Herbaceous (The Card Game)

In Herbaceous players are trying to grow and then store a variety of different herbs in order to gain points. There is a community garden which is accessible to all players, as well as a player’s private garden from which other players can not take herbs.

Each turn a player takes two cards, one at a time from the top of the deck. When they draw the first card they have to decide whether they want to place it in the community garden, for any player to use, or whether they want to place it in their private garden. The second card they draw must go in the area their first card did not.

After the first few turns, when there are more cards in play, at the start of their turn a player can decide to pot herbs in one of their containers. Each container has different rules for the type of herb which can be planted there. One container must have herbs all of the same type planted in there whilst another must have herbs of different types planted. A third container requires pairs of different herbs to be planted. The fourth container can have three of any herb in, but is the only place where special herbs, worth bonus points, can be placed.

Players can pot herbs from the community garden, their private garden or a combination of the two. But once the herbs have been potted they are stored underneath the container and cannot be used by the other players. There is therefore an element of “push your luck” in Herbaceous as players try to wait for the biggest collection of herbs possible, whilst making sure they take them before other players get there.

At the end of the game players add up points from their containers and any special herbs. The player with the most points wins.

Player Count: 1 - 4
Time: 15-20 minutes
Age: 8+