Garden Party

Garden Party Rulebook

Table of Contents

I Setup

Dear friends, please unfold the game board and follow the instructions below.

The gardeners

Six exceptional botanists have been admitted by the Countess this year. Each player chooses a favourite gardener and takes the matching gardener card, which they place in front of them (1).

Each gardener has a secret "collector's flower" of which they own two copies. You will recognise your gardener's flowers by the portrait on the back of the tokens. Place your two collector's flower tokens beside your gardener card (2).

Before the game begins, every player is given a greenhouse and a figure of the same colour as their gardener. Each player places their figure in their greenhouse (3).

The pots

Each greenhouse has nine empty pots (4), which are used to grow your plants.

The golden vases

Each greenhouse also has three golden vases (5), intended to hold the collector's flowers of the other gardeners.

The action cards

There are three categories of action card: Bricanology (6), Herbanology (7) and Plantanology (8). They represent the various underhanded tricks, bonuses and penalties played during the game. Place them on the dedicated spaces of the game board.

The chance cards

The Countess generously provides six golden objects from her personal collection. They are represented by six chance cards (9), which you shuffle into the action card deck of the matching talent (recognisable by the identical colour of the back). Each deck is then shuffled and placed back on the game board.

The starting hand

Once the board and components are ready, each player draws one card from each action card deck. These three cards form their starting hand (11).

The duel cards

Attila Von Salt, the grim head gardener of the Countess, holds duel cards to declare war on any cheats. Shuffle them and place them on the game board (12).

The plant tokens

Each plant consists of two tokens. The first shows the seed on one face and the sprout on the other. The second shows the bud and then the flowering plant.

There are also "mouldy seeds" and "weeds", each consisting of a single token.

All tokens showing a seed face are placed seed-side up and then shuffled. Each player places one seed chosen at random (without looking at its other face) in each of their nine pots (13).

Important: if there are last-minute withdrawals, that is, if you play with fewer than six players, you must pre-select the plant tokens according to the table on the last page so that the game stays balanced.

The other tokens, showing buds and flowering plants, are placed beside the game board (14).

The water tokens

Your plants will grow thanks to the water tokens used to water them. Place them within reach of everyone (15).

The die

To begin the game, each player rolls the die (16), which bears numbers from 4 to 9. The player who obtains the highest result begins, and play then continues clockwise. In case of a tie, a new roll is made between the highest results.

If you use a standard six-sided die, add 3 points to the result.

The game requires at least three participants.

II Object of the Game

The aim of the game is to have the most points when the game ends, which happens when one of the players has simultaneously nine flowering plants in their greenhouse.

Points are awarded according to the rarity of the plants grown and the harmony of the greenhouse.

III Playing the Game

A. A greenhouse round

A round of greenhouses consists of as many turns as there are players, and ends when each of them has played.

A turn represents all the actions a player may take. When their turn ends, play passes to the player on their left.

When all players have played, a new round of greenhouses may begin, and so on until the end of the game.

B. Movement

At the start of your turn, roll the die. Its result (between 4 and 9) gives your movement points. Each point allows you to move your gardener one square. Note that nothing forces your gardener to move during your turn or to use all of your movement points. Unused movement points are lost at the end of the turn.

Example: if you roll 5, you may move your gardener between 1 and 5 squares. If you roll 9, you may move your gardener between 1 and 9 squares.

The game board is divided into several squares: the greenhouse (1), the lawn (2), then the pavement (3), and finally the central square (4). This pattern applies to the whole game board.

Movement restrictions: it is impossible to pass from greenhouse to greenhouse, or to jump over the Countess's hedges. Competitors who want to go to an opponent's greenhouse must pass through the central square. The tournament rules also forbid entering a greenhouse whose owner is present. However, several gardeners may be on the same square.

C. At any time

You may play one action card per turn (whether it is your own turn or not). Check the conditions of use on the card (which indicate, among other things, when it may be played).

At any time, you may also cancel the effect of an action card (whether aimed at you or not) by discarding two cards of the same talent. An opponent may cancel this cancellation by discarding two cards of the same talent themselves. You may then counter their attempt to cancel your cancellation, and so on.

Whatever the outcome, all these cards are discarded.

D. During your turn

1. On the central square

Drawing action cards. Once per turn, when your gardener is on the central square (whether by moving there or by starting the turn there), you draw from one single action card deck.

Look at your gardener card. You will find three different talents (Bricanology, Herbanology, Plantanology). Each talent has a number showing how many cards you may draw from the corresponding deck. Whatever that number, after examining them, you keep only one of these cards and discard the others under their deck.

Example: the Countess Théodora de Pomedamour may draw either one card in Bricanology, or two cards in Herbanology, or three cards in Plantanology. In every case she may keep only one of them to add to her hand.

Taking water tokens. You fill your watering can by spending one movement point per water token you take. You may not hold more than three water tokens at the same time. Water tokens not used from one turn to the next are not lost.

2. In your own greenhouse

Making your plants grow. Choose a plant and water it by spending one water token. It immediately grows by one stage. You may repeat watering as long as you have water tokens, knowing that a plant may be watered only once per turn. Discard the water tokens you use.

Catching a snooper. If you enter your greenhouse and find another gardener there, you punish this affront by drawing a card at random from their hand and adding it to yours. Caught red-handed, there is no duel, but this unwelcome visitor is placed on the lawn in front of your greenhouse. They may not return to your greenhouse during their next turn.

3. On the same square as a competitor

Obtaining their collector's flower. You may obtain your opponent's collector's flower by discarding three action cards of the same talent as your opponent's highest talent. Once the collector's flower is obtained, it is automatically placed in one of your empty golden vases.

It is then completely protected from penalties, action cards, thefts, exchanges and other ill intentions on the part of your opponents.

4. In a competitor's greenhouse

Exchanging plants. You may exchange two of your plants at the seed or sprout stage, or a single one at the bud stage. Only plants of the same stage may be exchanged. Simply swap the plant tokens between your greenhouse and that of your opponent.

Stealing plants. Rather than exchanging plants, you may also steal them. The rule is the same, but the stolen plants must be placed in the empty pots of your greenhouse (see V A).

Note that you may both exchange and steal plants without exceeding the limit of two seeds or sprouts, or one bud.

IV Explanation of the Cards

A. Gardener cards

Each gardener has a card describing their aptitudes in Bricanology, Herbanology and Plantanology. Each talent is accompanied by a number from 1 to 3. The higher the number, the more your gardener excels in that talent.

The talent icons are: Bricanology, Herbanology and Plantanology.

B. Action cards

There are 30 action cards per talent. Remember that when a card is played, it is discarded (placed under its deck).

Bricanology is the art of mechanical inventions of all kinds. It is used in particular to put spokes in your opponents' wheels.

Herbanology is the science of making plants grow faster. This is very useful for overtaking the other competitors by completing your greenhouse first.

Plantanology is the study of seeds, plants and flowers. Selecting plants of the rarest colours earns the most points at the end of the game!

The flower at the top of each action card shows when the card may be played: blue during your turn, orange during a competitor's turn, mauve during a duel, and pink at the end of the game.

C. Chance cards

When you draw a chance card, set it aside, because it will no longer be used during the game (any action cards drawn at the same time are placed back under their deck). If you draw two chance cards simultaneously, only one is kept and the other is discarded under its action card deck.

You have just found one of the Countess's golden objects! To find out which one, immediately draw a golden object card and place it face up beside your gardener card. Note that during this turn you may play your action cards normally.

D. Golden object cards

These magical objects have the power to turn the course of the tournament upside down. Their effects apply immediately after they are drawn and remain in effect until the end of the game.

You may not hold more than two golden objects. If you already have two and draw a new chance card, that card is placed under its action card deck and another card is drawn.

E. Duel cards

Attila Von Salt, whose eyes are everywhere, suspects of cheating any player who entered a competitor's greenhouse during their turn. If this is your case, at the end of your turn you must draw a duel card and follow the instructions written on it (the owner of the "visited" greenhouse rolls the die for Attila).

If you win the duel, Attila admits he was wrong and the incident is closed. Otherwise, the plants you had stolen or exchanged are returned to their places. As a reprisal, the owner of the greenhouse draws one of your cards at random and discards it (without looking at it). If no card can be drawn because you have none, the sentence is postponed until you have one.

V Explanation of the Tokens

A. Mouldy seeds

Attila Von Salt has concealed some bad seeds among the ordinary seeds. When you water one, you find that it rots. Discard the token to the table edge, which creates an empty pot in your greenhouse.

B. Weeds

Weeds are another diabolical trick of the sinister head gardener. Like mouldy seeds, they reveal their true nature when you water them. The difference is that you cannot discard them. To get rid of them, you must exchange them in an opponent's greenhouse.

C. Water

Water tokens are used to water plants. Each water token spent makes a plant grow by one stage. Once used, return the water token to its pile.

