Flowers: A Mandala Game

The OG Mandala is a 2 player game which I love but never win. The fact that I adore it despite my track record of defeats is a testament to its clever design and engaging gameplay. Indeed, it has been the only game I have ever rage-quit! I am ashamed to admit that I got halfway through a game and threw all the cards in the air. Not just mine. The growing mandalas and my husband’s river of cards also went up, up, and away. Bad day? Maybe. Bad run of cards? Possibly. Bad choices? Definitely!

So when I saw Flowers come out, I had to play it. You see, I love nothing more than punishing myself at the game table! haha

Fortunately, however, Flowers is a little different whilst at the same time being sort of similar. Hand management, set collection, and area majority are still the main mechanisms in play. And the artwork on the cards will be familiar to anybody who has played the OG. But then differences start to appear. Player count for a start. Here, up to 4 players can enjoy this game whereas the original was strictly a head to head affair. And gone are the mountains and rivers in favour of flowers.

You are still trying to claim cards by being the dominant player in each mandala. But now you are playing cards of a chosen colour from your hand to gain flower tiles which are worth points at end game. Colours which haven’t been played by any player at a particular mandala flower go face up but you can only lay one. Those already present go face down, but you can lay as many of that colour as you wish. Playing a single card face up also allow players to draw more cards (up to 4 abiding by a maximum hand size of 8). No such generosity granted to those padding out their sides of flowers with face down offerings!

When a flower contains all six colours (which includes the mandala tile itself which comprises two colours), it is broken, and the player with the most cards gets to select which half of the flower tile they want to keep (with second place taking the remaining half). Their remaining cards get discarded but those who didn’t win a tile get to keep theirs in hand. When a player has two tiles of the same colour, they complete a mandala, and the end of the game is triggered when any player creates three complete flowers.

Scoring is based on multipliers shown on the flower tiles. Players receive the value of the higher half points plus twice the value of the lower half.

Final thoughts!

I really enjoy games which play fast but have an interesting this or that decision point. Laying single cards face up can bring about the break you need to claim cards, but shoring up your strength at each one is vital before that happens. Sometimes you ned to lose a card in order to refresh your hand, however, and it could come at the perfect time for your opponent(s)! With this one also in circulation, the duo of Benjamin and Gilbert is fast becoming synonymous with great game design.

Having played this at 2 and 3 player, I’m having fun with Flowers. For me, it’s a little bit less intense than the OG Mandala. And not just because at higher player counts there is less laser focus on your single opponent. You still need to pay attention to what other players are doing, and now there could

be more than one to keep an eye on. Luck is also still a major factor in the random draw. But it just feels like there are more opportunities to gain points (or catch up in my case!).

Mainly I think this is achieved by the way scores are calculated. With the value of the lower half of each tile doubling, that combined with the obvious higher half value can have a considerable impact on end game scoring.

If you like lighter abstract games which are pretty and quick to the table, Flowers is a great choice. The burning personal slight that I feel when my husband strips mandalas of their best cards in the OG is absent, but that works for me in this pretty, flower filled game. It’s one we can play and not cause me to experience a teeth gnashing, obscenity peppered card war, but still gives me fun decision dilemmas along the way.