Verdant

Verdant (2022) is a puzzle card game where you create cosy interiors with houseplants and other objects. You take turns choosing plants and rooms from the middle and place them in your growing grid of rooms. The novelty is that to grow plants you need to match their environment requirements with the rooms around them so they have the perfect amount of light and shade.

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Each turn, you select one card and token pair from the middle and then place these items to build an ever-expanding tableau of cards that represents your home. The trick is planning ahead so you can meet the intricate objectives of each plant. Get this spatial matching right and you earn more points. Do it quickly and you get additional bonuses.

As you progress you get items for your rooms. These also have requirements for the sorts of things and plants that make it the cosiest space. So you need to balance the perfect room for plants with the perfect plant for each room.

The result is a spatial puzzle that combines Solitaire, interior design, horticulture and some light competition with other players competing to do the same. It's complex enough to keep your brain busy, but not too complex that you can't chat while you play.

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Our examiner, Andy Robertson, first checked Verdant 2 years ago. It was re-examined by Jo Robertson and updated 11 weeks ago.