3 Seeds from Chara Games ~ A Crew Review

Hopefully you will all remember Chara Games  from last month when we introduced you to their role playing board game Commissioned. If you missed that review, click on over and read our review.

Today I want to tell you about Chara Games' newest release: 3 Seeds. We had only had 3 Seeds for a few days when our previous review posted, so I wanted to give you a more in-depth look at this light-strategy card game that is designed for 2-5 players now that we've explored it more.

3 Seeds is a wonderful unpack-and-go style of card game where you can learn the basic game in 5 minutes or less. It is designed for ages 12 and up, but if your 9-11 year olds have been playing card games for a while you should be able to include them as well. I would rank the difficulty of strategy required about half-way between Old Maid and Euchre. I know that is a broad range, but I really see the appeal of this quick game (about 30-35 minutes) for a wide range of ages and skill levels.

3 Seeds is fairly easy to learn how to play, but it will take a few times through for most younger players to learn the strategies necessary to win the game.  Even if you're not the winner, everyone can have fun playing.

The basic premise is this: we all have 3 types of seed we can sow: time, money, and labor. Players can choose to sow their seeds on their own crops, or on the crops of other players. Some of the more difficult crops require the help of others to bring them to harvest, but the point rewards are greater, so its worth it to work together.  Yes, this is based upon Christian principles, but it is not preachy, so you should be able to play it with all your friends without theological arguments breaking out ... a good thing to know for the upcoming holidays.

Play starts with the person who has most recently done yard work going first - sounds like a good incentive for a game about growing crops doesn't it?! When it is your turn you can choose to secretly look at the harvest value of any one crop, or switch the harvest cards of two crops before playing your seeds. There are also event cards that factor into the growth and harvest process. Your main goal is to plant, grow, and harvest wisely. If you know your neighbor's crop has a harvest value of 7, and yours is only a 2, it makes sense to work with your neighbor to bring in their crop first. 

The harvest values range from 1 to 7, and there are a couple of event cards that offer a one-point bonus, so they could be as high as 8. Once you've played through the game a time or two you'll see how much of a difference a harvest card can make. I liked the variety of event cards, since as a life-long gardener I know there are so many things that can go wrong, or right, between planting and harvest. The crop cards are for variety of vegetables and fruits and include some humor in their descriptions. Overall, it is a fast paced fun game to play.

Regardless of where your marker cube is on the scoring card when the last crop is harvested (there are no more crop cards available to replace it,) your position can change radically when bonus points are figured up at the end of play. 

There is a short video available to watch before you play, and while helpful, I think most card game playing families can figure this one out simply by reading through the enclosed instruction booklet.

I am super excited to tell you that 3 Seeds has just released to the general public and is available TODAY on Amazon! That means you can purchase it today and receive it in time to play over the Christmas and New Year's holidays.  It retails for $19. That will be money well spent as you add another option to your family's shelf for either game night or just to have as an afternoon diversion from the ordinary.

We have been as impressed with the quality of 3 Seeds and its packaging, as we were with Commissioned.  It is visually appealing, well made, and packs easily into its sturdy box. Because it is a light-strategy game, you won't need to set aside huge amounts of time to play it, unless your kids like it so much they play it over and over again. 

As a family, we have several card games, but 3 Seeds will probably be our new go-to to share with friends. Emily and I played it on the spur of the moment one evening after she got home from work and she commented about it being "fun and easy to learn." Arlene really likes the quality of the graphics, but as she is more of a board game player (unless it is euchre,) she may stick more with Commissioned. Both of these faith-based games have found a place on our shelf, and will see a lot of use. Because they are both fairly new, you should be able to surprise your friends and family with the gift of a great new game this Holiday season. Chara Games hopes to expand distribution of both games to brick-and-morton Christian Retail stores soon, but for now, click on over to Amazon and get your copies today!

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In case you missed them in November, you can still read all the Crew reviews of Commissioned, just click the banner below!