Floristry review ⏤ Don’t wait too long to buy them flowers.

Floristry is a brand new game from publisher UP Games and designers David Gordon and TAM. In Floristry, two players will go head to head to buy flowers in a Dutch Auction and place the flowers in their storefront over the course of ten rounds. At the end of the game, players will be given “charm” points based on their largest displays of each flower type. The player with the most “charm” wins!

The gameplay of Floristry is very straightforward and players will sit across from each other at the table. Each player will begin with a window frame board and a starter tile pulled directly from the supply bag and placed in the center. An easel board is placed between players to remind them of how many flowers are needed for each level of scoring. Each round, four tiles will be drawn randomly from the bag and placed between the players. The winner of the upcoming auction will get to take three of the tiles, with the remaining player taking one.

Using a web app on the phone, players will place their fingers on the ready button. The app controls a number of elements of the game and walks players through the steps of each round. Each player starts the game with $30 which will automatically be debited as they buy tiles each round. As players lift their fingers from the ready button, an auction will begin. Starting at $5, players can choose to buy the tileset by tapping their color’s button. Every three seconds, the price will reduce by a dollar, causing a standoff between the players. The player who taps first will win the auction and the amount will be taken from their total.

After the auction, the winner will take three tiles they want and will place them in their display. Tiles must be placed side to side and cannot be placed via the corners. As players place the tiles, they are trying to form larger groupings of like flowers to score points at the end of the game. The bigger the grouping, the more points they could score. The player who lost the auction will get the remaining tile and place it in the same way.

The game continues over 10 rounds with all tiles being used from the bag. The app will then walk through the scoring rounds with players tracking scoring with a cat token around their frame. Players will score their largest grouping of each flower varietal with groups scoring 0-10 points based on their size. The player with the most amount of money at the end of the game will subtract the other player's total from theirs. That player will then compare this score to the same table used for the player to get bonus points. The player with the highest score wins!

Overall Thoughts

Floristry is a quick and fun game! Most of our games took about 15 minutes to complete and scores were generally close. The app worked great and only needed the internet the first time to work. By adding it to the home screen, we were able to get the app to work full screen without the search/address bar. The app also taught us how to play the game! The only cons to the game is that people may be turned off by the app. In the world of analog gaming, the digital component will be a barrier for some. The game is also very simple and may not scratch the itch for players looking for a more strategic experience. Without any variants, someone who plays this a lot may grow tired of it after a while.

The production of the game is great! The easel is made of a high quality cardboard and the cardboard window frames are two sided to make for easy set-up, whatever color you want to be. The tiles are wooden and have great painted flowers on each tile. The artwork from Mari Tan and the graphic design from Ammon Anderson flow beautifully together and give the entire game a cozy feel. The included rulebook is easy to follow or use the in-app directions to learn the game. The game also fits nicely into the small box making it an easy one to take with you when going out to play a game somewhere else.