Review by C.J. Bunce
Game company Dux Somnium’s Botany was unlike any game we’d played before, a stunning, attractively designed tabletop strategy game where players travel the world in the 19th century trying to use their resources wisely to amass the most magnificent collection of plants and flowers all with an eye to make an estate worthy of the Queen (check out my review of the game here at borg). The follow-up to the game is an all-new strategy game called La Fleur, and it may be even more fun to play. With the similar high-tier attractive design and game pieces, this time each player takes on the role of 18th century garden enthusiast, building a chateau in France. Players send out artisans across Paris to acquire flowers and construct garden features, all to attract the allure and prestige of influential visitors. The goal? To host the greatest of Rococo garden gatherings, the Grande Soirée.
We played the game and love it. La Fleur is available now here at Amazon. This Rococo twist on Dux Somnium’s style of elaborate roleplay board game is sure to appeal to history connoisseurs, garden aficionados, and anyone liking more twists and turns in their game night strategy. It’s also simple to learn and get started.
Each player begins with an empty chateau. You participate in several rounds of play until a player gets enough Prestige points to call for the last round, the Grand Soirée, where Prestige really matters, and the players calculate who has acquired the most. To begin the game each player selects their character, but take care, because each character has its own particular strengths–maybe one character can get Prestige quicker with money, while another may fare better by acquiring more Garden Features. In each round players send artisans to locations across the game board, which depicts a vintage map of Gay Paree. Go to the flower market and purchase beautiful specimens, each with its own attributes. Each card is an image of an actual historical sketch of a plant or flower. Players may also choose to acquire more Artisans or substitute Artisans to do their bidding.
Whether you commission new garden features, or focus on the acquisition of new specimens, you gather Allure derived from the allocation across Garden Features and Flower Cards based on Architecture, Paths, Water, Flowers, Vistas, as well as a Wild Card to help when you really need to get something you just must have. You never know who will be available to come to your Garden Party–the last step of each round. If a visitor is adept in the Allure you’ve amassed at your chateau, then you’re in luck and you gain even more Prestige points.
It’s easy to learn–in about an hour you’ll have all the rules and nuances of strategy figured out, and in a couple hours players will be looking forward to their next game session. The first set-up is probably the hardest part, but you can enlist help via a video at Dux Somnium’s website here.
This is a gorgeous game, and ambiance plus fun rounds and interesting subject matter all work together. Just take a look at the back sides of everything:
The cards are long-lasting casino quality with above-average inks and text.
Here’s what’s in the sturdy, gold-foil trimmed box:
- 1 giant gameboard
- 88 Flower cards
- 4 Chateau boards
- 10 Character cards
- 55 Garden Feature cards
- 30 Event cards
- 35 Visitor cards
- 20 Artisan cards
- 16 Pawns
- 20 Allure tokens
- 1 First Player pawn
- 4 Prestige Tokens
- 90 Cardboard coins
You can preview the rules here. It’s housed in a smart box full of plenty of slots for everything–a game that will be easy to set up next time. Although the instructions suggest 40-70 minutes for a game, our first play took 2 hours (I’m admittedly a slow learner), but clearly it will take less time now that I know the routine of each turn. The suggested age range is 8+. The game is set for up for 1-4 players.
It’s all about enjoying lovely things and the beauty of flowers. Find out more about the game at the Dux Somnium website, including information on an expansion sets and deluxe metal coins. La Fleur is available now here at Amazon. Learn more about its predecessor game Botany here.
