Bohnanza

General Information:
Manufacturer: Rio Grande Games
Author: Uwe Rosenberg
Graphics: Marc-Andre Casasola-Merkle
Number of Players: 2-7
Age: 12 years plus
Time: about 45 mins.
Year: 2000 (1997 German version)

Awards:
SdJ 1997: Nominee
DSP 1997: 5th place

ENGLISH MAIN PAGE

 Deutsche Spielerezension

Game Components:
154 bean cards - 7 cards "3rd field" - 1 rulebooklet

In this game the players are impersonating farmers – bean farmes to be more precise. Each player has two (or three) fields. The players have to earn money by planting, harvesting and trading beans. The player who owns the most money wins the game.

Before the game starts each player places two fields in front of him. Now each player gets 5 cards. The order of the cards must never be changed. The remaining cards are placed in the middle of the table. Each card shows a certain type of bean a number and a price track. The number is equal to the number of all cards of the same type in the game. The more often a bean is in the game the less worth it is. When a player has to draw any bean card he/she places them behind the others in his hand.

One player starts and now each player has to carry out 3 different phases.

1st: The player must play his/her first card and place it on one of his fields. He/she can play up to two cards. He/She can play the card on an existing row of the same type of beans or on an empty field. The second card can be played on the same or a different field. If both (or all three) fields have non-matching beans on them the player has to harvest one field and eventually earns some money by doing so (see Selling Beans) because he/she has to make room in order to be able to play the first card. Only if a player does not have any cards he/she can skip the first phase.

2nd: The player has to draw to cards from the draw pile and lays them – face up – before himself. These cards can be placed on the player’s own fields or can be traded or donated. The player may offer the two cards or any other card in his/her hand to other players and ask what they offer him in return. If a trading proposal is agreed to the traded cards have to be placed on the fields immediatley. Traded cards may never be saved for later use. Only the player whose turn it is can trade with other players. A player may also choose to donate his/her card to other players but the players have to agree to that donation. In any case: The two cards must be either played, traded or donated.

3rd: At the end of his/her turn the player has to draw 3 new cards from the draw pile and must place them behind the other cards already in his/her hands. After drawing three new cards it is the next player’s turn.

Selling Beans: At any time a player may wants to or must harvest and sell beans. He/She can only sell beans on his/her fields. When selling a player consults the price track on one of the cards he/she sells. The money pile indicates how much money he/she gets for a certain number of cards of the same bean type. The number under the money pile shows the amount of beans. So if there is a number 2 and 1 coin above that number the player gets 1 coin for 2 cards of that type. He/She always sells all the cards on the field but only gets the amount of money for the numbers of cards at the bottom of that card. So if he/she sells 4 cards of a certain type and there is only payment for 1, 3, 5 or 7 cards he/she only gets the money for 4 cards. All cards have to be sold no card may be saved for later use. The player keeps bean cards equal to the amount of money he/she gets – he/she turns the cards over because the backside of each card is a money coin – and discards the remaining cards. A field with just 1 card on may never be harvested. Exception: If there are two fields with just 1 card on the player may choose which card is to be sold. A player may buy a third field for 3 coins.

Whenever the draw pile runs out it is re-shuffled. After the draw pile runs out for the third time the game ends. Now all players may sell the remaining cards on their fields. Remaining hand cards are of no further relevance. Then all players count the coins they have earned and the player who owns the most money wins the game.
(Troudi 25/01/05)
Further Information:
- Homepage of Rio Grande Games

Troudi says 9 of 10 points:
„Bohnanza“ is a great game. The rules are quite simple and easy to understand. The game is well-constructed and the course of the game is fluent. Interaction is the most significant component of the game because it is necessary to trade an donate because you must not alter the order of your hand cards, the first card all players must play and the two cards that have to be drawn in each own round. It’s quite easy to get angry when nobody wants to trade the cards but the anger is intensifying if nobody wants them as a present as well. We like to play the game again and again – each game is different and „Bohnanza“ is never boring. „Bohnanza“ is suitable for all groups of age and game interest. Each game collection should contain a deck of „Bohnanza“ cards. In Germany the game is available for around 6 Euros and around 15 US-Dollars. The Rio Grande Games version includes not only "Bohnanza" but the first expansion pack as well so that up to 7 players can participate.

Questions about Bohnanza? Contact us!
ENGLISH MAIN PAGE

Looking for more game reviews in german??