The aim of Bohnanza is to plant, develop and harvest (sell) crops of beans in order to earn gold coins. The player who has earned the most gold at games end is declared the winner. There are 11 varieties of bean that players can plant and grow but they have only two fields to plant them in and only one variety can occupy a field at any one time. So far it sounds pretty basic right? Well here comes the kicker. Players earn more gold if they can harvest large crops of the same bean variety but the order of the beans in their hand cannot be changed once they are picked up (unlike most card games). So players are often forced to sell bean crops earlier than they would like (earning their player little or no gold) because the next bean type they must play from their hand may not match their current crops - but it must be planted nonetheless! This is where the game really takes off as each player tries to trade, haggle and sometimes donate unwanted beans in order to develop larger crops of their favourite bean variety. Players are quickly caught up in an engrossing game of trying to offload unwanted beans and gather sought after or rare beans, all whilst trying to offer other players as little benefit as possible. The quality of the game is up to the usually high Rio Grande standard as the cards have a matte finish and the artwork has a great quirky feel that keeps you admiring your bean crops as they grow. We had a blast with 4 players and we can't wait to get a 7 player game going.

Bohnanza comes with a big reputation as one of the most addictive card games around. It ranks at #3 in the current best sellers list and won Best Family Card Game in 1999. So how does it really stack up? Well I have to be honest, this is a really enjoyable and innovative game. The game rules can be read through in 10 minutes and one play of the game is enough to iron out any question marks that players may have. However don't make the mistake of thinking this makes the game overly basic. There is plenty of subtlety in the rules to allow for some devious trading and negotiation. Bohnanza will appeal to most people from the infrequent game player to more experienced gamers alike. After play testing this game our play test group has purchased three copies of the game - this is the best endorsement I can give! With no expansions required this game is an absolute must that won't gather any dust between plays. Look for the yellow box and get it on your gaming shelf before stock runs out.