
  • Was there anything you wanted to do that you couldn’t? It would be nice to have a feature where you could trinkets without it being entirely luck-based. It was a little frustrating that it was almost just based on what you pulled out of the bag, although I still like that. Maybe having a little marketplace could help, but you don’t want to make it too easy to obtain trinkets at the same time. 
  • If you had a magic wand to wave, and you could change, add, or remove anything from the experience, what would it be? Make it so that players could totally randomly grab items from the bag or items to trade. I think pretty often people will try to cheat by feeling what item or memorizing the location of it in their trinket box so they don’t have to give up what they want. 
  • What should be improved with the next version? Overall I really loved this game, but some suggestions I have are to clarify what actions you can take on each turn, clarify the rules about trading in trinket cards and getting new trinkets, clarify swapping and trading rules (can players pick what they get to trade when another player wants to trade). You could also explore the idea of some different actions like forcing two players to swap trinket boxes. You could also have a marketplace where players can buy select items from there. 

Describe the game in 3 words. Fun I Spy-like Collecting

Playtest Review – Evelyn’s GoViral

Overall, I really enjoyed this game! I hope you continue to work on this idea! This is a game that I would definitely consider purchasing if I saw it somewhere! 

  • What was the most frustrating part or aspect of what you just played? The most frustrating part was trying to come up with captions with no time limit. (I think the timer definitely helped!)
  • What was your favorite moment or aspect of what you just played? I love that this game isn’t just writing prompts or attaching premade prompts to a card. It’s a combination of both and I think that really makes this game unique. 
  • Was there anything you wanted to do that you couldn’t? I wanted to be able to more easily discern a winner when there was a tie. 
  • If you had a magic wand to wave, and you could change, add, or remove anything from the experience, what would it be? I think I would make it so that there was a little bit more strategy to how you go about playing the game? Overall, I really like this game so I’m not entirely sure. 
  • What should be improved with the next version? I think just adding more trends, clarifying what happens during a tie, and maybe a scoreboard/scale to keep track of points so that players are shooting for a goal. 
  • Describe the game in 3 words. Creative party game

Playtest Review – Reese’s Tasty Travels

Overall, I really enjoyed this game and I think it has a lot of potential! 

  • What was the most frustrating part or aspect of what you just played? The resources running out. Some countries would have a lot more resources than others and some resources weren’t available at all, like flour. 
  • What was your favorite moment or aspect of what you just played? I really like the randomization of the ingredients across the countries. 
  • Was there anything you wanted to do that you couldn’t? I had a difficult time cooking certain dishes so I wish there were more basic ingredients like flour and eggs. I also wish that I could go any direction that I wanted. 
  • If you had a magic wand to wave, and you could change, add, or remove anything from the experience, what would it be? I would make it so that the ingredients distribution was more balanced and that it was a little bit easier to complete dishes but still a little difficult. 
  • What should be improved with the next version? I think that the beginning of the game could be specified and cleared up a bit more so that it is more intuitive for the players just by reading the directions. I think the total distribution of ingredients after a certain around would help so that certain countries don’t end up with less or more ingredients. The problem with ingredients running out could also be potentially fixed by limiting the amount of ingredients a player can hold at any given time. Some fun stuff ideas: personal boards, cute little pot for the ingredients, etc. 
  • Describe the game in 3 words. Luck-based, unique, fun! 

Honey Heist Review

  • Was it fun? Yes, this game was fun. I have never played a role-playing game before so it was exciting. 
  • What were the player interactions? Players had to deliberate amongst each other to make decisions that would alter the outcome of the game. 
  • How long did it take to learn? Pretty quickly, because it was just like telling a story. 
  • Would you play it again? Yes, I would. 
  • Analyze the game using the 3 act structure.The first act of the game was when we were first learning the rules of the games and assigning roles and characters. We were introduced to the goal – to secure the honey. The second act of the game was when we started to really strategize about how we were going to get this honey and who could do what job based on their abilities. The third act would have been when we got close to the cabin with the honey and it was evident that we were more than likely going to succeed in securing the honey. 
  • What are the collaborative and or competitive aspects of the game? This game is very collaborative. Everyone has their own special abilities and jobs that makes them uniquely contribute to the team. As a team, we were supposed to work together to get the honey and we had to make decisions as a group. 

