Blue Orange Games Photosynthesis Board Game - Award Winning Family or Adult Strategy Board Game for 2 to 4 Players. Recommended for Ages 8 & Up.

So after sitting in my closet for 3 months waiting for my wife to pull this out as a father's day gift, I was finally able to play what I call "Happy Little Tree Chess, inspired by Bob Ross." You need to understand going in, I grew up in a Redwood forest and to this day LOVE trees. I am not exactly an objective observer, but rather a passionate gamer and forest lover. So with that caveat, what's the consensus? Much like its titular chemical reaction, Photosynthesis is an complex, brilliant game. If I had to classify Photosynthesis, I would describe it as an action based, economy driven, area control game. Photosynthesis is all about planting seeds, growing trees, having those trees topple down to give you points, and starting all over again, all while fighting for the limited sunlight of the forest. The rules of Photosynthesis are actually simple. At its core, there is a organic component and a economy game mechanic. First, the organic side of things follows a nice pattern. Seeds are 1, trees are 1-2-3, then four to score. To break down what that means: To plant a seed, it always costs one light point. Next, the trees follow a simple 1-2-3//S-M-L breakdown; light points earned, shadows cast, seed-spread range, and cost are all 1-2-3, based on tree size. If you want to score, its 4 light points. Second, there is the economy game mechanic side of things. For obviously mechanical purposes, you need to purchase trees and seeds off your board, place them into your "available area," and THEN and only then can you use them in the organic process of planting and growing. It's the only un-thematic thing of the whole game, but the necessity is obvious to balance the game against the first player simply running board. Each turn, these two core components are carried out via actions. At the start of a turn, players collect light points from their trees. This is affected by shadows, which move based on the sun's position (it moves each turn). Players then use those points to take actions: grow, plant, harvest (organic), or purchase (economy). Because it's based on nature, I found the rules very easy to pick up; just do what a tree would do, and you'll be fine. It's all relatively simple. Until your eight year old daughter throws a seed over your tree, blocks the sun two turns later, slows your plans down, then your realize you can slow HER down by growing a taller tree, only to have your wife harvest a tree and allow sunlight in where you didn't expect it, which lets the brat-child make a bigger tree ahead of you, and you have to write the whole plot of land off to focus on another part of the forest. Let me tell you, the strategy to this game is NOT simple. This is area control at its finest. Your choices at any particular area hurt your opponents, probably will hurt you, might help you if you didn't hurt yourself too badly, and affect other areas as well. It's brilliant. The potential to harm yourself is especially brilliant. That said, there is an obvious mechanic problem with Photosynthesis that needs to be addressed. This is abstract strategy at its finest, which means of course that you will have analysis paralysis at its slowest. [Example: I just spent 5 minutes contemplating how the payoff from reaching the middle space may be mitigated entirely by the shadow effects that hit your own trees.] In paralysis situations, I find that theme makes or breaks the game for a group. For me, I can stare at trees and plot my forest (pun entirely intended). You may not enjoy that nearly as much. In fact, I doubt my wife will play this a ton with me because she likes high-interaction games. Be forewarned! I don't want to end on a grumpy note, so before I sign off for this review, let me also say that the storage is atrocious. The trees fit in the assigned areas, but not well. You are stacking them, and they are so stinking pretty (see below) that I have concerns about that. On top of that, the player boards and the game mat are smaller than their assigned area, so things constantly shake around in the box. My solution: use another box. Bottom line is that you can make it work, but you'll probably be happier with your own concoction. As a final note, the art to this game needs as much recognition as I can give it. The coloring is phenomenal. There are small birds and foxes on most of the trees. The deciduous trees get the green, orange and yellow, with the conifer having a nice blue hue that rings of northern snows. Each tree type has unique art for its seed. Most importantly, all the trees are 3D. This game is an absolute joy to look at. I will try to bring this out as often as possible on cold wintery days. In Photosynthesis, the forest truly comes to life. May the best forester win....

