Renegade Game Studios Arboretum Strategy Card Game that Challenges 2-4 Players Aged 8 & Up to Create the Most Beautiful Garden (packaging may vary)

Note: This is a review of the basic, non-deluxe version. I got the Deluxe version in the mail today to compare the two -- and while the deluxe isn't totally bad, I GREATLY prefer the non-deluxe version. The only advantage of the Deluxe version is the really nice wooden box. The problem is that the cards, with have rainbow foil in the deluxe version, are a lot darker than the cards in the base game, dulling the colors of the trees (the foil is not even on the trees -- it's on the background). At certain angles you get a weird rainbow effect. This is just really gaudy and distracting, to the point that it's' almost funny in a game about trees, and it's a total contrast with the base game art (and the old Zman edition). I've attached some deluxe edition pictures after the pictures I have posted of the regular edition.---Here is my review of the basic edition:Arboretum by Renegade studios is a reprint of the Zman original, with more vibrant and "rendered" artwork that contrasts significantly with the original game's "found-in-the-attic" look that had a bit more character. Some of the trees are different too (you now get a Blue Spruce, Cherry Blossom and Tulip Poplar, to replace the original's Lilac, creepy Olive, and Magnolia -- but the total number of cards/trees is the same as the original). I've attached several pictures to make it clear how the game looks, which is absolutely fantastic in person. The insert is fine, cards are high-quality BUT very glossy and NOT LINEN (unlike the zman original). Score-sheets are included.My rules explanation, with a helpful bit from the designer's post on BGG, is below. The bottom line is that this is a far more tense and strategic game than its theme would suggest. The basic idea is that each player is building a personal arboretum full of different trees, but players only receive points for their tree paths if they play tactically and arrange the trees properly.Imagine carefully laying out a beautiful, clever path of maple trees, only to be surprised, and maybe a bit frustrated, that someone else has been holding a maple that reduces all your hard work to zilch. (But you should have -- and could have -- seen it coming if you paid a bit more attention.) Regardless, at the end of the game, both winners and losers have gorgeous-looking card arboretums to look at. That's Arboretum!I believe the best player counts are 2-3, although the game supports up to 4. The only problem with 4 players is that it's a bit harder to track all the cards people are discarding and picking up from the discard piles, which can be critical to success for reasons explained below. (Note the designer has said you can look through the discard piles at will.) The game still works well at all player counts, though. Where I found games like Photosynthesis to feel wildly different depending on player counts (too much room to maneuver at 2, and too chaotic and cramped with 4), Arboretum feels tense and tight enough at all player counts.Mechanically, arboretum is simple to teach: Each player receives 7 cards, and each turn (including the first turn), each player takes turns doing the following:(1) DRAWING 2 cards (from the top of the draw deck, the top of any player's discard pile, or a mix of both). Then (2) PLACING one card in their personal arboretum-- on top of or horizontal with another card already there, if they have already placed one on an earlier turn. And then (3) DISCARDING ONE CARD from their hand into a personal discard pile that is always available for other players to review. This is consistently very agonizing -- you likely will not want to discard anything, since it could very well get picked up by your opponent and used to score a tree path or neutralize one of yours. Note there are no personal discard piles until after the first player creates one, so the first player must draw two cards from the draw deck.Of course, you are not simply placing the trees in the arboretum randomly. You want to create valid 'paths' of different tree types, so you can score them at the end of the game. To "score" a certain tree type [i.e., maple, dogwood, etc.] when the game has concluded, look at your arboretum and hopefully you have made valid "tree paths" of that tree type. A valid tree path BEGINS and ENDS with the same type of tree, and proceeds in ASCENDING numerical order, either vertically, horizontally, or a mix of both (left to right, or right to left!) as long as you can trace a path through your arboretum.Each tree in the path counts for 1 point. If, say, you have a 3 of Maple, a 5 of Dogwood, and a 6 of Maple in an uninterrupted path, you have a 3-point maple path. There are some bonuses: Each card counts for 2, instead of 1, if the path contains at least 4 cards and each card is the same tree color. You also get +1 if your path starts with a 1, and a +2 if your path ends with an 8.So, if your uninterrupted path is a one of Maple, a three of maple, a four of maple , and an eight of maple — you score 4 points for the number of cards, plus 4 more for having 4+ cards of the same type in the path, plus a 2 point bonus for the 8 and a 1 point bonus for the 1!Placing trees in your arborteum is just as tense as discarding cards. You want to be creating paths in ascending order, but not be so obvious about it that it telegraphs your intent to other player(s), who can try to beat you out to score that path. Note: only 6/9 tree types are used in a 2 player game.Here is the kicker !! --- A maximum of ONE single path of each tree type can be scored by each player, and paths are only "scored" by the player(s) who has the right to score the tree at the end of the game. You get the right to score a single path of a particular tree type if the sum value of the trees matching that type in your HAND (not your arboretum or discard) is higher than anyone else's, or equal to the highest player's sum. If there is a tie, all tied players can score their tree paths of that type. If i have a beautiful 6-card maple path in my arboretum and a 3 of Maples in my hand, I don't get anything for it if the other player has a 7 of maples in their hand at the end of the game!So, if at the end of the game scoring phase . I have the 7 of maple, and the next highest player only has a 5 of maple, I alone can score Maple tree type. However, if no one has any maple in their hand, we are all tied at zero, and each player can score his or her Maple path. Note that if you have an 8 in your hand, it will count as zero for these purposes if someone else has a 1 of that tree type in their hand.If you win a right to score a tree path but have no eligible paths, then you just do not score it.Therefore: it's very important to know if someone has discarded a "1" in particular of any suit you are trying to score, if you are hoping to use your 8 of that suit. Similarly, it's also important to track whether other players have used their "8," in determining whether you should hold onto your 1 to make sure they cannot use their 8 to score a particular tree path. Tracking cards is important! It's harder the more players you introduce. It is also very important not to place all your, say, maples in your arboretum if you want to score maples! You want to hold some back in your hand.Similar to the game Fox and the Forest, the scoring makes the game pop, and it's genuinely tense as you try to count cards to see if someone is holding a trump card that will invalidate your arboretum you've worked so hard to build.