What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout? The metaphor is a group of bears who are going to steal honey from a convention and will do whatever it takes to get it. The standout mechanics of this game was that pretty much everything was determined by the roll of a die—what kind of bear you were, your abilities, if you succeeded in doing a task, etc.

The Lamp Rules

Game Objective

As moths, compete to earn the most points by landing on spaces and collecting cards & light orbs, but WATCH OUT for the Lamp. Follow the Lamp and get as close as possible WITHOUT touching it or ELSE your moth will DIE.

Contents

  • 1 Game Board
  • 4 Moth Pawns
  • Light Orbs (not sure how much yet) 
  • Trading Post Cards (not sure how much yet)
  • 1 Lamp
  • Hazard Space Cards (not sure how much yet) 
  • 2 Dice, Numbered 1-6
  • 1 Lamp State Die
  • 4 Survival Achievement Cards

Setup

  1. Place the Game Board in the center of the table. Place the Lamp in its designated spot on the Game Board. Keep the Lamp turned off. 
  2. Place the Trading Post Cards, Hazard Space Cards, and Light Orbs in their respective piles next to the Game Board. Set the Survival Achievement Cards aside for later. 
  3. Every player selects a Moth Pawn. Place the Moth Pawns at the beginning of the Game Board. 

The player who rolls the highest number on the numbered dice goes first. Play proceeds in a clockwise direction.

Gameplay

By rolling the die/dice, players must try to get their moths the closest to the Lamp without touching it. Becoming the closest moth will award the most points, however, moths that touch the Lamp will die. Additional points are earned by collecting  Light Orbs, which can be traded for more points at Trading Posts.

On Your Turn

  1. Determine if you will KEEP PLAYING

Before you officially begin your turn, you MUST DECIDE if you are going to continue playing if you are close to the Lamp. REMEMBER: if your moth touches the Lamp, it will die and you will be disqualified. Players MAY NOT change their decision after they have chosen to roll the die. 

  1. Roll the Lamp State Die

Roll the Lamp State Die to determine the state of the Lamp during your turn (on/off). 

  • When ON is rolled on the Lamp State Die, turn the Lamp on (or leave it on if it already was). From here, your turn will proceed by rolling 2 numbered dice. 
  • When OFF is rolled on the Lamp State Die, turn the Lamp off (or leave it off if it already was). From here, your turn will proceed by rolling 1 numbered die. 
  1. Roll the Numbered Die/Dice

Based on the state indicated on the Lamp State Die, roll 1-2 dice to determine how many spaces your Moth will move. Move your Moth Pawn the number of spaces indicated on the die/dice. 

  1. Follow the Space’s Actions

Based on the space where you landed, follow the instructions for that specific space in the Board Spaces section.

Board Spaces

There are 3 different types of spaces on the Game Board: Light Orbs, Trading Posts, and Hazard Spaces.

Light Orb Spaces

Light Orb Spaces allow players to collect Light Orbs that can be traded for items at Trading Posts. Roll 1 Die to determine how many Light Orbs you collect. 

  • IF YOU ROLL 1-3 on the die: Collect 1 Light Orb
  • IF YOU ROLL 4-6 on the die: Collect 2 Light Orbs

Orbs are worth 1 point at the end of the game.

Trading Post Spaces

Trading Post Spaces allow players to trade their Light Orbs for various light-up objects. When you land on a Trading Post Space:

  • First, draw 3 Trading Post Cards from the Trading Post Card deck. 
  • Second, select 1 Trading Post Card that you would like to purchase, if any. 
  • Third, to purchase the card, return the number of Light Orbs indicated on the Trading Post Card to the pile of Light Orbs.
    • The number of Light Orbs you pay is indicated by the state of the Lamp. 
  • Finally, return all non purchased Trading Post Cards to the bottom of the deck. 

