Bohnanza, a trade and negotiation game for the family.
Do not be fooled by its cute depiction of various beans, Bohnanza is a fun and challenging game of trade and negotiation. Created by Uwe Rosenberg, a German board game designer with a penchant for creating games with a twist, Bohnanza is unlike most strictly competitive games. It actually favours the use of a glib tongue, coupled with shrewd deal making tactics over brute force to beat the competition.
In Bohnanza, players take the role of bean farmers, trying to plant and sell as many beans as they can to become the most successful bean farmer. Players are restricted to planting only 2-3 different types of beans which are taken at random, from a centralized deck of cards. During each player’s turn, he/she picks 3 bean cards and must play their cards in the order drawn from the deck. They can choose to plant them or keep them to trade with other players for specific bean cards of their choice. Each type of bean has a different monetary value based on its rarity. Thus, players must also strategize which beans they should specialize in growing and be willing to part with some of their other cards via trade with other players so everyone prospers in a sense. This challenges players to think differently from most traditional games where it is everyone for himself from the get go. Here, players must learn to aid others via trading in order to help further their own bean farming business for everyone draws from the same pool of resources. Of course, an aggressive and competitive play style can still be applied but it may not be as successful in Bohnanza as it is in other games.
Whatever your playing style, one thing is certain; every game of Bohnanza is an opportunity to hone one’s skill in trading and politics. The young might enjoy the novel game mechanics, while the old will appreciate its depth and complexity disguised in a cute little package.
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