Falling Into Village Green: Beautiful Art and Petty Grudges
Place beautiful features to fill up an outdoor space with trees, flowers, ponds, and more to earn awards in Village Green.
Another solo game I tend to play on a fairly regular basis is Village Green, which is simply so pretty! It has a distinct visual style with its watercolors that create a wonderful springtime scene. My scores are usually vaguely acceptable, yet winning the local awards is a trick often thwarted by the unnamed nearby villages. Back to the center of town to get to planning!
Game Overview
Game Name: Village Green
Publication Year: 2020
Designer: Peer Sylvester
Artist: Joanna Rosa
Publisher: Osprey Games
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Awards create rows and columns to fill in with village cards, which range from open spaces, to trees and flowers, to statues and gazebos. The area is always so beautiful and calm! Yet figuring out how to make the most of the awards is a challenge. Petty grudges apparently run rampant here!
First Play
June 8, 2021
Complexity
2
Latest Play
October 16, 2026
Expansions
0
Setup Time
Almost None
Lifetime Plays
44
Play Time
10 Minutes
High Score
39
Game Area
24" x 16"
Low Score
11
Gorgeous, Calm Scenes
This artwork is amazing. There are lots of peaceful scenes with watercolor illustrations that seem inviting enough to want to visit every card! Look at these lovely roses and trees!
And most scenes have a little feature partially hidden. In this case, I spotted a pair of rabbits resting in the shade. That might be an important hint for some visitors…
Plays are quick and don’t always result in great scores, yet I don’t mind having the chance to simply enjoy the cards.
The grid is all about maximizing the awards in the rows and columns, although for me, peaceful scenery is the goal.
Color-Coordinated
Fancy rabbits! These Calico Critters came out to admire the village and were quite happy to model their adorable outfits with color-coordinated card backs. Perfect village planning!
The only color note is about the first edition, where the yellow flowers are difficult to see. I’ve gotten used to them and can spot the designs now, but just keep that in mind.
I found myself playing over and over. It’s just so simple to reset and play again! Especially when one’s village is…
Terrible. My scores were all over the place, yet I seemed to hang out in the lowest tiers a lot. No awards for my village!
Perfectly Aligned
When the cards worked together, it was a beautiful sight! But I found that things weren’t coming together a lot.
Usually, I save the structure village cards to cover up awards I know are worth nothing. Yet at times, I did this entirely backwards, awarding myself negative victory points. Oh, no!
My villages weren’t particularly great in the awards department. No matter: Look at all that lovely greenery!
This village ended up with plenty of trees. So many trees, actually, thanks to a fair number of awards that were geared towards them. Alas, I had a lot of low scores on this outing.
Petty Grudges
My goodness, did you hear the gossip in the village square?! I was wondering where this idea of petty grudges came from. These Calico Critters were right in the middle of it.
Middle Didsbrook was apparently suffering from a very crooked road. Not a gentle bend, but a deliberate attempt to draw the awards committee off course and ruin the flowers.
There was much ado about nothing, as I was pretty certain this was exactly how the road was designed… But a grudge!
Guess that’s the danger of this idyllic countryside spot. Let’s just hope there’s not a murder mystery to follow. Ha ha!
A Welcoming and Inviting Art Style to Fall Into
What struck me the most with this session was the idea of being invited into the setting presented by the art. I usually pick out my favorite card in the end and look for the little details. It’s a subtle idea, yet I feel like I’m moving closer to see into the cards. And it’s a welcome place to be! My diligence often reveals figures or animals I might not notice at a glance.
That’s another aspect of feeling cozy and comfortable with a game. I don’t look to this one for an amazingly deep puzzle that’s going to make me put together a lot of deep thinking. I’m here to set up a little village, laugh at my incompetence with the awards committee, and take a few slow breaths as I smile over the landscapes. That’s all… And it’s enough for me!
Session Overview
Play Number: 35-44
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Outcome: 12, 30, 23, 17, 19, 22, 24, 21, 29, 19 (1 Win & 9 Losses)
Oh dear, Market Foxby! Although I pulled off some decent scoring in many individual ways, only a single play hit the bare minimum to count as a victory. It was kind of hilarious to think about my work being sabotaged… That would explain the awards committee turning their noses up at my glorious floral arrangements! It’s such a fun time to play a few times at once, and I got caught up in this beautiful, dreamy sort of artwork. Here’s to hoping for a win soon!
%
40 Plays
Affordability
Price & Value
10
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
10
Originality
Design & Theme
6
Quality
Components & Rules
9
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
9
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
7
+ Pros (Positives)
- All of the cards are simply beautiful with dreamy, watercolor artwork that welcomes a quiet time during play.
- There are a lot of unique awards that can make the play area feel like a different sort of puzzle each time.
- Play time is quick with practically no downtime, and only a focus on making decisions to place the various cards.
- Sometimes, even when there appear to be no good options, a single card can open up an exciting scoring opportunity.
- Flipping over the village card is a neat choice that uses up a victory point, but can reveal all new award or village cards.
- Managing to fill in the 3×3 grid isn’t often too difficult, yet it’s a very satisfying moment when the last card is placed.
– Cons (Negatives)
- In the first edition, the color of the yellow flowers is very light and can be difficult to see the different types.
- Making the most of the awards can come down to the order of the deck and what sorts of village cards are available.
- The iconography is a little stark in contrast to the beautiful art, and some of the tree types can blend together.
- It can be easy to forget the placement rules and restrictions when chasing after the scoring for a particular award.
Victory Conditions
Score 30+ Points
- Overall Goal Progress 75%
Goals and Milestones
Score at least 25 points.
Score at least 30 points.
Score at least 35 points.
Score at least 40 points.
Continue the Conversation
What do you enjoy the most about Village Green? Have you earned a particularly noteworthy set of awards? There might not be anything that sets this one apart on a grand scale, yet it’s a comfortable setting. I always enjoy settling down with the art and imagining what might be going on in my little village… And why the awards committee is so rude. Ha ha!
0 Comments