/pic4775121.jpg)
Game Info
Year
2019
Players
2-4
Age
14+
Playtime
45 min
Collection
Your Tier
Loading…
Mechanic profile
Not enough video data yet
Vibe profile
Not enough video data yet
Description
From the award-winning designer Bruno Cathala, Ishtar is a game in which you play the role of a gardener aiming to transform the dry desert into the Lost Hanging Gardens of Babylon. To accomplish your mission, you will have to plant flowers, which, if you place them well, can help you gather precious gems and activate actions. Whether to buy Trees (which will block the link between two Flower spots, as well as earning you points) or to purchase upgrades (such as getting two more points per Tree card at the end of the game), collecting gems will be a crucial part of the game. Get them before your opponents, recruit apprentices, send them to earn points in the copses of flowers you have created, block others and think carefully of the upgrades to purchase if you want to become the best gardener at the end of the game!
—description from the publisher
Featured Videos
Ask a Rules Question
All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 8
This page: 8
Sentiment:
pos 5 ·
mix 1 ·
neu 1 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–8 of 8
Video VmJu1FOZioA
Meeple University Review at 0:41 sentiment: neutral
video_pk 91479 · mention_pk 245478
Click to watch at 0:41 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
neutral
Pros
- Clear core mechanic in tactical tile placement with multi-objective scoring
- Reasonable playtime around 45 minutes
- Engaging spatial puzzle with blocking and optimization elements
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- crafting the most beautiful gardens with scarce water
- deserts around Babylon
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Assistants and flower beds control — Placing an assistant allows control of a flower bed; assistants determine scoring at end and expansion of beds.
- Compound Scoring — Points come from flowers, tree cards, top-row skill bonuses, leftover gems/assistants, flower bed placement, and fountain control.
- Rondel — On each turn, players choose one vegetation tile from a common rondel; taking the next tile clockwise is free, or move further by paying one gem per tile skipped.
- round end and game end — When at least two of the tile stacks are empty, the round ends and the game ends.
- scoring structure — Points come from flowers, tree cards, top-row skill bonuses, leftover gems/assistants, flower bed placement, and fountain control.
- Skill icon and gem economy — Placing a skill icon lets you spend two gems to unlock a skill; bottom row grants a one-off bonus action, top row unlocks a scoring objective.
- Tile Placement — New vegetation tile must connect to exactly one fountain, directly or through other vegetation tiles, and cannot connect two separate gardens.
- Tile placement with fountain linkage — New vegetation tile must connect to exactly one fountain, directly or through other vegetation tiles, and cannot connect two separate gardens.
- Tree cards and tree tokens — Gems can be spent to take tree cards, then place a tree token for each card taken.
- Vegetation tile rondel drafting — On each turn, players choose one vegetation tile from a common rondel; taking the next tile clockwise is free, or move further by paying one gem per tile skipped.
- Wild icon actions — Wild icon can be used to place an assistant or unlock a skill regardless of round icons.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- This is Ishtar: Gardens of Babylon.
- Released in 2019, Ishtar: Gardens of Babylon is a competitive tile placement game in which players tactically craft the most beautiful gardens they can in the deserts around Babylon.
- Tactical tile placement is the critical element of this game.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video LGIr0WSdxaA
Game Night Picks - Pair Of Dice Paradise Top List at 10:47 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 91374 · mention_pk 245212
Click to watch at 10:47 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
- Transform desert into Hanging Gardens
- Strategic decisions on resources
- Focus on creating beautiful views
Cons
- Host doubts their own ability to play smarter than opponents.
Thematic elements
- Transforming the desert into a lush garden by planting flowers and trees.
- An ancient city, the lost Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Resource Management — Decisions on purchasing upgrades and collecting gems are crucial.
- Set Collection — Planting flowers well can help gather precious gems.
- Tile Placement — A tile placement game where players create the garden.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- as of the time of this recording over a thousand and fifty games have now been announced to be released at the essence peel trade show and I'm continuing to sift through this pile to list my top 100 picks I haven't slept in three days and I'm living off a diet a Nutella and nicotine so really a typical weekend
- ladies and gentlemen I present to you these self-published game Boras bees and boomerangs a light-hearted fast-paced real-time roll in right game
- I have seen the Grand Canyon and this blows it away
- Step Pyramid enthusiasts are an underserved market and by gum I continue to stand by that
- Sometimes I love this board game hobby because it allows me to utter phrases that I never thought I would say on my own
- Spooky however if the thought of that freaks you out as much as it does me this game can also be played with the lights on and without the app by using the supplied investigation booklet.