Trading Post Cards are worth varying amounts at the end of the game. The amount of points that a Trading Post Card is worth is indicated on the card. 

ADD EXAMPLE OF TRADING POST CARDS/SPACES HERE.

Hazard Spaces

Hazard Spaces make you LOSE POINTS when something bad happens to your moth. When you land on a Hazard Space:

  • Draw a Hazard Space Card
  • Hold onto this card until the end of the game

ADD EXAMPLE OF HAZARD CARDS/SPACES HERE. 

End of the Game

Players DECIDE the end of the game for themselves. Players must decide before each turn if they want to continue for the chance to get closer to the Lamp and earn more points.  REMEMBER: A player is ELIMINATED from the game if they touch the Lamp. 

When all players have decided to stop playing or have been otherwise eliminated, points are tallied. The player with the most points wins. 

  • Award the 4 Survival Achievement Cards to the players according to how close they got to the lamp.
    • 1st goes to the closest, 4th goes to the player farthest away, etc. 
    • ONLY award achievement cards for the amount of players you have at the end of the game. For example, if you have 4 players but 1 player got eliminated, award 3 Survival Achievement Cards. 
    • In the event of a tie, whoever rolls the highest on the dice gets the Achievement Card of higher points. 
  • Count how many Light Orbs you have. Each Orb is worth 1 point. 
  • Add the points from your purchased Trading Post Cards. 
  • Subtract 1 point for every Hazard Space Card you have.

If after tallying all of these points, there is a tie, the winner is the closest player to the Lamp.

Garden Sabotage! Rules – Version 2

Game Objective

Compete to have the best garden by planting plants and sabotaging other players with bugs.

Contents

  • 50 Garden Objective Cards
  • 100 Plant Cards
  • 50 Bug Cards
    • 10 Good Bug Cards
    • 20 Bad Bug Cards
    • 20 Pesticide Cards
  • 1 Golden Watering Can Card
  • 4 Action Reminder Cards
  • 4 Garden Boards
  • 1 Game Board
  • Instructions

Setup

(INSERT NEW SETUP IMAGE HERE)

  1. Every player selects a Garden Board. 
  2. Place the Game Board in the center of the table. 
  3. Shuffle the Garden Objective Cards, Bug Cards, and Plant Cards. Place the decks in their respective spots on the Game Board.
  4. Place the Golden Watering Can Card face-down in its respective spot on the Game Board.  
  5. Turn over the top 4 Plant Cards and place them in a face-up row next to the deck, as indicated by the spots on the Game Board. 
  6. Turn over the top 2 Bug Cards and place them in a face-up row next to the deck, as indicated by the spots on the Game Board
  7. Deal 3 Plant Cards, 1 Bug Card, and 1 Garden Objective Card to each player. Players may look at their cards, but should keep them a secret from the other players.
  8. Give each player an Action Reminder Card. 

The player who owns the most house plants (in real life) goes first. Play proceeds in a clockwise manner.

Gameplay

Points are earned by completing Garden Objective Cards, using Plant Cards. Players must plant all of the required plants on their Garden Board by laying Plant Cards on their board, face up. Some Garden Objective Cards are more difficult, and, therefore, are worth more points at the end of the game.

On Your Turn

  1. Perform Actions

Players perform 3 Actions on their turn. Players may perform the same Actions multiple times, and they can be performed in any order. You can quickly reference these actions at any point during the game using your Action Reminder Card. The 9 Actions include:

  • Draw a Plant Card
  • Plant a Plant in your Garden
  • Draw a Bug Card
  • Sabotage Another Player’s Garden
  • Play a Good Bug Card on your Garden
  • Sweep the Plant Cards
  • Use Pesticide
  • Draw a Garden Objective Card
  • Dig Up Your Garden
  • Discard a Card

Draw a Plant Card

Draw a Plant Card, either from the top of the deck or from the row of face-up cards. If you take a face-up card, replace the gap with a new card from the top of the deck. There is no limit to the number of cards a player can have in their hand.

Plant a Plant in your Garden

Place ONE Plant Card face-up on your Garden Board. Each Garden Board has two plots, Plot 1 and 2. Each plot has space for up to 3 Plant Cards.

Draw a Bug Card

Draw a Bug Card, either from the top of the deck or from the row of face-up cards. If you take a face-up card, replace the gap with a new card from the top of the deck. There is no limit to the number of cards a player can have in their hand.

Sabotage Another Player’s Garden

Place a Bad Bug Card face-up on any other player’s Garden Board on one plot. The Bug immediately eats one Plant. The affected player discards this Plant Card. The Bug will continue to eat Plants in the player’s Garden until it is killed with Pesticide. A Bug takes 1 Plant at the beginning of the affected player’s turn until exterminated. Additionally, players cannot meet Garden Objectives when a Bad Bug is in their Garden. Only 1 Bad Bug, in addition to 1 Good Bug, can be placed on a plot at a time.

Play a Good Bug on your Garden

Place a Good Bug Card face-up on your Garden Board on one plot. A Garden Objective completed with a Good Bug Card applied to it will score additional points at the end of the game. Only 1 Good Bug, in addition to the 1 Bad Bug, can be placed on a plot at a time.

Sweep the Plant Cards

If you do not like the four face-up Plant Cards, you may sweep them away to get four new ones. Discard all four cards and replace them with the top four cards from the deck. You CANNOT sweep the Bug Cards

Use Pesticide

To remove an unwanted Bad Bug from your Garden Board, you must use Pesticide. REPLACE the Bad Bug from your affected Garden Board Plot with a Pesticide Card. The Pesticide kills the Bad Bug, and the Bad Bug Card is discarded. Pesticide REMAINS on the plot until the beginning of the player’s next turn and PREVENTS another Bad Bug from being placed on the plot during that time.

Draw a Garden Objective Card

Draw a Garden Objective Card from the top of the deck. NOTE: Players can only have 2 Garden Objective Cards in their hand at a time.

Dig Up Your Garden

In the event that players don’t want the plants on their Garden Board anymore, players must remove ALL of the Plant Cards from ONE of the plots on their Garden Board.

Discard a Card

Discard 1 unwanted Plant Card, Bug Card, or Garden Objective Card from your hand. Place the card in its respective discard pile.

Completing Objectives

Objectives are completed automatically when you have met all of the requirements on a Garden Objective Card. To indicate this, lay the Garden Objective Card face-up in front of you. Requirements are met when all of the Plant and Bug Cards shown on the Garden Objective Card are placed on one Garden Board plot. All of the Bug and Plant Cards (except for the Good Bug Cards) on the plot that fulfill this requirement are discarded.

  • You may complete Objective Cards anytime during your turn and it does NOT count as one of your standard Actions. It is possible to complete more than one Garden Objective Card during your turn. 
  • If there is a Good Bug Card applied to the Garden Plot that completes the Objective, stack this card underneath your completed Garden Objective Card in front of you. 
  • Garden Objectives CANNOT be completed with a Bad Bug on the Garden Plot. Bad Bugs MUST be killed with Pesticide first. 

Types of Cards

There are three different types of cards throughout the game: Plant Cards, Bug Cards, and Garden Objective Cards. The following describes and provides examples of these cards.

Plant Cards

Plant Cards enable players to complete Garden Objective Cards, which are necessary to earn points and win the game. Up to 3 Plant Cards can be planted on 1 plot.

Bug Cards

There are three types of Bug Cards: Good Bug Cards, Bad Bug Cards, and Pesticide Cards.

Good Bug Cards

Good Bug Cards are white and feature bugs that will benefit your Garden. 

  • Only 1 Good Bug Card can be placed on a Garden Board Plot at a time.
  • At the end of the game, you receive 3 additional points for every Garden Objective Card completed with a Good Bug on it. 
  • You CANNOT place a Good Bug Card on another player’s Garden Board.

Bad Bug Cards

Bad Bug Cards are black and feature bugs that will harm other player’s Gardens. 

  • When a Bad Bug Card is placed, it immediately eats 1 Plant Card. That card is then discarded. 
  • A Bad Bug eats 1 Plant at the beginning of the affected player’s turn until exterminated. 
  • Attacking Player selects which Plant Card the Bad Bug Eats.
  • Only 1 Bad Bug Card can be placed on a Garden Board Plot at a time.
  • You CANNOT complete Garden Objectives with a Bad Bug on your plot. Bad Bug Cards MUST be killed using Pesticide before an Objective can be completed. 
  • You CANNOT place a Bad Bug Card on your own Garden Board.

Pesticide Cards

Pesticide Cards are mixed throughout the Bug Cards and allow players to kill Bad Bugs placed on their Garden Board. 

  • To use Pesticide, lay the Pesticide Card on 1 plot of your Garden Objective Board. 
  • The Pesticide immediately kills the Bad Bug, and the Bad Bug Card is discarded
  • The Pesticide Card remains in the spot where the Bad Bug was on that player’s board until the beginning of the player’s next turn. 

The Pesticide Card prevents other players from laying a Bad Bug on the affected player’s plot until the Pesticide Card is removed at the beginning of their next turn.

Garden Objective Cards

Garden Objective Cards are necessary to earn points and win the game. Garden Objective Cards are completed by obtaining and planting all of the required plants on the card.

Action Reminder Cards

Action Reminder Cards reference the actions that players are able to take each turn. Players should refer to the rules for the function and details of each Action.

Golden Watering Can Card

At the end of the game, the Golden Watering Can Card is awarded to the player who triggers the final round, or completes 5 Garden Objective Cards first. This card is worth additional points at the end of the game.

End of the Game

The player who reaches 5 objective cards first triggers the final round. The player who triggered the final round receives the Golden Watering Can Card. The remaining players get one last turn to try to complete objectives in order to earn points. The player with the most points tallied up from their completed objective cards wins. 

  • Tally the points from only the COMPLETED objective cards 
  • Add an extra 3 points for every Good Bug that you completed a Garden Objective with 
  • The player with the Golden Watering Can Card adds 2 extra points to their score

Garden Sabotage! Play Test Notes

Play Test #1

  • What questions did your players have? Which cards were which? How pesticide worked? Where is the pesticide card? How many cards can be in each garden?
  • How quickly did they learn to play? At least 20 minutes. Quite longer than I expected. 
  • What kinds of interactions did the players have? Players planted cards in each other’s gardens. Players also helped each other make the best moves on their turn since everyone was learning the game for the first time. 
  • What confused players? The first player rule—whoever has the most houseplants goes first. The players thought that this was determined by the cards that you were dealt. They also didn’t understand at first that you couldn’t plant multiple plants in your garden at once and that each plant you planted is a separate action. They were also confused by the fact that pesticide isn’t a physical card; it is just an action that you declare you are doing. Players also did not form a discard pile for the used plants, bugs, and garden objective cards. 
  • What made players excited? The players enjoyed the gameplay and the card art. The most exciting part would have been when players played bugs on each other’s gardens. 
  • What did your players enjoy doing? They enjoyed the fact that the bugs make the game more difficult and add value to the game. They enjoyed the size of the bug cards and appreciated that the end of the game isn’t totally obvious because players count their points after someone reaches 7 cards. 
  • Did any aspect of the game frustrate players? The objective cards were frustrating and confusing to players. The fact that you have to play the objective card after you completed the card wasn’t totally obvious.