We played a new game! Photosynthesis Created by Hjalmar Hach Beautifully illustrated by Sabrina Miramon Distributed by @blueorangegames . 🌳 . In the game, Photosynthesis, you are The God Father of your mafia tree family. You control tree growth and seed planting! You tell your trees who to block out, and when to spend light points, where to the expand your territory, who to retire to get the most points possible! As the head of the esteemed Pine tree family, the Maple family is your biggest enemy, and the Shady Oaks are creeping in on your territory, so you gotta put them back in their place as well!! . 🌳 . This is one way to describe Photosynthesis to boardgame normies. Because apparently they won't understand why you are so excited to play your new board game about being trees! But they just need a little learning. . 🌲 . This is not a boring, travel around the board and pay rent game, because life already sucks with rent and endless cycles, Monopoly! Let's just be Trees for a bit! . 🌲 . I don't stay on top of board game award shows, but if I were a critic this game would get my acclaim! Growing trees in a forest is a fresh take on resource management games! And I love resource management games! This one is a new favorite! The resources are simple, light, and space; yet, the strategy is complex enough to be interesting! The recommended age group for this game is 8 and up, and I would agree! This game is simple enough to be understandable and enjoyed by most eight year olds, but the strategy is in depth enough that your going to want to play it even without the kids! . 🌳 . So if you are looking for a new game, and you should be... don't hesitate to pick up this fantastic game from Blue Orange! #analogvideogames

This game may seem cute and simple at first, but it is much deeper than many other strategy games I played. If you love these types of games but feel a little thrown off by the theme, do yourself a favor and give this a chance. The player interaction is never lacking, as either you want it or not, after the "opening" stage of the game, on each of your turns the choice you made is going to affect another player (in a bad) one way or the other. The design and the gameplay are so elegant, and the price I bought it at was simply ridiculous (a little over 20$), which makes this game one of my best buys ever. Unfortunately, in my case, it doesn't see the table too often as you need people that love deep strategic thinking in order to really enjoy this at its full potential, and those type of people in my circle don't really feel attracted by the theme. But if you know at least other 2 people (because I think this game is really enjoyable only with at least 3 players) that love strategy AND trees, then I envy you greatly.

Photosynthesis is a lovely abstract strategy game, it has beautiful art, thematic gameplay, a simple but deep strategy, and is overall a joy to play and place on the table. I found this game over a year ago at a gaming convention and from the very first was drawn in by the way it presented itself on the table. It is easily one of the most eye catching games in my collection - however it is also a family friendly strategic adventure that is easy and rewarding to bring to the table. I would highly recommend Photosynthesis to anyone in the board gaming community, I would easily recommend it as a stepping stone to those moving from other classic games like Azul, Catan, or even the dreaded monopoly. Best at 3+ players Age range 10+ Complexity 2.5 out of 5 Average playtime 45-60 Non-gamer friendly - Yes! The Good Components / art - From the images and videos attached to this post it is clear that Photosynthesis is one of the most beautiful games on the market currently. From an easily readable board and tiles to the obvious stand out, the trees, each unique and aesthetically thrilling as the forest begins to populate the board. This game is well made. The gameplay - Photosynthesis is an abstract strategy / economic / action point board game. The gameplay and flow revolves around collecting sun and then spending the sun resource to spread and grow trees until they are harvested (chopped down or returned to the forest floor). The gameplay is rewarding, has a clear strategy, and has a complexity and depth to it that rewards future playthroughs and lots of thought. Strategy - is clear and simple enough to begin playing quickly - while providing a depth that rewards thought and future games (or the advanced rules) Story - the theme, art, and gameplay all feed into a rich storytelling experience. You watch the sun flow around the board, shadows cast on smaller trees, seedlings drop and spread, sun enriching and growing a colorful quilt of species. This game lends itself well to the imagination (if, like me, you want to see a story while you play) Non-gamer friendly - this game is clear, well laid out, has one major resource system, 4 major action systems, and 2 environmental mechanics - it is easy to understand, quick to learn, and fun to jump into. The Bad Strategy - this game does have a depth of strategy to it so one well read and experienced gamer could ruin the fun by playing to win despite the group's experience or ability. Resource management - this game is focused on collecting and spending a scarce resource (light) all of your actions and points collected will be based around this model of play. If you do not enjoy resource management heavy games this is not the game for you. Play time - this game can run long, with new players or advanced rules it would be fair to expect this game to run 60+ I know the winner - because the game limits your actions to one per tile per round there comes a point in most games where you can do the math and see the winner down the road. You might try to make good moves and carry the game forward, but everyone can tell that uncle Joe has two trees left to harvest in the last round and ours will just be saplings. This results in the last for rounds of some games feeling very - anti-climatic. Logging theme? One big problem with the game is that the theme goes off a clif when you harvest a tree for points - it feels like you are chopping down a tree you just nurtured and watched grow. I know the theme is more about the tree growing old and returning to nature - but someone will make a comment - and the logging feeling comes through loud and clear. Two Player? This game is not as good with two players - 3-4 is where it shines. The Game You start as two small trees on the edge of the board with the ability to absorb sunlight, grow, spread seeds, and retire. The main gameplay of photosynthesis focuses on the collection and use of resources (sunlight) and is divided into two main phases. Collect Phase - Photosynthesis is the process by which green plants syntheses foods from the environment around (carbon dioxide, water, sunlight) - this phase in the game acts in a simplified but similar way. The sun (a cardboard border on the game) rotates around the end of the playing field and provides sunlight to the growing trees. The players then gain resources for any trees that are not in the shadows of other trees. Action Phase - During this growth phase the players use the sunlight resources they have gathered to take a variety of actions. Buying - you can purchase trees and seeds from you resource pool to your storage making them usable items in the game. Planting - You can plant a seed from your resource pool to the board spreading them based on the tree they are coming from (one space for a small tree, two for medium, three for large) Growing - Grow a tree or a seed to the next level. If you have a larger tree in your resource pool you can grow a seed, small, or medium tree allowing it to collect more light and spread seeds further. Collecting - Once a tree is large it’s life cycle ends and you gain points from returning to nature (removing it from the board) you then collect a scoring token from the space the tree was resting in. Flow - Players can do as many actions as they would like (have the resources for) but they can only do one action per space (per tree or seed). The sun rotates around the board and once it has circled three times 18 movements the game is over. Points - points are scored by retiring trees and then collecting sun that you have in storage at the end of the game (max 20) Final Thoughts - 3.5-4 out of 5 Photosynthesis is a beautiful and rewarding game to bring to the table, it is visually captivating, easy to learn and play, accessible to new gamers and fairly quick. I would recommend this game to anyone who likes resource management games, enjoys the theme, and has a new or young gaming group. There are problems with the game however, at times the ending rounds can be predetermined and anticlimactic, the theme is not always enforced by the gameplay, and the game can become unbalanced if one member of the group has played or gamed the strategy. At the end of the pond however - Photosynthesis is a game worth picking up and if you have made it through this article you already know that! Thank for reading ~ Give me a Helpful mark if you enjoyed it! 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Photosynthesis has amazing table presence. It’s one of those games that instantly draws people in just by how beautiful it looks. Once you’ve assembled the trees, setup is minimal and smooth. Components: Stunning visuals and high-quality pieces. The 3D trees make it feel alive, and the rotating sun is such a clever touch. The artwork for each season is vibrant and each board has its own animal. Set up time: Quick once the trees are built. Everything fits together cleanly. Ease of teaching: Simple to explain, but the strategy unfolds slowly. The rules make perfect thematic sense — shade, light, growth — everything connects naturally. What I find great: It’s elegant, balanced, and never overstays its welcome. Every game feels tight and satisfying. Still one of my favorite games of all time, and I’ll never say no to playing it. It has good replayability. I've owned this game since it was released. What I like less: I just wish there were a solo mode. I go on Boardgame Arena to play with others, but it is not the same.