- I'm hoping that its gameplay is gonna be just as intriguing and as deep as the tales in the comic that it comes from
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video GkgURTDjbKs
Jamie, Tabletoptiktok Top 10 List at 4:53 sentiment: positive
video_pk 83429 · mention_pk 210232
Click to watch at 4:53 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Puzzly planning with visually appealing components
- Frequent play, will continue to be played
Cons
none
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- gem/resource management — Gems are collected to acquire components and gain points.
- Resource Management — Gems are collected to acquire components and gain points.
- tile/board placement with area majority — Gardens and fountains form a board where connections yield points.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- This is a great card laying game where you have some pusher luck.
- This one is a lot of fun.
- This is an excellent, excellent game.
- This game is fantastic.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video fKMVGZBQwfI
Board Game Critique Top List at 0:59 sentiment: positive
video_pk 80906 · mention_pk 198605
Click to watch at 0:59 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Legitimate table presence that impresses non-gamers
- Mechanics are tighter than they look
- Engaging push and pull between upgrades and flowers
- Gentle competition despite spatial interaction
- Fills at the right pace for three players
- Contested flower majorities lead to exciting end-game swings
Cons
- Got buried under a crowded release window
- Sits way below where it deserves to in the rankings
Thematic elements
- Restoring the Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Comparison games
- Five Tribes
- Kingdomino
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — Spatial competition where blocking opponents is possible but not mean.
- Engine Building — The engine is the skill upgrades. You spend gems on upgrades.
- Set Collection — Flower majorities are what swing the scores.
- tile laying — You're laying tiles, growing flowers.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Three players is the most underserved count in board gaming and we have got 10 games that prove the hobby has been hiding some of its best work right under our noses.
- Every interaction is triangular, alliances are unstable, and you can never completely ignore either of the other people at the table.
- This is the meaty Euro recommendation we keep making to people who say nobody in their group has played it.
- Carnegie is the kind of game that produces long silences. Not frustrated silence. The silence of three people simultaneously realizing that someone has just triggered the one action that sets everyone else back two turns, and there's nothing any of them can do about it.
- The most conceptually ambitious game on this list.
- This is not a flavor layer. It is a genuine functional supply and demand engine.
- Chaotic, urgent, deeply collaborative in a way most co-ops only achieve intermittently.
- The gap between its quality and its profile is the greatest injustice on this list in our view.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video iQgJiTkeCpo
Meeple University Playthrough
video_pk 70266 · mention_pk 167192
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
none
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
No quotes stored for this video.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 7F8jRBi2DAY
Top List at 3:05 sentiment: positive
video_pk 66582 · mention_pk 162251
Click to watch at 3:05 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Minimalistic feel of components complements abstract gameplay
- Subtle and interesting choices
- Beautiful and evocative box art
Cons
- Game is 'a bit heavier than it looks'
Thematic elements
- Gardens
- Abstract
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area control/blocking — Players can use trees to block other players from expanding, and upgrades can give points for blocking trees.
- Tech Tree — Features a tech tree with two steps per column.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- games don't need no necessarily need a huge art budget to be a great game.
- I think this is one way for some games, not every game, but some games to really shine with a much lower sunk cost budget than other games.
- You don't need necessarily a bunch bunch of fancy components, dozens and do dozens of illustrations to have a really great game.
- We can all have slightly different definitions of this.
- It all leads to subtle and interesting choices.
- When everything feels like it's on fire around me, it's nice to find a bit of rest by respit in a gentle rain.
- This game is a chaotic good time, but in the best way.
- the components fit into a small box. They're they're very sparse components.
- But uh but they come across they end up having a fairly big table presence and I've gotten a lot of replayability out of multiple oint games.
- you can get a lot out of these games that rely on a wide variety of rules of words just by having words in the game. You don't necess you don't need
- By this I mean games with minimal components and or art.
