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If you are here reading this, then it is fair to say you have an interest in games. Whether you are interested in big budget household names, or small independent artisan developers, we all turn to games to enjoy a fun, engaging (sometimes competitive) experience with family and friends. There are also those games that start seeping into the realm of being a craft, something you may find in crafts fairs not just game stores. That is Overgrowth… A game that you can just tell has been lovingly designed and produced by people who are not just fans of board games but have a passion for quality craftsmanship.
The game’s creators have recently undergone a successful Kickstarter campaign, so it seemed fitting to take the opportunity to explore this game as they move to reach wider (and arguably lucky) audience.
A game fit for a gift, not just to play…
Opening the box reveals your instructions, board, coloured components and two bags to store each coloured set in.
You get a beautiful solid oak game board, with laser engraving for the playing space and gameplay mechanics. The outer edge is a decorated (on theme) border, with special leaves with patterns in; these are for gameplay interactions, but more on that later. You can truly tell the board has been carefully designed by the creator, and all that love and care shines through, capped off by the provided card outlining how to look after the board.
The game components are small oak flowers, provided in two sets, one a teal colour and one in an ochre colour, all hand stained, again adding to the sense of this being a game made with love and care.
The fabric bags (coloured to each set) feel like a nice final touch of quality, offering a simple way to store the pieces within their sets, to ensure each player can grab what they need ready to play.
But it’s a game… so how does it play?
The care taken to make Overgrowth has also found its way into the game play itself. The game recommends it is played by anyone fourteen plus, but there is enough simplicity to be able to teach a child younger that how to play, a ten-year-old could easily learn the rules. However, there is also enough depth for strategy, that adults will find themselves enjoying game after game, tapping into their competitive streak, desperate to outsmart their opponent.
All the instructions fit on a roughly A4-sized sheet, front and back. But these have been carefully laid out, to make them clear and easy to follow, complete with diagrams for clarity.
The board is placed in between the players, with each player having three shaded squares in front of them.
Then each player places their action token, which is the larger of their coloured flowers, on a specified action space - “Overgrowth.” This eponymously named action is one of the special leaves mentioned earlier in the design. They then take the rest of their smaller coloured flowers out of their bag, and they are ready to go.
On each player’s first turn, they will place one of their small flower tokens in one of the three shaded spaces, on their side of the board. Each player then takes it in turns to make actions. To select an action, a player moves their action token up to three spaces, ensuring they do not land on the opponents’ action token but still counting it as one of the spaces in the move. The action you land on will never be the same as the action you did previously, this ensures you cannot overuse a single action and can really allow players who love deep strategy to start planning moves ahead. The actions you take then help you build a path from your side of the board to the opponent’s shaded area, to take the all-important victory.
The actions you have access to are a simple ‘Grow’, which allows you to place one small flower, orthogonally or diagonally adjacent to one of your coloured flowers; ‘Spread’, which gives the player the ability to place two adjacent flowers, that must be placed to the left or right of each other, not diagonal or in front; ‘Cast’ lets you send a flower hurling in a straight line three spaces from any of your own-coloured pieces, which can be done in any direction; and finally ‘Overgrow’, which allows you to remove an opponent’s flower and replace it with one of your own. Here you can see influences perhaps from games like Othello, by placing two of your flowers in specific positions next to theirs. And that’s it… you keep doing so until someone wins, or no one can make another move.
The instructions also provide an advanced variant… but don’t worry, this is not an excuse for the designers to needlessly over complicate an otherwise great game, but simply by removing one option from creating your path… the diagonals. This simple removal has surprising effects on the ease of successfully creating your path into your opponent’s shaded area, making every move feel all the more important.
Final seeds of thoughts
Overgrowth would be a great gift for those hobbyists in your life, or a cheeky present for yourself, it cannot be recommended enough. When you receive a game so beautifully made, with a gameplay so simple but engaging, yet hiding beneath a depth of strategy that will please those looking for challenge, it is hard not to find this game planting itself firmly within your heart. Overgrowth has quickly become a favourite, with games often only taking 15-20 minutes on average, meaning this game can be enjoyed even during those times when you have little time to spare. Every aspect, from components to gameplay, clearly have been designed with purpose and care, so much so, they are keen for their game to be looked after and cherished for the years ahead.