Bohnanza

Okay, I admit it. I love games. I mean, I really, really, really love games. All sorts of games. Card games. Class board games like Monopoly and Scrabble or more sophisticated board games like Settlers of Catan or Carcassonne or Princes of Florence. Interactive storytelling games. Loud chaotic party games with people shouting or drawing silly pictures or acting out scenes from movies nobody else has ever heard of.

Margo and I are talking about the possibility of starting some kind of Community Game Night on a regular basis so that people can get together, laugh a lot, play games they may have never heard of, and build contagious relationships. I would so love that!

Last week, I introduced my family to a new card game. It's one I learned recently at a convention up in Baltimore. The game is Bohnanza, and it's all about planting beans, trading resources, growing crops, and selling off the harvest. The deck is made up of all sorts of beans -- soy beans, green beans, coffee beans, etc. Some of the beans are really common and others are rare. The more rare the bean, the less you need to get a profitable harvest. You spend your turns trying to gather as many of the same kinds of beans as possible before you harvest the field and turn it into cash. The one with the most cash at the end of the game wins.

What makes the game interesting is that you must play your cards in the order that they're dealt. No arranging your hand. No picking out which card would be the most useful. And because some cards come along that will really throw off your strategy, you have to bargain with other players to get rid of some of your cards. So, for instance, you're busy working on your field of coffee beans and you're getting ready to harvest. You've got another coffee bean in your hand that you're eager to play, but first you've got to deal with that black-eyed bean that was dealt first. Anyone wanna trade? No? How about if I donate the bean to your crop which helps you out and gets rid of the problem card for me? And suddenly you realize the game is really about helping other players out but being careful to not help them out so much that they're making more profit than you.

It's a really simple game to learn and a lot of fun to play, especially because it uses mechanics and strategies that are different from most other games. The artwork on the cards is cute, and the game moves along pretty quickly once you start playing.

Anyone up for a game? Bring on the nachos and deal me in!