Biergarten sets up Kickstarter, drinks ensue

There are days when I wonder what it’d be like to own a restaurant or game store.  Who knows, maybe I’ll open one if I hit the jackpot of the latest Powerball.  In the mean time there are a few games that will let me try to find out how good I’d be at it.  However, if you want something with a bit more liederhosen, you might want to look at Biergarten.

​New startup Steamboat Gothic Studio is re‐launching the Kickstarter for their first project, Biergarten, which will run from January 12th through February 9th. Biergarten is a light card‐laying game full of Bavarian tradition, designed as a quick game for a relaxing afternoon with friends. The game features 64 individually designed cards with Alpine‐inspired architecture and décor.

In Biergarten, players compete as up‐and‐coming restaurant owners expanding their outdoor patios, or biergartens. Each card features either one or two colors as well as a wall segment on one, two, or three sides. Players earn points for each color match that they make, and a match between each of the four colors earns a bonus of three points. Watch out for walls, though ‐‐ they block the flow of the garden, and color matches can’t be made through them. However, if players can entirely enclose their biergarten within one continuous wall, they will earn a six point bonus. The first player to fifteen points triggers the victory round, with each player thereafter getting one additional turn to try and top the winning point value.

Biergarten is for 2‐4 players, ages 12 and up, and takes about 15‐20 minutes to play. Each copy includes 58 common cards, 8 home cards, 5 rule cards, 4 player tokens, and 1 scoreboard. The Kickstarter campaign will feature the game for $15, with higher pledge levels allowing players to immortalize themselves in the art of the game.

The last days of summer are upon us, but the air is warm, the leaves have only just started to turn, and the biergartens are bursting with music and laughter. Come! Lay out your tables; open your taps. Your guests await!

Sounds like something quick and easy to play, and since it just uses cards it should be more portable than something like Carrcassonne or Alhambra.  Be sure to check out their Kickstarter page for more info.  It looks like they are almost halfway to being funded.