A FLAVORFUL DICE GAME
Everyone has a green thumb when playing Herbaceous Sprouts. Unwind while enjoying this beautiful and thoughtful game of collecting seeds, using tools, and growing sprouts in the community garden. Gather your seeds and tools from the shed, but don’t take too long or your friend might become the Head Gardener first.
OBJECTIVE
Become the Head Gardener by collecting herb and flower seeds and using your garden tools to plant in the community garden and scoring the most points. Each round, gardeners take turns collecting herb and flower seeds (represented by dice) which they place and save in their wheelbarrow, as well as tools (represented by cards) which they use to plant sprouts. Players can plant quickly for low point spots, or push their luck saving their seeds for premier spots in the garden.
GAMEPLAY
Herbaceous Sprouts is played over a series of rounds, each with a different Lead Gardener. When the last Tool Cards are used, the game ends the final score is tallied.
Each round has three phases:
Phase 1: Preparing the Tool Shed
Phase 2: Picking and Planting Seeds
Phase 3: Clean Up
PHASE 1: Preparing the Tool Shed
This phase is performed by the Lead Gardener of the current round. They set up the Tool Cards and Seed Dice for the round.
PHASE 2: Picking and Planting Seeds
In this phase, all players take turns picking resources from the shed and planting in the community garden. Starting with the Lead Gardener and moving clockwise, each player takes a turn.
Each player performs the following steps, in this order:
A. Take a Tool Card & Seed Dice from the Tool Shed
B. Add Seeds to the Wheelbarrow
C. Perform Special Actions
D. Plant Herb and Flower Seeds
PHASE 3: Clean Up
Players set up for the next round, or proceed to End Game scoring.
—description from the publisher
Herbaceous Sprouts - How To Play
How to Solo: Herbaceous Sprouts
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- the challenge i think it was really fun
- i would definitely recommend uh trying it out
- it was a blast
- it's easier than i thought it would be but once you get stuck on a set it's so hard to branch out
- i'm so nervous i have to unlock my phone
- not very good
- tag us if you do it because we'd love to see how you folks do
References (from this video)
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- i wanted to take a break from kickstarter not because i had any problem with kickstarter per se though there has been drama around with their web 3 and blockchain stuff just for another video but um because i didn't have clarity or confidence in manufacturing shipping timing expense costs and i didn't want to do a kickstarter being a commitment that i felt like i was obligated to meet which you should be but that we wouldn't be able to do it
- i was sitting on a deluge of unpublished ready to go stuff
- you know we took a a large gamble
- the upfront cost of producing for of of developing this is limited
- ultimately i felt like well this is our opportunity to draw people to our web store
- this is like pre-order and then within six weeks you're gonna get your game and then we'll release it to retail and that's really exciting it's just exciting to have somebody buy something they're they are interested and get it somewhat soon as opposed to kickstarter where you can wait a year
- really the whether or not this risk was worth it and and and all things consider is going to come down to how delicious done
- seven thousand though is incomparable to what we've been doing in these titles in that typically from the kickstarter you'll sell about fifteen hundred to two thousand
- it's going to come down to a market response
- you know if if if you don't want to pay shipping you just some sort of water isn't going to be an option internationally because it's not going to be in retail
- cool experiment don't want to do it again
References (from this video)
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- that game is very fun even if you have no idea what the answer is
- it is a gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous game
- there's a lot of instant gratification in this game which I loved because every single turn you would score points
- it gives you a sense of a bit more freedom in the decisions you make
- I think the expansion makes the game better
- this game is absolutely beautiful you can tell right by looking just at the cover
- single action on your turn makes it very very smooth and very very quick paced
- I'm in awe this is probably one of the most gorgeous games I think I've seen
- watching the gameplay and having the game explain to me I'm like I really need to play this
- Starship captains just looks incredible
- and the cube Tower in that game oh my God that's incorporated into the box wonderful
- the folks from AEG and flato just high energy really great at just making that an experience
- Rolling dice it's just like hilarious
- just like no one remembers who wins it's always just the experience of it
- the game is just so wonderful too
References (from this video)
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
References (from this video)
- easy to learn
- family-friendly
- flavorful illustrations
- Gardening, family-friendly flavor
- Community garden where players plant herbs and flowers
- Flavorful and relaxed garden-themed play
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- dice manipulation — Gorgeous seed dice and two cards dice manipulation
- round-based planting — Collect seeds, acquire tools, and plant sprouts to score points
- Set Collection — Horatius set collection
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Netta Tonka is a competitive strategy game with clever twists of worker placement
- it looks pretty stunning
- each player takes on a unique role with dramatically different abilities and goals
- there is dozens of player configurations and modular boards and scenarios
- you can play as the murderer skeletons the dreaded spider the bewitching enchanter or the manor itself
- you are a lord in the court of King Henry the eighth collecting diplomatic resources to maneuver your courtiers in the throne room and gather prestige
- you need to be careful though because your positions and rings can be stolen by other players
- Block is one irresistible game about resistance and social interaction inspired by real events around the world
References (from this video)
- Beautiful presentation and accessible entry point
- Adds depth to the herb-themed family of games without losing the charm
- Good house-style weight for a family filler
- Longer and more component-heavy than the original Herbaceous card game
- Might feel too heavy for players seeking pure quick-fillers
- gardening, herbs, and light resource management
- Herb garden and herb harvesting theme
- relaxed, gateway-style filler with a focus on pace and interactions
- Herbaceous
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- dice-based actions and dice placement — Dice arrive and are rolled; players claim dice to activate card-driven actions.
