The Japanese term "bonsai" means "planted in a pot".
A bonsai is a living work of art, a perfect miniature plant, identical in all respects to its full-size simile, but several times smaller.
In Bonsai, players take on the role of expert bonsai masters intent on growing their own bonsai.
Whoever grows the best plant will be appointed to show their Bonsai at the Imperial gardens.
On your turn, choose and perform one of these two actions: meditate or cultivate.
If you meditate, choose one of the face up cards on the board and take it, along with any Bonsai tiles represented below the card you draw.
If you cultivate, you can place in your Bonsai the tiles which are in your personal supply. You can place as many tiles as the total symbols depicted on your Seishi tile and any or all of your Growth cards. Each symbol will let you place one tile of the corresponding type.
During the turn in which your bonsai matches or exceeds the requirements of a Goal tile that is still in the middle of the table (i.e., the Goal tile has not been claimed yet by any player), you must immediately choose whether you want to claim that tile or if you want to renounce it in order to try to achieve a harder Goal tile.
When the last card from the deck is revealed, the game end is triggered. Each tile in your bonsai is worth a certain number of points.
In the solo game you can try the Additional Scenarios that change some rules and goals, and eventually try to beat the Emperor Challenge.
—description from the publisher
- extremely cozy and relaxing; great for a slow morning
- solo mode available; strong for personal play
- engaging enough to be a daily-ish comfort game
- may be slower at higher player counts; designed with a me-centric pace
- cozy cottage vibe; homey, relaxed atmosphere
- bonzai tree cultivation and display
- cozy, ambient
- Cottage games
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- market draft — select a card from a market and take the corresponding bonsai tokens
- tile placement / cultivation — place tiles on your bonsai tree to grow its leaves, flowers, and fruit for points
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- I freaking loved it
- the production is incredible for a card game
- cozy chill vibes
- you could teach us in five seconds
- it's so easy to learn and play
- I would pull this out at a convention and say, Let's play something quick
References (from this video)
- growth, competition, mastery of horticulture.
- High-stakes bonsai cultivation and exhibition scenario.
- market-driven, prestige- and craft-focused.
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- set_collection/placement — Inferred: cultivation and display involve tactical placement and growth; exact mechanics not stated.
- unknown — Transcript mentions Bonsai as a game about growing bonsai; specifics are not described.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- this weekend we're playing 16 games 16 games that are gonna be at gen con
- be a great way for you to get a look at some of the games releasing at Gen Con
- thank you to Folded Space for sponsoring the digital demos
References (from this video)
- Attractive cover art
- Interesting concept
- Bonsai mastery
- Thailand
- Cozy
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- I'm a board game Somalia which means I play a bunch of board games so I can tell you which one's the best
References (from this video)
- gorgeous art and tactile components
- very thematic, satisfying tree-building mechanic
- great for two players with shared pacing and tension
- rules can be nuanced; setup can be fiddly
- tokens and storage management adds cognitive load
- Artful bonsai cultivation with a zen-like design
- A bonsai garden, aiming to cultivate tiny trees into living works of art
- Tableau-building with growth and artful placement
- Earth
- Other small-tableau bonsai-style games
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- collection and scoring — collect leaves, flowers, bark, and fruit to maximize end-game points
- parchments and masters — masters provide special abilities; parchments add end-game scoring layers
- simultaneous drafting — layout and placement happen in a shared decision space similar to real bonsai layout
- tile placement and growth tracks — place tiles on a bonsai tree grid with adjacency and growth rules
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- In Sagrada Artisans we have this lovely book here that I'm not going to open yet
- this is our Cathedral board it looks like here
- it's a legacy game
- the two special actions are call the Yokai and distract the Yokai
- Perfect Wave looks beautiful this is a surfing theme done right
- you can play up to three cards next to one or more Yokai