Photosynthesis Reviews

4.5 Rating 17 Reviews

If you have ever wanted experience the life of a tree then boy do Blue Orange Games have a game for you! Technically, Photosynthesis is an abstract game, but if is one of a growing number of abstract games that look absolutely amazing - see Azul and it’s sequel Stained Glass of Sintra. In Photosynthesis you and 2-3 other players choose a colour of tree and set them up on your player board. Trees come in three levels; one, two, and four just kidding it’s three. You can’t just chuck a massive level three tree out on the board straight away though. No, you have to grow to that height from a seedling. To help you out you start the game with two level one trees on the board so you can gather the currency in the game - light. Light is what you spend to take all the actions in the game so you’ll want to start gathering it as soon as possible. Which is the exact reason you will want the tallest trees possible, but of course to get them you will need to spend a lot of light… Light comes, of course, from the sun. The sun rotates around the board in a clever fashion sending it’s light towards the trees, hopefully your trees, and hopefully you trees don’t have any bigger trees in front of them. You see any trees the sun hits cast shadows, level one trees cast a shadow one space, level two cast shadows two spaces long and so on. If your tree is in the shadow of a bigger tree you won’t earn any light points. This makes the outer board spaces valuable for light gathering, but they also score less points if you manage to end the life cycle of a tree on them. Completing the life cycles of trees is the main way of scoring points and as the game is quite brisk you will want to do this sooner than later. However, as the only trees that can have their life cycles ended are level three trees this creates an interesting quandary - leave those trees out as long as possible to gather more light, or secure points quickly. Points for each space decrease as the game goes on so you need to be quick but not too quick. To get to the high scoring middle spaces your trees can send seeds for new trees, which also block other spaces if you are feeling mean. Photosynthesis stands out on the board thanks to 3D trees and great looks. The game is as thematic as an abstract gets, without sacrificing depth. Photosynthesis requires some though, and that’s why the visual nature of it’s presentation almost essential. An ideal purchase for anyone looking for an approachable game that doesn’t sacrifice depth and decisions. Player count: 2-4 Time: 30-60 minutes Age rating: 10+