D. Plants

Here are some botanical notions taken from the treatise "From Stem to Root" by Professor Antonin Afleurdepeau, explaining the four stages of a plant:

The seed is common to all plants. At this stage, it is impossible to determine the future colour of the plant.
Once watered, turn the seed token over and a sprout appears. You now know the colour of the plant and therefore the points it will earn at the end of the game.
When the sprout is watered, it develops into a bud. Take a bud token of the same colour from the reserve and place it on the sprout token.
Finally, if the bud is watered, turn the token over to reveal your flowering plant.

Growing a plant from seed to flowering plant requires spending 3 water tokens. (The diagram in the source shows the four stages.)

The flowering plants are protected: it is strictly forbidden to commit any bad action against a flowering plant (theft, exchange, action card, etc.). This is a rule of the Countess's tournament, printed in the "Plants" section.

VI Example of Play

Let us meet our six eccentric gardeners during the final rehearsals.

The Countess de Pomedamour rolls the die and gets 6. She spends 3 movement points to go from her greenhouse to the central square. She decides to draw Herbanology cards. Her talent is 2, so she draws two cards. She keeps the one she wants and returns the other under the Herbanology deck. She takes 3 water tokens by spending her last 3 movement points. Her turn ends.

Professor Nicodème Prenracine begins his turn by rolling 8. He leaves his greenhouse for the central square for 3 movement points. He draws 3 Bricanology cards, reads them carefully and returns 2 to the deck. He spends 2 movement points to fill his watering can with 2 water tokens.

He then returns to his greenhouse with his remaining 3 points. He waters 2 seeds (discarding his 2 water tokens) and therefore turns over his flower tokens. The seeds have produced a yellow sprout and a mouldy seed. He immediately discards the mouldy seed, creating an empty pot in his greenhouse!

The Marquise Xavière Sansunradis obtains 9 points but can move 10 squares thanks to her golden object "Four-Leaf Clover".

She leaves her greenhouse and, arriving on the central square, draws a Plantanology card which she adds to her hand. She then decides to go to the greenhouse of Baron d'Anléchoux, who is absent.

Once at the Baron's, she exchanges one of her weeds for a violet sprout, then also steals a white sprout. She has 1 movement point left to leave the greenhouse. Her turn over, she draws a duel card and by luck draws the card "Nothing Seen!".

Philipus Senpalarose ended his previous turn on the central square and therefore starts from there. He obtains 4 on the movement roll.

He already holds 2 Herbanology cards in his hand and decides to draw another card of this talent.

He uses 1 movement point and finds himself on the same square as Baron d'Anléchoux. He discards his 3 Herbanology cards and takes his opponent's collector's flower, which he immediately places in one of his empty golden vases.

His last 3 movement points are used to return to the central square and fill his watering can with 2 water tokens.

The Duchess d'Herbefolles is on the lawn of her greenhouse with 3 water tokens obtained on the previous turn. After her roll, her movement will be 4 points.

She goes into her greenhouse and waters a red sprout. A red bud token is placed on the sprout token. She then waters an orange bud and turns the token over to the flower side.

She ends her movement by going to the central square. She draws two Herbanology cards, one of which is a chance card. She sets it aside and draws a golden object card, then returns the second Herbanology card under its deck. The "Golden Gloves" are drawn and placed beside her gardener card, completely renewing the suspense of the game...

When one of the players has simultaneously nine flowering plants (not counting collector's flowers), the game ends. This is the moment when everyone may play their action cards that are usable at the end of the game.

Each plant grown to the flowering stage earns a certain number of points. The Countess awards them according to the rarity of the plants and also the floral composition of the greenhouses. Each player uses the table below to calculate their points. Note that collector's flowers are not counted in the calculation of compositions.

A. Compositions

5 flowering plants of identical colour earn a bonus of 4 points.
5 flowering plants of different colours earn a bonus of 4 points.
7 flowering plants of different colours earn a bonus of 6 points.
7 flowering plants of identical colours earn a bonus of 6 points.

B. Bonuses

A collector's flower earns 5 points.

C. Plant scoring table

The table gives, for each plant type, the number of tokens used at 3, 4, 5 and 6 players (see the pre-selection rule under I, The plant tokens), and the points each one earns. The Seed, Sprout, Bud and Flower columns of the source table are illustrated only with the token artwork for each stage, so they are not reproduced as text.

Plant	3 players	4 players	5 players	6 players	Points earned
Weed	1	2	3	4	-10 pts
Mouldy seed	2	3	4	5	–
Green plant	8	9	10	11	1 pt
Yellow plant	4	5	6	7	2 pts
Red plant

Translator's check: each player-count column totals nine tokens per player (3 players: 27; 4 players: 36; 5 players: 45; 6 players: 54).