- hand management and push-your-luck — Turn-by-turn choices about when to cash in dice vs. saving for stronger combos.
- set collection / herb matching — Players aim to collect specific herbs in combinations for points.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- "Fuji is a cooperative game that gets you cooperating and that can't be said for all cooperative games."
- "there's a lot of clever play and coordination and that really is the best thing about Fuji."
- "it's lean and it just comes down to that interaction"
- "this is a nice, small-box escape room experience with no app required"
- "it's a party game where you create freestyle rap based on three rhyming words"
References (from this video)
- Accessible and family-friendly
- Beautiful components and theme
- Good for quick demos
- May be light for heavier euro gamers
- herbal garden design and planning
- garden herbs and plant cultivation
- tile/hand-management
- Liftoff
- Delicious
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- hand-management — manage a hand of cards to optimize scoring opportunities.
- Set Collection — collect herbs to fulfill scoring criteria and build combinations.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Pax is the most well-run convention that I go to
- marketing is a huge piece of the success of these companies and it's not easy
- it's a three-day marketing footprint
- I think those intangibles are super valuable
- selling out of something at a convention actually has some positive optics
- intangible benefits are super valuable, and the tangible side matters too
References (from this video)
- Lightweight and peaceful to play, ideal for quick sessions or as a palate cleanser between heavier games
- Beautiful, thematic art and an approachable garden aesthetic that shines in solo mode
- Smooth AI mechanics that give a satisfying challenge without becoming punishing
- Clear, approachable rules with a nice flow between drafting, positioning, and planting
- Flexible strategic options thanks to tool cards, rerolls, and face-transforming abilities
- Dice luck can swing outcomes, which may irritate players who prefer tighter deterministic systems
- AI can sometimes grab high-scoring spots, which can feel a little unfair or frustrating in tight games
- Single-player scoring chart exists to contextualize performance, but some players may still crave a more granular solo-rank system
- Gardening, herb cultivation, set-collection and dice drafting in a lightweight, charming garden contest
- A garden world where players compete to grow the most valuable herb plots and flowers across themed garden sections
- Solo-first narration featuring a Master Gardener vs an AI Rival Gardener with a cooperative lore thread in the same world as the card game For Basis
- For Basis (card game)
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Action Timer — The tool deck acts as a timer: when the deck runs out, the game ends, creating a natural pacing mechanic and a hard end condition for solo play.
- AI drafting and competition — An AI rival drafts cards and places sprouts in the garden, providing a consistent, competitive pressure that mimics a two-player experience in solo mode.
- Dice Drafting — Players draft and manipulate dice from their pool or from the random bag to form valid plantings and scoring configurations, balancing immediate placement against future potential.
- end-of-round/round-based timer — The tool deck acts as a timer: when the deck runs out, the game ends, creating a natural pacing mechanic and a hard end condition for solo play.
- flower planting with constraints — Planting flowers requires specific tools (e.g., a trowel) and spatial constraints in the garden; certain flowers unlock point opportunities or space efficiency.
- lemonade incentive card — A lemonade card provides an extra two points to the first player to place a sprout in every section of the garden, creating a dynamic early-game race.
- Resource conversion and wilds — Special die faces and items (e.g., bay leaves and packages) can be converted or used as wilds to morph dice into desired faces or to unlock new planting options.
- set collection and placement scoring — Points are awarded based on completing specific dice-face sets (all the same face vs all different faces) and the value of garden spaces, with first-to-claim spots often yielding bonus points.
- tool cards with powers — Each turn, players draft tool cards that grant powers such as rerolling dice, transforming a die face, or other special actions that influence future rolls and placement.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's a very light very quick very chill
- the AI runs really smooth it's a very peaceful play
- it's a fun little game