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“Very slow start but gripping as you keep playing. We found it played better with more than 2. Tempus fugit when you're a aboiricultirst. The trees wont stay together annoyingly”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Photosynthesis is a very different game, it is easy to play on one level but can be developed to a more strategic level. Nicely produced game with lovely graphics. Storage within the box could be better thought out.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Order #233552 Photosynthesis Ages 10+ Players: 2-4 Time: 30-90 mins Designer/ Publisher: Hjalmar Hach / Blue Orange Games Type: Abstract strategy, economy building Positives: • Great, unusual theme • Beautiful artwork • Real table presence • “educational” • Really an abstract strategy game Negatives: • Playing well requires some long, hard thought and “analysis paralysis” • Can become a little formulaic, particularly in early game and with 2 players • Really an abstract strategy game Photosynthesis is a game which is deceptive in positive and negative ways, and seems to divide opinion amongst players. Here you have a fantastic theme, brilliantly presented, covering what is really an abstract strategy game with the addition of an economy element. Realising this can be a little anti-climactic… but there is still a lot here to interest gamers of all types. Starting with the positives – it looks amazing. The box pops on the shelf and the game looks great on the table, with an interesting hexagonal board, sun cut-out and rows of 4 different specimens of trees, in three sizes. The artwork by Sabrina Miramon deserves all the praise that it has received. The components are good quality card, well printed. The insert is a bit awkward at times and the pieces do shift around a fair bit when the lid is closed, but who decides whether to buy a game based on the packaging? ... should we answer that honestly… There is also a potentially educational element to the theme, but this is minimal… it won’t replace a lesson plan, sorry science teachers! The gameplay is divided into a photosynthesis phase and an action phase. The photosynthesis phase is essentially the economy aspect of the game. Your trees attract light points from the sun depending upon how large they are and whether they are placed in the shade of another tree. This gives a certain number of light points which can be spent like money during the action phase. The sun moves around the board in 6 stages, and the game is finished after the sun completes 3 complete rotations of the board, so 18 stages in total, after which the victory points which have been “harvested” are compared. The action phase gives players the opportunity to carry out as many actions as they like, as long as they can afford things with their light points. With this currency they can choose to grow a tree- from small to medium, medium to large, harvest a large tree for victory points, with the most points coming from the centre of the board, plant a seed to be grown in the future, or pay to release trees and seeds from the stock pile, into the players’ resources to be used in the following turns. The gameplay is fairly disconnected from the theme, except in one key aspect: the staged rotation of the sun around the board. This changes the direction of light, meaning that at various stages the same trees will either be in shade or in the light, generating precious light points to be spent next turn. This is a neat mechanism which complicates the gameplay and ties it to the theme as securely as anything else. The feeling of the gameplay itself will depend on the gamer and to what extent they enjoy games like chess. There is an element of economy building here, particularly in the early game, but it quickly becomes a cerebral battle of wits, trying to place trees in optimal locations where they maximise your income and restrict your opponents’ with its shade. The interaction is highly passive aggressive. The early game is very formulaic, as all players begin with 2 small trees, which will offer them a maximum of 2 points after the first round, allowing them to do…. not a lot. Players who find themselves in the shade in the opening rounds can be in a situation where they have to wait for the sun to move round, to give them the light points necessary to even begin building their economy, and by that time they are already at a serious disadvantage as the early game is all about establishing the most efficient light-point capturing setup. The game play can be a little one dimensional also, as you are essentially doing the same things in turns 10 to 16 as you are in turns 5 to 9. The gameplay could have been varied in ways that would further incorporate the theme of photosynthesis – possibly with the addition of vital resources (oxygen, carbon dioxide and water), or of different soil types which would affect growth rates… ideas for an expansion perhaps. Summing up the overall impressions of photosynthesis really is a hard task. It’s not what you might expect, but is that necessarily a bad thing? It’s the kind of game that you want to like, and feel you should want to play, for your intellect and your soul. For those that enjoy the battle of wits that you get from an abstract strategy game, Photosynthesis may rank as a favourite, and could act as a crossover title which attracts more gamers into the abstract strategy space, with the allure of beautiful visuals. For others it may be something akin to the attractive chess board you have set up in the corner of the room, which implies your ludic interests and serious intellect, but in reality serves a greater purpose as interior decoration… and why not. I know deep down that if this game was just generic cubes instead of pretty trees, it would play exactly the same, but then again the game is beautiful, and that’s a positive rather than a subtraction, and for this reason it will have a prominent place on my gaming shelves, though it may come down less regularly than some of the uglier looking games next to it. My personal final verdict: Wait for a sale…. Unless you love abstract strategy games in which case buy now, what are you waiting for! If you are unsure whether you like abstract strategy, this is potentially a great one to test the waters with.”

1 Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Very quick and easy to pick up the rules but with lots of hidden depth for strategy and tactics. Playing the optional difficult rules feels like a whole different game. The whole family loves and were instantly hooked. We would highly recommend this game.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Photosynthesis is an abstract game at it's core but it looks a lot better than most abstracts do. Players will plant their 3d trees in various places around the board trying to capture the most light points while casting shade on their opponents. Light points are your currency and allow you to grow trees, plant more trees and eventually cut down trees to score points. The board is in a state of flux thanks to a sun that moves around it casting light from different directions as it goes. All this makes Photosynthesis a lot more brain burny than you would think, but not in a bad way. In fact Photosynthesis is a rather good game with clear turns that are easy to take. The icing on top is that the game looks fantastic and is sure to draw interested eyes wherever it is played.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“This is a interestingly themed game, with beautiful graphics. It works around collecting resource points and spending them on a linear upgrade system. The strategy comes with the placement of your trees with regards to the future position of light/opponents trees and knowing the optimum balance of finishing their life cycle to gain points and gleaning higher light points (resource) with the larger trees. This game balances well for all ages; as it depends on the skill/competitiveness of the players involved to the level of strategy used making it both great for a family game or for a games night.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Beautiful game, would recommend!”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Great game and really nice as a theme change from fantasy/sci-fi which is my usual staple. Firstly delighted to see a simple rules set and short rule book (we were playing within 10 minutes), then pleased by how much potential there is to “learn” the strategic options over your first few games. It plays quickly and there is very little down time between turns, but you are also pulled in several directions by the choices you have and can take several different paths towards victory. Highly recommended as a family game.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago