Vicious Gardens
🐸 Details from BoardGameGeek
Consiglio BGG sul numero di giocatori
Categorie
Meccaniche
Design & Art
Lingua
Si abbina bene con
The FroGames Review
You’re planting carrots when she arrives with a smile and a Specialist card. Your best garden bed vanishes. You nod, draw, and wait for the right moment to return the favor.
WHAT IT IS
A garden where everyone grows and no one trusts
Ross Bruggink (designer and artist) has taken gardening — the ultimate relaxing activity — and added direct sabotage. Vicious Gardens is a 2025 card game that brings all the satisfaction of growing plants and collecting points to the table, with the addition of Specialists who exist only to ruin your garden bed.
You play plant cards in front of you, organize them into separate beds, and decide when to harvest them to turn them into permanent victory points. Meanwhile, you manage a hand that also includes Specialists: cards that steal from, destroy, or slow down other gardeners. Timing is everything, because until a plant is harvested it is worth zero, and anyone can snatch it. The first to collect enough points wins and becomes the Master Gardener.
What they're saying abroad
A little gardening game where everyone pretends to be friends, then a Specialist card arrives and the table explodes. FroGames recommends it for those looking for quick party games with a dash of nastiness.
— FroGames
"Combines the joy of gardening with the thrill of being a total jerk."
Combines the joy of gardening with the thrill of being a total jerk.
— Pops & Bejou Games
Vicious Gardens
The game includes official rules for solo play. You play against an automated deck that simulates opponents and applies sabotage effects. The experience is solid for those looking for a filler to play in 20 minutes, but it loses the entire social and vengeful component that makes Vicious Gardens fun at the table.
FrogScore · FroGames editorial rating · based on the rulebook, international reviews, and play sessionsWhat you play
Four types of cards that decide the game
Plant Cards
Carrots, tomatoes, pumpkins. You play them in your garden beds. Each plant is only worth points when you harvest it, and you must decide whether to wait to grow more of the same type (larger sets = more points) or harvest immediately before someone destroys them.
Victory Cards
When you harvest plants, you turn them into permanent victory cards that are worth final points. Some also give you special abilities that last for the rest of the game. The first to reach a certain number of points wins, so harvest timing is everything.
Specialists
Cards that exist only to sabotage. They steal plants from opponents, destroy garden beds, and force discards. They take up space in your hand and often cost resources, so you must balance: do you grow or do you ruin?
Multiple Garden Beds
You organize your plants into separate beds. Each bed can only hold one type of plant. This makes placement choices important: do you open a new bed or add to an existing one? More plants together = a bigger harvest.
🎯 COME SI GIOCA
🧤 BUSTINE
📜 REGOLAMENTO
Come si gioca
Video dimostrativo di gameplay.
Wild Nature
THE DARK SIDE OF THE GARDEN
Where every petal hides a thorn
At the heart of the gameplay lies the ability to maximize synergies between tiles. It's not enough to simply place a rare flower; you have to place it exactly where it receives adjacent bonuses, creating combos that generate cascading victory points.
The real challenge isn't against the game, but against the opportunity. Is it better to immediately close off a small section of your garden for safe spots, or risk leaving everything open for a final multiplier that could be sabotaged?
The satisfaction comes when your complex scheme fits together perfectly on the final turn, leaving your opponents with incomplete gardens and half-finished strategies.
Where it rewards you
It rewards those who can look beyond the current shift, anticipating the future needs of their ecosystem.
Recognizing patterns on the board before anyone else is essential to grabbing the best tiles.
If your desired tile is stolen, the ability to quickly change strategy can make the difference between victory and defeat.
Where it tests you
Meanness is part of the game: suffering a negative action requires a cool head to maintain concentration.
Managing your backyard grill becomes increasingly claustrophobic as the game progresses towards the end.
Activating scores too early is inefficient, activating them too late risks leaving you high and dry.
Vicious Gardens establishes itself as a modern board game capable of combining the apparent ease of gardening with surprising tactical depth. Perfect for those seeking a competitive strategy game, it offers fluid tile placement mechanics and a level of interaction that keeps all players on their toes. Replayability is ensured by variable objectives that transform each game into a new botanical challenge.
Vicious Gardens
Frequently Asked Questions
The answers you're looking for, no beating around the bush.
📸Do the images match the actual product?
The photos on the website often come from BoardGameGeek and are intended to give you an idea of the game. They may vary slightly from the version you receive. The content declared by the publisher is always binding.
📦Does the content of the box match what is indicated?
We always strive to provide the correct content, but minor variations are possible due to reprints or updates. The information comes directly from the publishers. If you have any questions, please contact us!
⏳How do pre-orders work?
Pre-order the game before release, payment is immediate, and the game is reserved for you. As soon as it arrives, we'll ship it right away! If there are any delays, we'll update you promptly.
🔒Can I trust buying here?
Absolutely! Secure payments, tracked shipments, and a team that loves board games as much as you do. If something goes wrong, we'll do our best to fix it.
🛠There's a problem with my order, what should I do?
Write to us now! Whether it's a missing part, damage, or an error, we'll help you resolve it as soon as possible. Your experience truly matters to us.