Vines and Flowers is a family-friendly puzzle game in which you collectively build a pergola covered in vines and flowers. It’s being published on Kickstarter by the California-based Whales Entertainment. Creating the three‑dimensional structure is very satisfying, and the gameplay flows smoothly and pleasantly. Read on for our review, and if you like what you see, consider supporting the game in the final stretch. The campaign runs until 16:00 on August 30.
Gameplay
In Vines and Flowers, players collaboratively build one large pergola out of square tiles. When you match a flower’s color, you gain a petal token in that color, and these count as points at the end of the game. There’s a twist to the scoring: you score as many points as the number of petal tokens in the color you have the fewest of.
On your turn you take 2 actions, and each action can be used to draw tiles or place tiles onto the pergola.
- Drawing tiles: you draw from a market where 5 tiles are always laid out in a row. The first tile in the row is free; each tile you skip past costs 1 petal. If a petal token is sitting on a tile, you take that token when you draw it. Your hand limit is 3 plant tiles.
- Placing tiles: placement follows vine to vine or flower to flower (matching color).
Flower scoring. When you connect a flower, you gain petal tokens in that color equal to the number of flowers of that color in the unbroken chain along the vine, counted from the newly placed tile in both directions.
Some tiles show insects that grant bonuses during the game:
- Bee — immediately take an extra action.
- Spider — immediately take any tile from the market for free.
- Ladybug — take a ladybug token.
- Butterfly — take a four‑color “wild” tile that can connect to any flower on the pergola to earn petals.
If you take a Hummingbird tile, place it on one of the event cards to the right and resolve that event.
After taking your actions, you may fulfill a contract: show that you have 4, 5, or 6 petals of the same color, toss the corresponding hummingbird tile into the bag, and take the reward of 2 ladybugs. Contracts must be completed in order, and each subsequent one must use a different color of petals.
In the third phase, any unclaimed hummingbirds that have reached the first position in the market row on the table are processed. The active player places such a hummingbird on the left part of the event card and triggers the global effect.
The game ends when the bag runs out of tiles or when the fourth hummingbird appears on the table (not counting those tied up in unfulfilled contracts). Players reveal their screens; ladybugs can be converted into petals of any color. Everyone then looks at the least numerous of their four colors—this value determines your final standing. Ties are broken by comparing the second‑weakest color, and so on.
Review
Vines and Flowers is a three‑dimensional tile‑placement game with an open draft in which you cooperatively build a single large pergola—though, of course, everyone is pursuing their own goals.
The key twist is that when you complete a flower of a given color, you don’t just gain a single petal—you score the entire continuous sequence of that color running along the connected vine, counted from the newly placed tile in both directions. This encourages you to set up long “runs” of a color that can explode for 2–4+ petals at once, sometimes at the expense of short‑term matches. Butterflies, which grant wilds, and events that let you slide tiles around help you close those sequences at just the right moment.
Counting only your weakest color is a great way to force you to balance your resources—you can’t neglect any one color. Petals also serve as the currency for skipping ahead in the market. Spending them usually isn’t a big problem, since you tend to spend from your most abundant color; however, it does make it harder to complete a contract, which is one of the ways to shore up your weakest colors via ladybugs.
The hummingbird option—events that happen when a player decides to take a hummingbird and use it, or when a hummingbird reaches the first market slot—adds a bit of spice. Occasionally it’s worth taking a hummingbird instead of flowers to snag a juicy event bonus. Other times you might prefer to let a global event fire and hit everyone at the table.
The game scales well at any player count. With 2 players, it’s more tactical and predictable; with 3–4, it becomes livelier, though it’s harder to plan far ahead. Playtime depends on player count and tends toward the upper bound—around 60 minutes.
Summary
Vines and Flowers is a charming, clever puzzle with an original take on shared, three‑dimensional tile placement. If you enjoy matching shapes, set collection, and a dash of table drama from event cards, this title has a great chance of blooming on your table.
Thanks to Whales Entertainment for providing a review copy of the game.