Play Test #2

  • What questions did your players have? If you just declare that you are using pesticide? Do you draw at the beginning of your turn? Do you lay the objective card down first?
  • How quickly did they learn to play? Pretty quickly. 
  • What kinds of interactions did the players have? Players helped each other to understand the game at first and then sabotaged each other with bugs. 
  • What confused players? They were confused about discarding plant objectives for another being 1 turn. They were also confused about what they would do if they ran out of plant cards because there was no hand limit. 
  • What made players excited? They really enjoyed the gameplay and the card art. 
  • What did your players enjoy doing? I could tell that they enjoyed eating others’ plants with bugs. 
  • Did any aspect of the game frustrate players? The fact that it is pretty luck based on what cards you draw frustrated some of the players. 
  • Other comments:
    • This group accumulated a lot of plant cards in their hands, so a hand limit might be necessary. 
    • This group ran into the issue where they planted plants in the garden that they didn’t want to plant and had no way to remove it. 

Potential Changes to Make

  • Simplify garden objective cards rules
  • Maybe make good bug cards worth more because they are so rare in the deck?
  • Reminder cards that show the different actions that you can take on your turn
  • Clarify that objective cards are met automatically and you don’t lay them down until the objective is met
  • Clarify that you can only plant ONE plant in your garden
  • Make pesticide a physical card or object or otherwise clarify it 
  • Potentially make it harder to obtain pesticide
  • Design a board to have specified places for the cards to make the face-up cards and discard piles make sense
  • Design the garden boards so that there are spaces for the bugs
  • Clarify how it is determined which plant is eaten by a bug 
  • Clarify what bugs do on the cards themselves
  • Add the option to remove a plant from your garden as an action (or you have to get rid of all the plants on that plot)
  • Make it 5 cards to trigger the last round
  • Could add a fence that protects your garden from bugs for a turn
  • Add an incentive to be the first person to finish 
  • Add a hand limit so that you don’t run out of plant cards. 
  • Clarify that only 3 plant cards can be placed on 1 plot
  • Clarify rules regarding discarding cards you don’t want
  • Potentially add color to the plant cards
  • Maybe rename the plant cards to be flower cards? 

Garden Sabotage! (Updated Rules)

Game Objective

Compete to have the best garden by planting plants and sabotaging other players with bugs.

Contents

  • 50 Garden Objective Cards
  • 50 Plant Cards
  • 25 Bug Cards
  • 4 Garden Boards
  • Instructions

Setup

  1. Every player selects a Garden Board. 
  2. Shuffle the Garden Objective Cards, Bug Cards, and Plant Cards to form three draw piles, face down. Leave room for discard piles. 
  3. Turn over the top 4 Plant Cards and place them in a face-up row next to the deck. 
  4. Turn over the top 2 Bug Cards and place them in a face-up row next to the deck. 
  5. Deal 3 Plant Cards, 1 Bug Card, and 1 Garden Objective Card to each player. Players may look at their cards, but should keep them a secret from the other players. 

The player who owns the most house plants goes first. Play proceeds in a clockwise manner. 

Gameplay

Points are earned by completing Garden Objective Cards, using Plant Cards. Players must plant all of the required plants on their Garden Board by laying Plant Cards on their board, face up. Some Garden Objective Cards are more difficult, and, therefore, are worth more points at the end of the game.

On Your Turn

  1. Perform Actions

Players perform 3 Actions on their turn. Players may perform the same Actions multiple times, and they can be performed in any order. The 7 Actions include:

  • Draw a Plant Card
  • Plant a Plant in your Garden
  • Draw a Bug Card
  • Sabotage Another Player’s Garden
  • Play a Good Bug Card on your Garden
  • Sweep the Plant Cards
  • Use Pesticide
  • Draw a Garden Objective Card

Draw a Plant Card

Draw a Plant Card, either from the top of the deck or from the row of face-up cards. If you take a face-up card, replace the gap with a new card from the top of the deck. There is no limit to the number of cards a player can have in their hand. 

Plant a Plant in your Garden

Place a Plant Card face-up on your Garden Board. Each Garden Board has two plots, Plot 1 and 2.

Draw a Bug Card

Draw a Bug Card, either from the top of the deck or from the row of face-up cards. If you take a face-up card, replace the gap with a new card from the top of the deck. There is no limit to the number of cards a player can have in their hand.

