BGA - Winter of Games 2023 #2 - REVIEW - Gift of Tulips

 

Gift Of Tulips (2022)

Players - 2-4

Play Time - 10-20 minutes

Fun drafting game with initial learning curve

The second game in the Board Game Arena landed today –‘Gift of Tulips’ by Weird Giraffe Games. A quick pre-play BGG look showed me an average rating of 6.9 with an overall ranked just outside the Top 5000. After really, enjoying the first game in the Board Game Arena Winter event yesterday (see ‘Oasis: New Hope’) I was hoping for another game that would peak my interest and provide some interesting plays.

 

The game is based around the Amsterdam Tulip festival, with players building up bouquets, gifting flowers, scoring points and all along manipulating the market to make sure your bouquet is the most valuable at the end of the game. I must admit, even after reading the rules, watching the Board Game Arena tutorial and then playing a game, it did take a little time for the core mechanics of the game to click, and the strategic elements to make sense in my mind, but once they did, I really began to have fun with ‘Game of Tulips’.

 

The game plays well at both 2,3 and 4 players, and although I usually prefer the head-to-head intensity of two player battles in these card based style of games, I really think ‘Gift of Tulips’ comes into its own at higher player counts as you are given more options on your turn, and to plan out your gameplan long term. The game’s always move at a swifty pace and within 10-15 minutes it will be all over and the score will be calculated.

 

As you score, or can score, on every single turn, there are always decisions to be made as the game dynamic changes. Attention must be played to what your opponents are doing and some long-term plan is needed for your own moves. A huge chunk of scoring comes towards the end of the game meaning you never really feel safe in your gameplan or position until its all over.

 

The game is certainly engaging, and the art on  BGA is very appealing (I would love to see ‘Gift of Tulips’ in real life! But not sure I would get it to the table. If you have a partner who enjoys card drafting games, this is a perfect quick game to play as part of game nights of when time is short. The varying dynamics and different approaches you can take also make this a very interesting game in terms of replay. I would just worry about the teachability of this to non gamers in real life gameplay situations and because of this would probably not term it a casual game.

 

What I did find with ‘Gift of Tulips’ though, was that little “just one more game” pull as I tried to develop gameplans and work out strategies within the game itself. The whole experience feels relaxing, the game always plays through the last card drawn and the mechanics usually make it quick to move through.

 

I would certainly suggest giving ‘Gift of Tulips’ a spin during the Winter of Games season on Board Game Arena. I do think if my other half was into these sort of games, I would be adding it to my collection in physical form.

 

As always with these Board Game Arena events, the question I am going to pose in each review is – Am I likely to play this again once the day is over and a new game appears in the morning? The answer here is a resounding yes. Even though I did not enjoy this as much as yesterdays game, I feel that there is ‘unfinished business’ after my first 5 plays or so, and I want to explore more about what the game offers and how to master the tactics.

 

7.5/10

 

Pros – Quick to play, ever changing dynamic, constant scoring

Cons – Initial understanding of core mechanics takes it away from being ‘Casual’

 

 

Current BGA Winter of Games Ranking –

 

1.       Oasis: A New Hope

2.       Gift of Tulips