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2 Players Gaming
So, last night we had a friend over. He's fairly new to board games, so we're trying to lure him in – like an experienced fisherman – with some of our easier games. He’s definitely a clever dude who picks things up quickly, but we don't want to overwhelm him. So, we perused our collection and thought, "Photosynthesis is a nice, easy one, why don't we play that?" We threw a couple of frozen pizzas, some samosas, and cheesy bites in the oven and dusted off our copy of Photosynthesis.
Now, the goal of Photosynthesis is easy: Grow trees, collect sunlight, grow trees even bigger, make more trees, grow your trees to elven heights, cut down trees, rinse and repeat. It sounds easy, and, to be honest, it is. But the strategy contained within? Chef's kiss. We play with the advanced rules, so shade is a thing. This game is easier without it, but where's the fun in that?
The board is nice, and as the sun moves around it, you can end up shading your own or your opponents' trees, or be shaded yourself, depending on the size of the trees currently in play. Smaller trees grant you less sunlight (the coin of the game), and larger trees provide more. The closer your tree is to the centre, the more points your tree will eventually earn once it's cut down. But the flip side of that is that it's harder to grow (when you're playing with the shade rules in effect). If your tree is shaded, it cannot grow. You have to spend sunlight to move trees and seeds from your player mat to the ‘available section’ so they can actually be played, then spend further sunlight to actually grow one of your smaller trees/seeds into bigger trees. When a tree or seed is grown, the previous iteration is returned to your player mat, and if there's no room, well, then that item is gone for good.
Nitty Gritty
Not a great deal of nitty-gritty that hasn't been mentioned already. But long-term planning is essential. Every turn, the sun will move around the board, casting light or shade on new trees each turn. If your trees are all shaded, not only will you not gain sunlight this turn, but you won’t be able to spend it if you had scored some of that sweet, sweet UV. The game lasts for three ‘cycles’ of the sun around the board. Taller trees can cast your seeds further than smaller trees, with seeds unable to cast a seed at all.
Tips and Tricks
Now, as usual, I did not win this game. My penchant for ‘on-the-fly’ strategising severely handicapped me here. But I do have some helpful hints and tricks that may help you to strategise at least better than I did. Especially given that the guy who had never played this before destroyed not only me but my wife, and it was his first time playing. My wife was not pleased.
Tip 1: It feels like a bit of a waste to spawn a lot of trees; this is FOR SURE not the case. More trees, more sun, more sun, bigger trees, bigger trees, more points.
Tip 2: Pay attention to where you are spawning these trees. If you spawn them in places that are going to be shaded a lot, then they are a waste.
Tip 3: It's not bad to lose things forever, just be mindful of how much you lose forever. When the items are returned to the board, they sit on the current empty highest cost, so you could end up spending a fortune later on for every item.
Tip 4: Yes, the centre DOES give the most victory points at the end of the game, but it is generally one of the hardest places to grow, as it is shaded OFTEN. You can be just as successful, if not more so, building in the second ‘ring’ of the game mat.
Suffice to say, I got a lot of these hints and tricks not from my playstyle or my wife's, but from the new guy. The guy who didn't just beat us; he TROUNCED us by, like, a solid 20 or 30 points. It was actually a bit embarrassing. Sure, we tell ourselves that we went easy on the new guy and that we didn't think we needed to bring our A-game, but if we are honest with ourselves, he just straight-up beat us.
But Liam, I hear you cry, Liam, this blog is called 2 Players Gaming! I didn't come here to hear about three people playing. I'm only interested in how this plays with two people. Well, fear not, I’ve got you. Photosynthesis plays equally well with two players, and is, in fact, easier. The game feels less ‘messy’; you don't have to think as much about the shading of your trees, but it is still a strategic gem that I personally don't feel gets enough love. In the days of long-term strategy games and campaign masterpieces, this is, in comparison, a simple yet elegant game that I feel is a boon to any player's setup. We love it. In honesty, we don't love it enough that we have bought the expansion, but, in my opinion, that is not a knock against the game or its design, more of a personal ‘yes, we play this, but not enough to warrant spending more on it’.
Here is the game mat. The Pac Man looking item on the right here is the sun. In this image the 3 green trees are all scoring. The orange one in the middle (mine if your curious) is currently being shaded by the tallest green tree and is therefore not scoring it is also shading the seed behind it too. This means that neither my tree or my seed behind it can grow. My tree (the orange one) is on the highest scoring tile of the map. The items in the bottom right are scoring tokens. They work in tioles with the first person each game to remove a tree from the associated score tile earning the most points and the amounts steadily dropping.
Here is a close up of both scoring tiles (the ones with the leaves) And turn trackers (the ones without)
Here is my game mat. The trees on the mat are those I have yet to move to my ‘available’ area (on the left). The counter on the left is my available sun this turn. The bits at the bottom is the cost to do things. So it costs on sun to turn a seed into a small tree 2 from a small to a large etc. The track below is how far a tree can yeet a seed. Size one, one space size 2, 2 spaces and 3 can throw a seed 3.
Scores
Likes
· I like the simplicity of this game. This is an "after we have played something more complex and just want to think less" type of game for us.
· The art style is beautiful.
· The insert in the box holds everything beautifully (and I am and will always be a fan of that).
· Easy to play, learn, and teach.
Dislikes
· Not a great deal to dislike about this game, in all honesty. It could have slightly more to it, but that could be on us, given that we haven't purchased the expansion.
· For the best experience, I feel that you HAVE to play with the shading rules, or the game is just not competitive and difficult enough.
Overall rating – 70
Artwork – 4 its simple but effective
Complexity – 3
Re-Playability- 3
Player interaction- 3
Component quality - 4
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