{"id":473,"date":"2025-05-19T13:34:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T11:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.oldwisebear.com\/?p=473"},"modified":"2025-05-18T23:53:34","modified_gmt":"2025-05-18T21:53:34","slug":"boardgames-2025-4-12-power-plants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.oldwisebear.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/19\/boardgames-2025-4-12-power-plants\/","title":{"rendered":"Boardgames 2025 – 4\/12 Power Plants"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"This<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Something new in area control topic, because sharing is caring right?<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
I always liked working in the garden, could a magical garden be even better? <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"This<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
Power plants<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Components<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
I played the deluxe version, so the components might differ from what you\u2019ve seen or will see in the standard edition. That said, the quality is excellent. The box doesn\u2019t reflect the high standard of the contents inside. The insert included in the deluxe version is well-designed\u2014nothing rolls around during transport. The wooden tokens are beautifully organized, almost like casino chips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Game box<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Inside of the box<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
Finally, a game with no cards to sleeve! While you might be tempted to sleeve the plant cards, they\u2019re not of any standard size, and sleeving them wouldn\u2019t really impact gameplay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
In the deluxe version, the cardboard tokens from the standard edition are replaced with plastic and wooden ones. They feel great to the touch and come in various shapes, adding a nice tactile element to the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Set-up<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s not much setup required, as the board is built during gameplay. After selecting five plants, take one of each token to form your starting garden, and three more for the exchange pool. The rest go into the bag. Hand out the player \u201cspirits,\u201d and you\u2019re ready to go. The whole process takes about two minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rules<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
The rulebook is just seven pages long, and most of the rules are also printed on the plant cards. Beyond that, it\u2019s mostly about scoring and start\/endgame conditions. Everything is straightforward and easy to grasp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gameplay<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
The box suggests a 30-minute playtime, but we found that it varies depending on the plants in play\u2014anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes is realistic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why such a wide range? Each plant you place offers two possible actions. Some are simple, like spreading influence to nearby tokens. Others are more complex\u2014changing the board, pushing tokens, or interacting with opponents. These can lead to some very strategic and challenging decisions, especially in the endgame, where planning ahead becomes difficult. After placing a token, you draw a new one from the bag and start thinking all over again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Is it fun? I\u2019d say yes. Building the garden is enjoyable, and the variety of plants adds replayability. The deluxe edition includes extra powers that add depth. Still, I was hoping for more from the \u201cbuilding\u201d aspect. Unless you use specific plants, the garden doesn\u2019t grow vertically, and there aren\u2019t many comeback mechanics depending on the plant selection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The game supports 1 to 5 players. I played with 3 and 4 players, and in my opinion, the more, the better. While the game takes longer, it also introduces more interaction. Everyone competes for high-value fields and scoring opportunities. You\u2019re never safe, and the longer you wait for your turn, the more you need to think ahead and make your move count.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Score<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  • Overall 7\/10 – A solid game with lots of interesting mechanics, though it didn\u2019t quite win me over emotionally.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Coming back 6\/10 – The deluxe edition offers a wide variety of plants, making each game feel fresh.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Fun factor 7\/10 – Sometimes I wished the game lasted longer, especially when using plants that allow vertical building\u2014it looks fantastic.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
    Will it stay or go? – I\u2019ll gladly play it from time to time, so it\u2019s a\u00a0stay<\/em>\u00a0for now<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    \"This<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
    Something new in area control topic, because sharing is caring right? I always liked working in the garden, could a magical garden be even better? Power plants Components I played the deluxe version, so the components might differ from what you\u2019ve seen or will see in the standard edition. That said, the quality is excellent. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,16],"tags":[24],"class_list":["post-473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bg","category-hobby","tag-boardgames"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.oldwisebear.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.oldwisebear.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.oldwisebear.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.oldwisebear.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.oldwisebear.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=473"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.oldwisebear.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":490,"href":"https:\/\/blog.oldwisebear.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473\/revisions\/490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.oldwisebear.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.oldwisebear.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.oldwisebear.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}