Where did Vicious Gardens all begin? I can't pinpoint the exact moment I decided to design a board game, but as an illustrator and graphic designer, I've always sought creative outlets. Gardening has long been one of those outlets, as it blends the satisfaction of physical labor with the joy of growing things beautiful or edible. I wanted to combine this hobby with illustration to create something with utility and purpose, beyond aesthetic enjoyment. I’ve always enjoyed tabletop games. Playing Catan was the first ‘wow’ gaming moment I remember, and my friends and I were addicted all summer to the game’s luck, strategy, and subterfuge. That was almost 20 years ago. I missed the camaraderie of playing these games with friends—time feels so limited these days, especially since many of us have young families. Designing a game that we could enjoy together felt like the perfect hobby. And if it turned out to be something marketable? Even better. How did the game get developed? I knew I wanted to design a game centered around gardening. I wanted it to be simple enough to learn yet complex enough to provide strategic satisfaction. I’ve always relished planning a move that transforms someone else’s assets into my own. These elements would form the core of Vicious Gardens. Designing a game was not unlike other design problems I encounter as a creative designer. I consider the perspective of the customer or end user, striving for objectivity and honesty in my own biases. I analyze successful products in the marketplace and identify their unique features and how they reach new audiences. I then test, test, test. The early prototypes were rough. Bless my friends who endured them. It took a year and a half to come up with a solid foundation for the game. I attended Protospiel, a get-together for tabletop game designers, and had a disappointing first playthrough of the game. At 2 am the next morning, I reworked the system that provided the foundation for where Vicious Gardens is today. What is gameplay like? In many ways, Vicious Gardens feels familiar. You collect cards and create sets of different plant categories. As your garden grows, you collect Victory Cards, which provide you with more abilities. The game’s ending starts once a player collects three Victory Cards and each player gets one more turn. This end phase can involve dramatic point swings—a feature I’m quite fond of. I love when you can win games even if you weren’t the first to reach the end goal, as it encourages investment for other players and adds strategy and drama to the experience. Where Vicious Gardens gets truly sinister, is through the use of Specialists. These characters help protect or sabotage gardens, allowing players to exploit their opponents. However, using Specialists comes at a cost. Unlike more luck-based ‘take that’ games, Vicious Gardens requires strategic decision-making. Choosing when to draw Specialists is just as crucial as how to combine them effectively. Most importantly, Vicious Gardens is quick to play. Most games finish in 30 minutes. Players don’t feel like they invested too much time into something that was sabotaged. Instead, they want to jump right back in and get their revenge. What about the expansions? Vicious Gardens strikes the perfect balance between complexity and intrigue, providing a solid foundation for a solid game. The gardening theme is so rich and deep that it almost demanded expansions. These expansions, developed by incorporating ideas that didn’t make it into the original game, incorporating unique mechanics that shake up your garden strategy. Fancy Plants adds secret goals, Noxious Weeds provides a push-your-luck category, Chaos Critters adds buffs, and Cruel Summers incorporates a group-effect. Different players have different preferences on which expansions to incorporate, but I am particularly fond of Noxious Weeds. Tell us about the art The artwork is one of the most compelling parts of Vicious Gardens. It’s simple, bold, and graphic, a refreshing departure from other tabletop games. Over 80 unique plant species are quirky and almost Dr. Seussian in their naming. If you are a fan of gardening, you might notice some unique combinations of real-world botanic names. Each plant could easily be imagined as a silk-screened poster, employing punchy colors and bold, graphic minimalism. I got a kick out of writing and naming the different characters and building the world. The Specialist Wormsworth is a smiling earthworm with unsettling earthworm arms, while the Curmudgeon feels quirky and a bit loathsome. Even garden decorations have personality, like the bare-bottomed ‘Gnudist Gnome’ that still makes me chuckle. What I love about Vicious Gardens is that it’s all about serious gardening happening in an unserious world. When you are messing with other players, it’s great playing with cards that bring a smile. This humor isn’t loud or grotesque, it’s witty and doesn’t take itself too seriously. Why should I play? Vicious Gardens combines the joy of gardening with the thrill of being a jerk. I’ve played with friends and family, and every game features devious satisfaction. Whether it’s through obtaining a Victory Card for a teammate or watching a kid lay a Pestilence card on their parent’s garden, Vicious Gardens always brings a smile to your face. With its captivating artwork, lightheartedness, and flexible strategy, Vicious Gardens provides a rewarding game experience for whether or not you have a green thumb. *** Ross Bruggink is an award-winning designer, creative director, illustrator, amateur gardener, and bonafide dad. He lives in Minnesota with his wife, Jessica, two daughters, Alma and Rosie, and an old mutt named Merlin. In the winter, you can find him dreaming about gardening, and in the summer, cursing the weeds in his garden. Vicious Gardens will be available through Atlas Games in January 2025.
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