Pros- Easy to learn.- Fast to setup and play (less than 30 minutes).- Replayable because of the competition among players, and the constant need to assess and adapt your strategy to whatever has the higher chance of scoring you points or lesser points for others.- Not multiplayer solitaire. You can draw from other's discard pile, you don't want others to draw from your discard pile, you can prevent others from scoring, and you don't want others to stop you from scoring. The competition among players makes everyone keeping an eye on everything done by everyone. If you don't pay attention to what others are doing, you might end up with 0 points :)- Turns aren't boring. You want to do all things, but you can't, and you always have to decide what's the best path (pun intended) to choose. You want to score and prevent your opponents from scoring, you want to take your chances on all card sets that you have but there is only a 7-hand limit, you need to discard 1 card from your hand every turn. All this makes each turn very interesting. But of course, as with any game, may lead to analysis paralysis.- The number "8" on the tree cards are very cleverly designed. If you play it, it could be +2 points. If you retain it in your hand, you have the highest-valued card for summing up the cards. But if you know or you think another person holds a "1", then that "8" will just be treated as "0". This mechanism is really interesting and leads to crunchy decisions.Neutral- This is a highly-interactive mean game, which is something I like, very different from games like Wingspan where you better just play it individually in your own houses without talking and the experience is the same. However, due to the meanness, it might not be for everyone. Imagine this, your opponent builds over something that could score them a lot of points, and they planned around that and executed that for the whole game, and they felt contented about it and happy. The problem? You hold in your hand the set of cards that will prevent them from scoring, bwahaha! Their whole game, for just 0 points :D My girlfriend didn't like it as she doesn't want her plans go to waste totally due to an action by an opponent. But for me, I like that.Cons- Especially in a 2-player game, it is either you or your opponent who will draw from the same deck of cards. So if the card is not in your hand, it's either still in the deck or already in your opponent's hand. There's no uncertainty compared to if playing with e.g. 3 players. The uncertainty in this game is nice because it will lead to interesting decisions to make as you assess the probabilities. But with just 2 players, there will be no hidden information. I hope there is some mechanism in this game to have that uncertainty in 2 player games.- Non-board gamers aren't patient. They want to see the meat of the game right away on the 1st game. Unfortunately for this game, you need at least 1 game to see how to play it. The strategy in this game is not obvious so during that 1st game, new players wouldn't know how to play the game and achieve the goal. In comparison to games like Azul or Jaipur where it's pretty obvious what their goal is from turn to turn, here it is a bit abstract at first.- Requires some table space.- The box is trash! It is so hard to get the game and also hard to put it back. It isn't the usual "open the lid" type of box but rather like the cereal boxes.

This game was on our list for quite a while and we are so glad we finally got it! I was worried it would basically be a repackage of a standard card game - it's not. It's unlike anything we've ever played. It's quite complex with a lot of decision making and the premise is fun. The cards are beautiful. We need to play it a few more times to get the hang of it, but I suspect it will become one of our favorites very soon! Another plus is it comes in a nice, compact box.

The box packaging the cards and instructions was a bit flimsy. I can already tell it’s going to need tape to keep together soon. The cards themselves aren’t made out of great card stock but it is okay. The artwork on the cards is really nice! Now on to game play. This is a thinky game There are a lot of things to keep in mind regarding win conditions. If you like card games and are one of those people who can keep numbers in your head and see patterns. This is a great game. Really, if you can’t do those things well but like a mental challenge this is a great game. For me the instructions were a bit confusing but I was able to get help by watching uTube videos. The game itself I give 5 stars and the packaging and cards 4 stars.

Arboretum is such a great game! It is simple, but challenging. Plays 2-4 players, but is more fun with 3-4. You are trying to make lines of sequential numbers and colors. The colors can go in and out, but you get bonuses if they are all the same color, more than 4 long, start with a 1, or end with an 8. But the key is, to score it, you have to have the highest score in your hand. It is easy to hold cards in your hand to not allow others to score, but must weigh out which to keep due to hand size. It is a great game and has great player involvement! It also beautiful artwork! Plays in about 30 mins depending on how fast people take their turns.