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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
Year Published
2019
Featured Videos
Review
Ishtar: Gardens of Babylon
Transcript Analysis
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 2
This page: 2
Sentiment:
pos 2 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–2 of 2
Video 2W0iXuySc7U
game_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
Unknown Channel general_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 1–2 of 2