The 4 Squares Review - Planted: A Game of Nature & Nurture

[@michellecompton1755]

Wendy - I am so happy you've joined the dice tower. I really appreciate your perspective

[@jr637-1]

I think the thumbs-up card is supposed to be green thumbs. Love the theming in this game!

[@vonwoolf9963]

Phil Walker Harding has done it again. Very good less-than-one-hour engine building game to add to his list designs.

[@yeahigotnothin]

Thank goodness Chris mentioned the tool scoring condition, that's what makes the tools worth it in later rounds. If you get a few of those purple cards that score for tools owned, you could potentially be scoring 2-4 points each time you draft a tool... that's as much or more as growing the next stage of a plant.

[@bornofashes]

I just played this with my folks today. I love the tension of snagging tools early to get more resources and securing the resources I need for my plants!

[@stevew8187]

Thanks! Picked it up for my parents based on your review.

[@RickKoeppen]

Planted really took both my family and friends by storm. First, when I picked it up it was only $19.99. Under $20 for THOSE components? Unheard of. Adding on an extra layer over a very fun Sushi Go drafting feel is like perfect game weight for my non-hardcore gamer friends and family. The theme is enjoyable for everyone. I've played this with everyone from my core gaming group to young cousins, and everyone has had a blast. Every time I share pictures of the game, whether it was when I first picked it up to show off the components, or post-game pics, people flood the comments to tell me how awesome it looks. I can't tell you the number of times people have told me that they picked up a copy of the game for themselves based on my post. I don't know the last time that has ever happened when I've shared my reviews/pictures of any other game. This one hits the spot for a LOT of people, and is one I keep coming back to again and again.

[@MrJmarzetti]

Agreed, this is a game I can pull out with my family that resists playing more complicated games, and I don't mind playing either. I hate to brag, but when the Target I shop at just stocked the game on their shelves, they were running a 30% off all games promo at the same time. I ended up getting it for $14!! I've spent more on a simple one deck of cards game....I was thrilled to get such a well produced game, just released and new for what I think is currently less than half the MSRP.

[@BoardGamesBricksHobbies]

I think this game fits nicely between Sushi Go and 7 Wonders. And I own all three! 😂

[@wiblick]

Have this on order because I'll like the theme and I'm confident my family will too (I'm predominantly solo, but need to justify my spending with some family games!). The review has solidified my choice (and provided some relief that I've made a good choice).

[@MerlinsManor]

Our first play actually took about 25 minutes (2 player). With the simultaneous play it shouldn't add much more time either, so I think the time is pretty spot on, especially when you consider most times are extremely generous (30 minutes actually meaning 60 minutes in most cases). Once we got the hang of the game we were going really fast.

[@andymurry2005]

I wonder how this will compare with Flatout Games 'Verdant' coming out to backers soon.

[@northabbot7116]

Couple months, probably December

[@corbinrasmussen]

I just bought this game at target yesterday! So glad you guys posted a review of it.

[@BoardGamesBricksHobbies]

My spouse saw this game at Target and she loves plants! I had heard nothing about it, so it's good to see it's a decent game, with pretty components to boot.

[@Mokkel73]

The cons goes for Furnace as well. You could theoretically get a first round display that only converts oil to money. That whole round would be wasted.

[@Johnsemgawl]

This sounds perfect for the family, thanks guys!

[@vedaimig8018]

I just bought this an opened it up yesterday!

[@iceuni963]

2:24 How can you have 5 nursery cards?

[@dallastexas5653]

Have only played two 2-player matches so far but I really don’t see us pulling it out again. It just feels like there’s something missing from this game. I’m hoping Verdant becomes the fun plant game we were looking for in this.

[@PBMatthews254]

Two player is definitely the worst player count for this game in my experience. You don't cycle through the cards enough to hit double resource cards or use your tool cards to the maximum effect. Resources that your banking on can come up in the first half of the game and then not at all in the second half. I like the game a lot but the first time I played two player I liked it a lot less.