Sabotage Another Player’s Garden

Place a Bad Bug Card face-up on any other player’s Garden Board on one plot. The Bug immediately eats one Plant. The affected player discards this Plant Card. The Bug will continue to eat Plants in the player’s Garden until it is killed with Pesticide. A Bug takes 1 Plant at the beginning of the affected player’s turn until exterminated. Additionally, players cannot meet Garden Objectives when a Bad Bug is in their Garden. Only 1 Bad Bug, in addition to 1 Good Bug, can be placed on a plot at a time.

Play a Good Bug on your Garden

Place a Good Bug Card face-up on your Garden Board on one plot. A Garden Objective completed with a Good Bug Card applied to it will score additional points at the end of the game. Only 1 Good Bug, in addition to the 1 Bad Bug, can be placed on a plot at a time.

Sweep the Plant Cards

If you do not like the four face-up Plant Cards, you may sweep them away to get four new ones. Discard all four cards and replace them with the top four cards from the deck. You CANNOT sweep the Bug Cards.

Use Pesticide

To remove an unwanted Bad Bug from your Garden Board, you must use Pesticide. Remove the Bad Bug from your affected Garden Board Plot and place it in the discard pile.

Draw a Garden Objective Card

Draw a Garden Objective Card from the top of the deck OR exchange a Garden Objective Card by discarding a Garden Objective Card from your hand and drawing a new one from the top of the deck. NOTE: Players can only have 2 Garden Objective Cards in their hand at a time.

Completing Objectives

When you have met all of the requirements on a Garden Objective Card, you may lay this card face-up in front of you. Requirements are met when all of the Plant and Bug Cards shown on the Garden Objective Card are placed on one Garden Board plot. All of the Bug and Plant Cards on the plot that fulfill this requirement are discarded. You may complete Objective Cards anytime during your turn and it does NOT count as one of your standard Actions. It is possible to complete more than one Garden Objective Card during your turn. 

  • If there is a Good Bug Card applied to the Garden Plot that completes the Objective, stack this card underneath your completed Garden Objective Card in front of you. 
  • Garden Objectives CANNOT be completed with a Bad Bug on the Garden Plot. Bad Bugs MUST be killed with Pesticide first. 

Types of Cards

There are three different types of cards throughout the game: Plant Cards, Bug Cards, and Garden Objective Cards. The following describes and provides examples of these cards. 

Plant Cards

Plant Cards enable players to complete Garden Objective Cards, which are necessary to earn points and win the game.

Bug Cards

There are two types of Bug Cards: Good Bug Cards and Bad Bug Cards.

Good Bug Cards

Good Bug Cards are white and feature bugs that will benefit your Garden. 

  • Only 1 Good Bug Card can be placed on a Garden Board Plot at a time.
  • At the end of the game, you receive 2 additional points for every Garden Objective Card completed with a Good Bug on it. 
  • You CANNOT place a Good Bug Card on another player’s Garden Board.

Bad Bug Cards

Bad Bug Cards are black and feature bugs that will harm other player’s Gardens. 

  • When a Bad Bug Card is placed, it immediately eats 1 Plant Card. That card is then discarded. 
  • A Bad Bug eats 1 Plant at the beginning of the affected player’s turn until exterminated. 
  • Only 1 Bad Bug Card can be placed on a Garden Board Plot at a time.
  • You CANNOT complete Garden Objectives with a Bad Bug on your plot. Bad Bug Cards MUST be killed using Pesticide before an Objective can be completed. 
  • You CANNOT place a Bad Bug Card on your own Garden Board.

Garden Objective Cards

Garden Objective Cards are necessary to earn points and win the game. Garden Objective Cards are completed by obtaining and planting all of the required plants on the card.

Garden Boards

End of the Game

The player who reaches 7 objective cards first triggers the final round. The remaining players get one last turn to try to complete objectives in order to earn points. The player with the most points tallied up from their completed objective cards wins. 

  • Tally the points from only the COMPLETED objective cards 
  • Add an extra 2 points for every Good Bug that you completed a Garden Objective with