Renegade Game Studio | Arboretum | Card Game | Ages 8+ | 2-4 Players | 30 Minutes Playing Time

Product Information

Arboretum plays great at all player counts, although I think it is a bit more of a brain burner with just two players. A four-player game may stretch past 30 minutes if anyone is prone to paralysis, but a 25-minute play is also not out of the question if folks are on the ball. When I first looked at it I didn’t think it would be anything special, but as we played it and I realized that building a path was only half (maybe only a third, actually) of the game, I really grew to love it. This helps me a bit because then I don’t draw two really good cards (since I already drew one that my opponent threw away, though that’s highly subjective) and then have to choose which one of the cards in my hand to throw away.

Opportunities are never lost, but the cost of seizing them soon escalates out of sensible consideration. I think it is a light, charming and thoughtful experience, a tactical game of subtle conflicts where every decision feels decisive, and whether you win or you lose, at the end you get to look at the charming little forest you have grown. The fact that they will sacrifice their own gains to deny yours is indeed the highest level of compliment at Casa Foe. It’s fast enough to be a filler, but challenging and addictive enough that multiple matches could fill an entire evening.

At the beginning of the game, each player is dealt a starting hand of seven cards and one additional card, face-up, which begins that player’s discard pile. So I thought everyone was being a bit sensationalist, just big babies getting upset at a bit of direct interaction. Because, if you remember, you need to discard cards on your turn, and players can pick up your discards.

As a reviewer, I pride myself on being somewhat professional and making sure I play each board game enough to form an opinion.Once you’ve decided what to take, the decisions about what to play and what to discard seem to come much quicker.