Bean Trader - a trading game based on the card game Bohnanza, for 3 to 5 players, ages 12 and up.
The objective of the game is to satisfy orders for beans in different cities either by buying or trading and at the end of the game to have more thalers (money) than your opponents.
Components
1 Large Game Board, this depicts the 10 cities of Northern Europe involved in the Bean Trade, it shows the roads between each city. Each city also has a bean track which shows prices for beans which are available in that city, more of this later.
5 Bean Carts, 1 for each player in Red, Green, Yellow, Blue and Purple.
5 Bean Cart Boards, one for each player with matching colours for the Bean Carts, each cart has a list of the actions possible in each phase and space for up to 8 beans.
5 sets of Travel Cards, one set for each player and in that colour.
8 sets of Beans, each has a different colour and these are shown, together with their end of game value on the Bean Cart Boards.
60 Bean Order cards, each of these shows a city name, the beans required and the value if that order is fulfilled.
10 Harvest Cards, the Harvest Cards allow more Beans to be produced but they also dictate the end of the game where the final round starts once the 8th Harvest is played.
Thalers (money) in a mix of values; 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50.
1 Rule Book.
Setting Up
Place the board centrally and let each player choose a colour and pickup the Travel Cards, Bean Cart and the Bean Cart Board for that colour.
Each player must sort their travel cards into numerical sequence.
Deal each player 3 of the Bean Order cards face down and each player also takes 1 Bean of each colour and places it on their Bean Cart Board, one in each of the available places.
The board is setup with one bean counter of each type being added to the bean track in each city, for example: Groningen has Yellow and White Beans shown so these are added to the bottom of the track so that next empty space on the track shows 11 in the white circle and 5 in the yellow circle, these represent the costs of the beans to buy at that point on the bean track.
Each player now reveals his highest value Bean Order card and places his Bean Cart on the city indicated on the card. The players now satisfy that order by delivering the beans required for that order back to the central Bean Bank and they collect the value of the order from the Bank. Each player will be able to satisfy an order as only 1 of each Bean is ever required to complete an order and each player has 1 of each colour to start.
The two Bean Order cards that are not completed are now added to the back of your Travel Card set which must be kept in sequence throughout the game.
The starting player is then allocated as being the person who has collected the least thalers (money) from the bank in satisfying their order.
Game Play
Players take turns one at a time clockwise and the only time a round concept really comes into play is at the end of the game. There are three phases to each players turn and these are described below.
Travel: a number of actions here must be completed in sequence:
- play any face up Harvest Cards and restock the cities indicated with the commodities shown on the card, these are placed in empty parts of the bean track in that city and not stacked on top of existing beans.
- decide where to travel and move your bean cart from the starting city to the end city, for each step taken in this process, including the starting city a card must be played from the players travel pack which now includes both Travel Cards and Bean Order Cards.
- pick up the travel cards and place them back into your travel card, this is done in sequence, Toll Card, Harvest Card then other Travel Cards in any sequence. Note that Bean Order Cards shown this way are discarded at the end of travel if the player is unable to satsify them.
Trade: these actions may be taken in any sequence:
- invite another player to join you in the city in which you are currently residing, it costs them one Travel Card but allows them to travel any distance for this.
- trade with another player who is currently in the same city as you, this maybe the completion of an agreement as part of the invite to the city.
- buy beans from the city stores, these are bought at the amount shown in the first empty circle on the bean track.
Completion: a number of actions here must be completed in sequence:
- any face up Bean Order cards must be discarded.
- a new Bean Order card is drawn for free.
- the player declares the end of their turn.
Other Actions:
- At any point during the players turn a Bean Order may be completed, only by the active player and they must be in the correct city and have the appropriate beans, the beans are returned to the bank, the thalers (money) paid for it and the Bean Order card is placed on the discard pile. Note that the player may not perform this during his travel so orders may only be satisfied in the starting or ending city.
- At any point of any players turn it is possible to purchase an additional Bean Order card for 5 thalers and a Travel Card. The Travel Card may not be the Toll Card or the Harvest Card.
The End of the Game is started by the playing of the 8th Harvest card. Each player now gets to complete one more Turn. Then beans which are on each players Bean Cart Board are sold at the amount shown on each card. Players now total the thalers they have and the winner is the player with most thalers.
The Hooks
There are numerous random elements in this game which some players will not like. What orders you are dealt initially changes your starting cash and the number of beans and your starting location. Your other two starting orders may be some distance away so travel to those locations may be expensive in terms of travel cards. The drawing of the Harvest cards is also random and you may be in a city which is restocked so that you are able to buy beans cheaply or you may have to travel to buy additional beans.
The trading element of the game works well, though it can be nigh on impossible to evaluate whether a deal is going to benefit you or an opponent more, the benefits are that it allows you to either move to join them in a city for a very cheap cost and to allow you to gain the beans you need.
Your Tactics
Movement
- Every time you move and bring up the Toll Card you have to pay 20 thalers to the bank, or 15 if you are responding to an invite. Think about using the invite function in a players go to help you cross the board, sometimes it can be worth donating them a bean if they don't want any trades. It gives you a different starting point and may be cheaper in the longer run.
Buying Beans ?
- If you are in a city you may want to consider buying one or more beans there. You need beans to fulfil orders so to some extent buying is useful even if you are only acquiring to give yourself something to trade with. Also by removing a bean stack from a city the cost of other beans there will increase for other players. Keep an eye on the value of those beans at the end of the game because that may be a way to make more profit.
Trading ?
- To get the beans to fulfil the orders you have either requires trading or buying and you will need to judge the ease with which you can get to where the beans are and back to where you need to make the trade and the option of trading. Consider the potential of buying an additional order card before trading at times, it will increase your options and may give you a chance of a better deal.
Bean Order Cards ?
- These are vital, you get one per Turn and they vary in terms of location, beans required and thalers awarded for completion. Orders also expire as they are sat in your travel card pile and must be played during your travel phase, so consider buying more though it means giving up your neutral travel cards and a small amount of thalers.
Conclusion
I thoroughly enjoyed this game, the group I played with conducted lots of trade and it never felt as if I wasn't making progress.
This game is simplistic enough to play with non gamers and contains enough interactive elements to hold your interest even when not your go, thanks to the invite function.
Additional Reviews
Details from Boardgamegeek
