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Description
Garden Dice is a family strategy game that combines dice rolling, tile laying, and set collection. The game board depicts a garden as a 6x6 grid in which seed and vegetable tiles are placed using dice rolls as coordinates. Players take turns using the dice to plant, water, and harvest five different types of vegetables with differing point values, from the lowly squash to the mighty eggplant.
The game's chaining mechanism allows players to water or harvest multiple tiles using a single action, enabling players to build upon each others' chains. Players can also use bird and rabbit tiles to eat other players' seed and veggie tiles, but not without paying a small penalty. Two other special tiles – the sundial and the scarecrow – allow players to modify dice rolls or protect their own tiles.
The Gnome expansion included in Garden Dice can be added to the base game to give players the ability to adjust the dice rolls for purchasing, watering, and harvesting their vegetables, leading to a more strategic experience.
Bonuses increase the values of tiles as they are harvested, and additional points are awarded at the end of the game for collecting sets. The player with the most points when the last tile is taken wins.
Year Published
2012
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Transcript Analysis
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 3
This page: 3
Sentiment:
pos 2 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–3 of 3
Video vF4chsK19Io
Board Gaming Doctor general_discussion at 0:00 sentiment: positive
video_pk 36704 · mention_pk 110202
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- introduces a unique tile-chaining mechanic that allows multiple tiles to be played in a turn
- cozy Rosenberg-style theme with a puzzly, relaxing feel
- compact, small-box design reminiscent of Patchwork lineage
- potential for varied play through open drafting and grid strategies
Cons
- risk of fatigue or fatigue with tile-placement mechanics if overused in the market
- uncertainty about release path (retail vs. Kickstarter) and distribution
- described as more closed than Nova Luna or Framework (less open-ended), which may deter some players
Thematic elements
- garden design and landscape construction with relaxing puzzle vibes
- Garden-themed tile-placement on a square grid centering on building and connecting Garden Lakes
- abstract/puzzle with cozy, thematic framing
Comparison games
- Patchwork
- Nova Luna
- Framework / Applejack
- Tangram City
- New York Zoo
- Seven Wonders Duel
- Clicket Tre
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- closed drafting — draft and place tiles in an open drafting style to optimize grid coverage
- Compound Scoring — complete objectives to trigger scoring and progress toward victory
- grid-based tile placement — players place pentomino tiles on a square grid to cover areas and complete objectives
- Objective-based scoring — complete objectives to trigger scoring and progress toward victory
- open drafting — draft and place tiles in an open drafting style to optimize grid coverage
- Polyomino — tiles shaped as pentomino pieces used to cover the grid and form patterns
- polyomino/pentomino tiles — tiles shaped as pentomino pieces used to cover the grid and form patterns
- tile chaining — placing a tile can enable chain moves or multiple tiles in a single turn
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Garden Lake offers a relaxing rewarding experience building Garden Lakes with pentomino tiles
- This is like a tile placement game a small box version of a game rather from Rosenberg rather than like a black forest or bigger box game
- I'm excited to see how Garden Lake fares and how well it stands apart from its predecessors
- I do find the uniqueness in each of those games typically they have very cozy themes as well to go along with the puzzling nature that they provide
- if this is going to go straight to retail or if it's going to go through Kickstarter
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video g9cI1G81rUE
Unknown Channel game_review at 0:07
video_pk 35790 · mention_pk 107043
Click to watch at 0:07 · YouTube ↗
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Array
- Array
- Abstract tile placement with pattern formation via double-sided tiles
- Array
- Garden pond environment with koi and lily pads; tile-laying during garden-building
- Array
- Array
- Array
- mixed
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Garden Lake is a new tile laying game from Uwe Rosenberg.
- These tiles are hard.
- Do not expect to fill your whole board in.
- It's a 6 out of 10 for me.
- I thought this was just okay.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 3ZotVhMZ3Ag
The Secret Cabal top_5_list at 13:48 sentiment: positive
video_pk 11599 · mention_pk 34082
Click to watch at 13:48 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Excellent family-friendly design and teachability
- Stellar production quality
- Cascade mechanic adds interaction and strategy
- Strong value in print quality and component feel
Cons
- Currently out of print / high secondary market price
- Reprint would help accessibility
Thematic elements
- Casual farm/garden management with cascading watering mechanics
- Garden planning and cultivation
- Family-weight, accessible engine with a cascading interaction
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Cascade watering — Watering one plant can cascade to others, affecting both players' gardens.
- Dice drafting / rolling — Players roll four dice to take actions each turn.
- End-game scoring via vegetables — Harvested produce determines final scores.
- spatial placement — Board layout and placement influence watering and scoring opportunities.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I gotta say I was so surprised how much I loved it
- this game is just so much fun because there's a ton of coordination in this game
- it's a cooperative game that takes place on a space station
- I highly recommend checking it out
- this game is criminal, it's criminal how this game is named
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–3 of 3