Its art work and strategy are well done. Some of the trees are a bit fragile and fall apart (especially the blue pine set), but they are easily put back together and not damaged, so that doesn't lose a star in my rating. Perhaps it wouldn't be good even for older kids if they are rough on games, but my wife and I are careful and we love it. My wife and I first played the two-player game and enjoyed it so much that we had to play again simulating four persons (each of us taking two sets of trees). That was much more satisfying, as it's fun to see all the different types of trees on the board at once. There is also an option to take the sun around the board four times rather than three, and I recommend doing so, especially at the beginning, because it seems like there isn't enough "time" to grow very many trees to maturity in only three revolutions. The strategy aspect itself is moderately challenging, and playing our four-player simulation helped me figure out a bit what strategy works best (growing your trees quickly seems more advantageous than planting too many trees early--sort of like a real life farm, you want a cycle). Outside of selecting the player who goes first, there is no chance involved (such as dice or card draws), so the smarter competitor will probably almost always win, though cunning and a willingness to aggressively interfere with your opponent's plan will also help. The more players you have, the more chaotic and unpredictable (i.e. fun) it will be. I consider this game worth the price, I'd definitely buy it again, and we don't splurge on high-quality games like this very often. If I had one recommendation to the creators, it would be to find a way to handicap a smarter player (especially if the game is played between adults and kids, or experienced players and novices).

