Adventure, intrigue, and flowers! Botany is a strategy board game where you take on the role of a Victorian Era flower hunter as you explore the world to gather fortune and fame and be named the Royal Botanist. In Botany, each player takes on the role of a character whose abilities will shape the way they play the game. Will you focus on exploring the globe in search of the most valuable specimens? Will you make quick and efficient trips to gather reputation quickly and build your estate?
Each player begins the game with a set of randomized goals that they then use to plot their path to victory. When players set out from their estate, they have access only to the coins they can carry with them. They can use these coins to traverse the globe and gain crew members and items to improve their odds of surviving the unknown, enhance their abilities, and increase the efficiency with which they traverse the map. However, there is danger in spending too freely, and players must ensure they have enough wealth on hand to return to England with their specimens intact.
Turns in Botany are streamlined in order to minimize downtime and keep players engaged. Players will move around the map, build their character, and experience the story of their rise to fame, all with an eye for efficiency. Points are gained by improving the quality of your garden, retrieving live specimens from around the globe, and adding preserved flowers to your botanical press. The specimens that players hunt, the goals they focus on to achieve victory, and the events they experience create a unique feel across each game.
—description from the publisher
- Gorgeous production and art
- Strong thematic immersion
- Accessible to plant lovers and newcomers
- May feel light for some experienced gamers
- herbarium-style specimen collection and display
- World travel, Victorian-era plant collecting
- Array
- flavor-text driven, immersive
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area movement — Navigate the map to collect specimen cards for your collection.
- collection / display preservation — Preserve specimens in display cases to keep them alive and scored.
- flavor-driven events — Event flavor text enhances immersion in the Victorian botanical world.
- map movement / area access — Navigate the map to collect specimen cards for your collection.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- It's such a relaxing, cute, charming game for me.
- It's shorter than I expected when we first played it.
- Comboastic for sure.
- It's not super heavy. It would be great for weekday game night.
References (from this video)
- big table presence
- looks heavy but has straightforward rules
- visually impressive components
- botany and estate-building.
- Travel around the world collecting plant specimens to bring back to your estate.
- Array
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- gorgeous game where you are collecting different plant specimens.
- really cool acrylic resources.
- it's really approachable in what you're doing.
- you do get to have this full experience on the table and enjoy some upgraded bits.
- you have a cruise ship that you are trying to put your passengers on.
- the order in which the passengers come out and how you place them will change.
- approachable enough that you can teach it to people who don't have a ton of gaming experience
- they're going to get that full table experience.
- this game introduces deck building.
- you have this really cool like whirlpool that you actually get to spin
- it's really really cool
- deck building approachable
- This is the deluxe edition, so it is bigger because it has a whole bunch of expansions.
- it's very clear what it is, what it's worth, and the dishes that you are trying to make.
- there's so much happening that you feel like you got a full experience without feeling overwhelmed.
- you are traveling around the world and you are collecting different plant specimens to bring back to your estate.
- this is a big game that really spraws across the table, takes up a lot of room, but the rule set is very straightforward and approachable.
- the plant specimens are gorgeous.
References (from this video)
- great Victorian aesthetic
- embossed/foil details on the box
- floral/architecture-inspired botanicals
- Victorian floral aesthetic
- vintage-inspired framing
- Lafleur
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- deck/board aesthetics — box art emphasizes 3D embossed details and a Victorian vibe
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Spirits of the Forest. Absolutely gorgeous box cover. I am just obsessed.
- I can't stop staring at it.
- Mysterium's box cover is gorgeous.
- I love the box art for Portals—the circle and portal motif just draws you in.
- Flamecraft is just so, so pretty.
References (from this video)
- beautiful theme and art; great for group vibe
- engaging, with moments of decision despite downtime
- longer play at five players; setup can be finicky
- plant collection, greenhouse management, study, and income
- Victorian botanical expeditions; estate management
- lush, botanical elegance
- Wingspan
- Dixit
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — limited interaction; downtimes exist but are manageable
- area control / interaction — limited interaction; downtimes exist but are manageable
- hand management — draw and place plants; manage greenhouse and income
- Hand/board interaction — draw and place plants; manage greenhouse and income
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- This is like the Super Smash Brothers kind of. I know, I know.
- If you're a heavier gamer and you don't like, you know, people messing with your plans, you'll hate this.
- This was absolutely beautiful. I love how well it moved.
- The goddess made me do it.
- I would buy it.
- Moon Colony Bloodbath... engine destroying game, sick sense of humor
References (from this video)
- plant cultivation
- Botanical garden
- tableau/engine-building lite
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- we're going to make a board game Advent calendar
- randomly assign them to different envelopes without knowing what's in
- this would be super fun if anybody wanted to do it at home
- we will play all 24 of these games before Christmas
- join me for this fun little craft project
- we leave December 4th until the 10th so packs unplugged happens
References (from this video)
- Interesting specimen collection mechanism
- Strategic card placement
- Multiple ways to score points
- Interactive gameplay with sabotage options
- Complex turn structure
- Multiple rules to track
- Botanical specimen collection
- World exploration
- Botanists and plant hunters collecting specimens
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Card Collection — Collecting specimen and expedition cards
- Movement — Players move up to 3 spaces on a world map
- Resource management — Managing expedition funds and reputation
- set collection — Gathering specimens for estate garden
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- You need more plants in your home seriously
- The oxygen is great
- The Greenery brings some life to the room