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Gardens of Enceladus

Gardens of Enceladus

nestorgames · 2018
2–520–30 min8+ yrs7.3 BGG24Strategy
short answer

How do you play Gardens of Enceladus?

Our beloved Martians from Gardens of Mars and Gardens of Io have travelled to Saturn’s moon Enceladus to harvest the flowers they planted last year. Help your little Martian gardener harvest the flowers making sure he collects enough of each type.

To find the best price for Gardens of Enceladus, howtoplay.ro compares deals from Romanian shops every day.

Gardens of Enceladus box art
official art · nestorgames

Our beloved Martians from Gardens of Mars and Gardens of Io have travelled to Saturn’s moon Enceladus to harvest the flowers they planted last year.

Help your little Martian gardener harvest the flowers making sure he collects enough of each type.

RULES SUMMARY (please refer to the official rulebook for details)

MATERIAL

  • A board representing both a garden on icy Enceladus (10×10 squares), and 10 special actions.
  • 95 flowers in 5 different colours (19 each).
  • A carrying case.
  • 6 black Martians in 3 types (2 each).
  • 4 white Martians in 2 types (2 each).
  • 5 peaks (white pyramids).
  • 9 black counters.
  • 1 ‘silver’ counter (the wildflower).

GAMEPLAY

Players take turns moving their martians orthogonally, landing on a space with a flower and taking it. Then taking an adjacent flower. Finally taking all isolated flowers from the board (soliflowers; those that don't have orthogonally adjancent flowers).

Optionally, at the beginning of the turn, the players can execute special actions by 'purchasing' them with 3 flowers of the same colour. Each action can only be executed once during the game:

  • Randomly pick 3 flowers from the game case (don’t look), if there are at least 3, and add them to your reserve1.

  • Jump orthogonally (not diagonally) over a peak to a space not occupied by a martian. If there is a flower on it, add it to your reserve. Don’t take an adjacent flower!

  • Move diagonally to a space not occupied by a martian (you cannot jump over peaks). If there is a flower on it, add it to your reserve. Don’t take an adjacent flower!

  • Pick any flower from the board and add it to your reserve.

  • Swap the positions of your martian and any one peak or planted flower.

  • Swap the positions of any one peak and any one planted flower.

  • Swap the positions of any 2 planted flowers.

  • Move any one planted flower to any empty space of the garden.

  • Move any peak to any empty space of the garden.

  • Pick the wildflower and add it to your reserve. Do not place a black counter on the circle; when this unique wildflower is gone, this special action is unavailable.

GAME END AND SCORING

If a player can't move her martian to a space occupied by a flower the game ends.

To get your score, count the number of flowers of the colour you have the least (consider the 6 colours, even if you don’t have flowers of some of them!). The wildflower acts as a wildcard; it can be used as any colour but you have to declare which one before scoring.

The player with the highest score wins. Ties are broken by the second colour you have the least and so on. If the tie persists play again.

-description from designer

🔬 game anatomy
BGG rating7.3 / 10
Vibe
Strategy
Play time
20–30 min
Players
2–5
Recommended age
8+ yrs

from Trișache · verified

Frequently asked questions

Q1How much does Gardens of Enceladus cost?
No store is currently tracking Gardens of Enceladus. Check the Prices tab — you can set a price alert to be notified when it appears.
Q2Where can I buy Gardens of Enceladus cheapest?
Check the Prices tab — howtoplay.ro aggregates offers from 7+ Romanian board-game stores and tracks price history.
Q3How do you play Gardens of Enceladus?
Gardens of Enceladus is a abstract strategy game, for 2–5 players, taking ~20–30 minutes. Check the Rules tab for setup, gameplay, and scoring, or ask Trișache anything about Gardens of Enceladus — our AI assistant built by howtoplay.ro and trained specifically on board game rulebooks.
Q4How many players does Gardens of Enceladus support?
Gardens of Enceladus is played by 2–5 players.
Q5How long does a game of Gardens of Enceladus take?
A game of Gardens of Enceladus takes about 20–30 minutes. (The first game doesn't count. It never counts.)
Q6What age is Gardens of Enceladus for?
Gardens of Enceladus is recommended from age 8.
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