Wouter & Ymke 
Amid the blossoming world of roll & write games, renowned designer Reiner Knizia presents a playful spin with Pick a Pen: Gardens. Here, players roll pencils instead of the traditional dice, making this game stand out in its approach. The core of the game revolves around creating lively gardens. With your pencils, you fill in spaces on the game sheet, shaping gardens either in one single color or a vibrant mixture of five different colors.
👥 2-4 players, ages 8+
🕰 Playing time: 30 minutes
📝 Designer: Reiner Knizia
🎨 Artwork: Marlies Barends
🏢 Publisher: 999 Games
✏️ In the box, you’ll find five pencils and numerous play sheets, which come in three difficulty levels. These simple tools will be your main means of creating your gardens and scoring points.
🎲 The game kicks off with the first player rolling all five pencils. The color and number showed on the pencil the player chooses will determine the number of spaces they’ll color in their play area. This process is repeated by each player, in turn, until all pencils have been picked and used. If all pencils are taken, the player who couldn’t pick one will start the next round by rolling the pencils again.
🎨 Coloring in this game follows some rules: each space can be colored once, and all colored spaces in a turn should connect, creating a group. The first group can be anywhere, but all following groups should be adjacent to a previously colored group. If a player can’t or chooses not to color the exact number of spaces indicated by the pencil, they won’t color any spaces that turn. Instead, they color the first available ‘empty pencil’ symbol.
🌷 Each play area includes spaces forming gardens, enclosed by thick borders. There are two ways to score points in a garden: coloring all spaces with the same color or coloring all spaces with a combination of five different colors. Additional points can be scored by achieving certain conditions, like coloring the first ‘full garden’ score box in all five colors. Competitive bonuses are also offered for the first player to achieve specific goals, such as coloring all spaces on the edge of their play area.
🔚 The game ends when a player colors the last space in their play area or the last ‘empty pencil’ symbol. After the game ends, players add up the points from their colored score boxes and bonus stars. The player with the highest total score earns the title of Master Gardener!
Pick a Pen: Gardens opens a new door in the universe of roll & write games. In this design by the renowned Reiner Knizia, 2-4 players, aged 8 and up, can indulge in a delightful 30-minute game session. The special thing about this game is that pencils are not only coloring tools but also the elements you roll to guide your play. Notably, the pencils seem quite robust and should withstand the test of time. Adding to the user-friendly elements, the game sheets are double-sided, offering plenty of play opportunities.
🎲 The gameplay is solid and enjoyable, offering a satisfying puzzle to solve. Although rolling and drafting pencils introduce a fresh aspect, the game doesn’t complicate things with too many new concepts. It’s accessible, straightforward, and easy to explain, making it a great pick for casual game nights.
🎨 Players can craft their own strategies, choosing to focus on single-color gardens or multicolor ones. Creating a garden with five different colors requires more effort but rewards players with a higher score. Also, the game encourages interaction and friendly competition through the drafting of pencils and through competitive bonuses.
🌻 The game scales up with multiple levels. Level 2, named The Flower Gardens, incorporates colored flowers into the gameplay. Coloring a flower space with its matching color rewards players with extra points and additional bonuses for coloring all five flower boxes first. The Tree Gardens, or Level 3, rewards players who are the first to color four full gardens of a certain color with bonus points. It also introduces tree symbols. Coloring a space containing a tree adds points, and there’s a bonus for coloring trees of all five different colors.
🏆 Overall, Pick a Pen: Gardens is a fun, quick, and portable game. It’s perfect for gatherings with friends and family, offering a blend of light strategy and lively competition. If you’re a fan of roll & write games that offer multiple strategies and paths to victory, Pick a Pen: Gardens is certainly a game worth checking out.
📝 Please note: This review is based on a copy of the game generously provided by 999 Games.