There’s a surprising amount of strategy packed into this beautiful looking game! In Photosynthesis, you plant seeds, harvest light with photosynthesis, and grow trees through their life cycle. Your trees earn light points through photosynthesis depending on how big they are and whether they are shadowed or not. You then spend light points to upgrade trees. There’s an interesting game mechanic that keeps the sun moving to 6 position around the board, meaning that how “well” your trees are positioned for scoring is constantly changing. Luckily, the theme doesn’t overshadow or interfere with the pure strategy of the game design. There seems to be a lot of possible deep strategy in this one that we haven’t started to tap into yet, but game play is simple enough to get started and enjoy playing the first time. I wouldn’t be worried about teaching this to a non-gamer because there aren’t that many actions or choices each time so it’s not overwhelming and feels very accessible. Despite the in-depth strategy possible, I still think it’s one that we’ll be able to teach our 7 year old (who plays lots of light to mid-weight Eurogames) to play from a game play standpoint as the basic game play isn’t complicated. Overall, I would definitely recommend Photosynthesis and think it’ll be getting a lot of game play around our house!

I love this game. Completely different than most games. Strategic and a joy to play. Great components. I would recommend watching a YouTube video called “Watch it Played.” A fairly easy game to learn, if you are used to plying euro-type games. Similar concepts with some twists. I love how the sun rotates to give different “shadows” on trees. You can plant your seed in a area by your tree, distance determined by the size of your tree. The larger your tree the further the seed can travel. Then you use sun points to buy larger trees and eventually harvest your large tree for victory points. The twist is you have to buy things from you player mat and put it in a staging area beside your board before you place it on the large game board. Once you harvest your tree that space becomes available for others. It’s an awesome game. I’ve only played the 2-person variant. I was way ahead dominating the board until my trees got blocked by my opponent. I wasn’t able to get any sun points which are needed to buy things. He pulled ahead at the last move winning the game. Great value for the money.

A great game for new and experienced board gamers alike. Slightly hypnotic and addictive, definitely unique.

Admittedly, the name of this board game makes you not want to play it, but I'm so glad I listened to the positive reviews and did. The artwork in photosynthesis is beautiful and the gameplay is simple and fun. The gameplay and strategy with each number of players (2, 3, and 4) is different. It's a new game with each number of players. If you are into strategy games, this boardgame will make a nice addition to your collection.

I love the concept of this game. All of the little trees set up look so cute and the choice of colours and artwork is beautiful. A fun game with a few little nuances to keep track of, but you quickly get the hang of it after a couple of play throughs.

Photosyntesis consiste en hacer crecer árboles en el bosque y una vez que "mueren" obtenemos puntos, un poco cruel la última parte pero es el ciclo de la vida jeje. Los puntos se obtienen dependiendo de la zona donde se ubicaba el árbol (hay cuatro zonas) y el primer jugador en lograrlo consigue más puntos, el segundo obtiene una ficha con un valor menor y así sucesivamente. De esta forma los árboles que tenemos si un jugador obtuvo 12 puntos en determinada zona, el siguiente jugador podrá obtener una ficha por un máximo de 11 puntos, lo cual motiva a los jugadores a procurar ser los primeros. El material de los árboles así como los demás componentes del juego es cartón, ligeramente grueso, de buena calidad. Sin embargo por no ser exactos en ocasiones puede que se separen las dos piezas que forman cada árbol. Aunque es no es ningún problema ya que solamente se colocan de nuevo como deben ir. El único inconveniente que le veo es que a pesar que el juego se puede guardar en su totalidad armado dentro de la caja y con los árboles sin desarmar, si resulta un poco engorroso el acomodar los árboles dentro de la caja. Fuera de ahí el juego es excelente. En cuanto a las reglas y el como jugar, es sencillo, además que cada jugador posee un tablero donde se indican costos y acciones. Sólo tiene que quedar claro que en tu turno puedes llevar a cabo una acción por ubicación (el tablero es un conjunto de círculos que forman un hexágono). En otras palabras: el árbol dentro de un círculo puede crecer o tirar semilla, pero no puede hacer ambas en el mismo turno (aunque se cuente con "dinero", o sea clorofila, suficiente para hacer eso o más). De la misma manera, cuando se tira la semilla, ésta no puede crecer en el mismo turno porque la acción del círculo fue "recibir la semilla". Cuidado con sus propias sombras, diviértanse :)

アブストラクトゲームであり、世界観が美しいです。 生まれ、育ち、枯れるまでと流れを楽しみながらバチバチと殴りあうゲームを楽しめます。 途中、盤面が良い感じになりますので、インスタ映え等も狙えます。笑 シンプルなゲーム性にして他プレイヤーへの影響も大きいゲームとなりますので、仲良いメンツで回すのが一番かもしれません。