- I think it's a great reminder for me and maybe you as a designer that games don't need no necessarily need a huge art budget to be a great game.
- So I think this is one way for some games, not every game, but some games to really shine with a much lower sunk cost budget than other games.
- there's a huge emergent narrative that comes through in Rumble Nation with very minimalistic components.
- I kind of thought of it as a combination of all those different things with some variances.
- investing in a really beautiful box cover is really really important for the game and investing in great graphic design is really really important for the game.
- I think valuing and investing in great graphic design is can can elevate a game even when you don't have much of an art budget at all.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 2W0iXuySc7U
Jamie, Tabletoptiktok Review at 0:03 sentiment: positive
video_pk 61373 · mention_pk 154051
Click to watch at 0:03 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Compelling tile-placement with a cohesive garden-and-water theme that feels thematic in every turn.
- Accessible entry point for new players while offering deep strategic payoff for experienced players.
- Solo mode created by fans on BoardGameGeek is highly regarded and serves as a good representation of the base game.
- Strong endgame potential via tree cards and color-based gem economy creates meaningful late-game decisions.
- High variability in setup and tile layouts, keeping each session fresh.
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Garden creation and temple-fresher like water management with a focus on growth, resource control, and endgame bloom.
- Ancient Babylonian garden-building in a mythic, water-driven environment framed around Ishtar’s Gardens.
- enthusiastic and explanatory
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — Players deploy assistants (with a maximum of four) to control zones on the board. Placement must consider opponents’ assistants, preventing placement that would touch opponents’ controlled areas, adding a tactical layer of control and denial.
- area_control_and_assistants — Players deploy assistants (with a maximum of four) to control zones on the board. Placement must consider opponents’ assistants, preventing placement that would touch opponents’ controlled areas, adding a tactical layer of control and denial.
- board_upgrade_system — Each player has a personal board with bottom-row and top-row bonuses. As players unlock lower-row bonuses, they can meet requirements to unlock the corresponding upper-row bonuses, shaping their progression path.
- endgame_and_card_mechanics — Gems serve as currency to buy tree-endgame cards and other cards that grant substantial points; cards interact with tile placement by creating synergies for end-game scoring.
- resource_gems — Gems of different colors appear on tiles and are collected when tiles are placed over gem spots; rarer colors (white) are more valuable and drive procurement of upgrades and endgame scoring cards.
- Tile Placement — Players draft and place tiles with distinct shapes onto a shared board, guided by placement rules that create connected garden spaces and require attention to adjacency and existing controls.
- tile_placement — Players draft and place tiles with distinct shapes onto a shared board, guided by placement rules that create connected garden spaces and require attention to adjacency and existing controls.
- tile_shape_variability_and_flow — Tiles come with shapes that map to the central tile and other tiles, creating variability game-to-game and influencing which lines of play are optimal.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I think this is fantastic.
- The theme works really well for the way that it plays.
- I highly recommend Ishtar Gardens of Babylon.
- I love anything with tile placement.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video PVvM3faIFxo
Jamie, Tabletoptiktok Discussion at 2:58 sentiment: positive
video_pk 61386 · mention_pk 154065
Click to watch at 2:58 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Rich theme and elegantly designed components
- Intricate garden-building mechanics
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Array
- Array
- garden building, resource management, and majority control via water sources
- Array
- Gardens of Babylon, with rondelle-based movement and tile placement in ancient Mesopotamia-inspired scenery.
- Array
- Array
- Thematic, with a strong spatial and territorial tension as gardens expand.
- Array
- positive
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Majority — Control of water sources drives majority scoring across gardens.
- Area majority via connected water sources — Control of water sources drives majority scoring across gardens.
- Rondel — Players move around a circular track to select actions and pieces.
- Rondelle movement — Players move around a circular track to select actions and pieces.
- Tile Placement — Place pieces to create and connect garden areas with scoring from water sources.
- Tile placement and garden building — Place pieces to create and connect garden areas with scoring from water sources.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- It's very clever.
- these are five very underrated games.
- What are some of the games that you really enjoy but you don't see being talked about?
- Give me a like and a follow and I'll keep bringing you more board game content. Thanks. Bye.
- So, this one is so cool.
- I love the solo on this.
- This is a really good time.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–8 of 8