[@rbtorelli1994]

Two player is definitely the hardest way to play it, as stated, you don't get as many options for resources or to trigger your tools. My GF and I play it two player all the time... But we always add a fifth round

[@dallastexas5653]

@@rbtorelli1994 forgot I had this game. Maybe I’ll give it a go at 3 players this week.

[@lizschmitt4264]

Looks fun - hopefully there’s room for an expansion in the future to kick it up a notch for more experienced gamers

[@harryofgo]

Last turn tools become one green thumb?

[@Jessfrogger88]

The game to me is just like the ocean under the moon and the emotion I get from you.

[@lilyblanco9525]

Great review! So Tom has 2 plants at home and Chris and Wendy have none...I have 16 and still more to come 😅

[@eliseh.2152]

This game seems so nice, it's such a bummer that it doesn't look like it will be available in Europe any time soon (maybe never). Was the same with his other fun games, Super Mega Lucky Box and Summer Camp, which both are not for sale anywhere in Europe...

[@chinglee]

Are we allowed to put on a request for Wendy to make more game overviews? I loved her soothing voice.

[@nickwatt1450]

From comments made in recent videos I was sure this was hitting 8.5 or 9 from some of the team.

[@jpd44]

No kidding. It was on Tom's top ten nature games of ALL TIME.

[@jonathanfranklin461]

The Four Squares format is enjoyable, but have you considered doing it for multiple games in a session the way you do it for PWH games here? For example, Floriferous, Planted, etc.?

[@MrPigpom]

“Acrosst four rounds”?!

[@Wylie288]

45? We did it in 30 minutes our first playthrough lol

[@berzley]

Not even a minute in and I'm already annoyed by Tom.

[@KristoVaher]

No no no. There should be no thing such as "for me it is an X, but for YOU it might be a much higher rating". That serves absolutely zero value! A good intro game would get a 9 or 10 out of the box even from a very experienced gamer. Yet in here this argument essentially is "good, but not good enough".

[@dandurkin9735]

No no no to this.

[@Andrew_NJ]

Agreed, they need to stop trying to talk mediocore games up. I really feel like Wendy needs to let her ratings reflect more with her valid criticisms. She should not worry about being too negative when she is not that into a game. Give it a low rating and don't worry about anyone's feelings.

[@CoNSu_11]

Disagreed! Because not everybody has hardcore gamers with so much free time to play. I love high medium games, but friends tend to find them like if they were heavy games instead (which, of course, they're not). So, I've needed to keep my collection in a light spectrum. For an experienced gamer as they are, a good game probably feels ok or even 'meh', but it's mainly because it's compared with 10 000 games and also personal tastes. With 10 000+ tried games, you only get pickier. Pickier in a way a mere mortal would not be. For example, they put 'Fluxx' into UNO level, and I love Fluxx. Of course, I would like to play Deus, instead, but I love the fast changing nature of Fluxx and even with luck factor involved, Fluxx does give me a mental strategic satisfaction. There's no way Fluxx can get even an 8 or 7 for them. But it is great for me. After a while watching DT, I noticed Tom gives better rankings to games that my people will find slow and heavy (and actually are not). Because Tom CAN play real heavy games. And I have NO chance to. That's why Zee reviews are more accurate to me. Anyway, I concede you have a point. I bought a DT supposedly 'ok' game and I did not enjoyed at all. It felt like plain Monopoly to me. No hard choices. No real thinking. A mistake. In the other hand, I think it was indeed 'ok' for my playing group. Nobody complained. And they DID about The GoodFather Corleone's Empire and Deus. We also not love enough Terraforming Mars. And I heard worse for Splendor (I've not had chance to tried it myself yet). Even Carcassonne was a hit in one group and 'meh' in the other two. That's why I love GameBoysGeek reviews. He said if you like this or this you would like/love this game. If you don't like this or this, this game it's not for you. And as Zee, he favors medium to light games. Games I actually have the opportunity to play.

[@danielengel4593]

No 8,5+ rating? Not interested. There are way to many games coming out these days.

[@DTChrisYi]

That's up to you of course, but I do hope the words we say are more important than the number. But you're right, so many games come out.

[@Andrew_NJ]

This looks generic and the ratings are not going to hold up.