Arbortect: The Art of an Adept (Inept) Arborist Architect
Grow a flowering tree with all of the right characteristics as it takes shape and houses a variety of blooms in Arbortect.
As I took a look at some of my very small solo games, it felt like the right time to check out Arbortect again! This is a delightful little puzzle about crafting a tree based on specific construction and composition requirements. Overlapping cards provide some neat decisions, and getting everything to fall into place can certainly be an arborist’s challenge!
Disclaimer
This copy was provided for free by the designer and publisher in exchange for an honest review. I already took a look at this last year, but wanted to return to it! As always, just keeping everything transparent when it comes to free copies.
Game Overview
Game Name: Arbortect
Publication Year: 2023
Designer: Uncredited
Artist: Uncredited
Publisher: Silent Isle Games
Solo Mode: Designed for Solo (Included in the Base Game)
A pair of goals provide guidance for how to craft a brightly colored tree. Construction and composition have to do with both the tree shape and number of flowers. With some neat mechanics around overlapping certain parts of the cards, the challenge is set to grow the proper tree!
First Play
August 12, 2023
Complexity
2
Latest Play
January 5, 2024
Expansions
0
Setup Time
Almost None
Lifetime Plays
10
Play Time
10 Minutes
High Score
N/A
Game Area
20" x 18"
Low Score
N/A
Compact and Fun
I appreciate the bright colors here, which makes the tree really stand out and look extra cheerful! Different flowers add extra pops of fun color between the greenery, too.
For this session, I drew a couple of goals that seemed to be rather difficult to complete. It would have been great if there was some indication about the difficulty rating.
Nevertheless, I had some ideas about how to go about this! The rules took about a minute to remember, thankfully.
My previous plays didn’t prepare me for this difficulty level, yet I dove in to become the best tree architect!
Double, Double, Zero
Another element that feels a little unfinished is the wording on the goal cards. Some are very clear with larger text, and others are exceptionally wordy.
Double, Double, Double wasn’t hard to understand after I read it… This text just looked a lot more complicated!
Alas, it was really tricky to figure out how to pull this off. I needed 2-4-8 of each flower, or perhaps 3-6-12.
With a very limited number of options, I was entirely focused on trying to make sure the right flowers ended up showing. Suffice to say the first attempt was a failure.
Up, Up, and Away
At least the play area didn’t have any restrictions! I had to create lots of corners, so I got to work on a slightly odd shape. Alas, I still failed both goals with this play.
I liked the decision space up until the last few cards, which didn’t seem to want to cooperate. This was closer with the flowers… 2-4-7 nearly completed that composition goal!
But I didn’t have a great feeling about the requirement of 14 corners. Definitely would have loved a difficulty rating!
No tree was going to defeat me, though. Ha ha! This seemed like it could be possible to complete. It had to be!
Spreading Out
Was this tree structurally sound? Not at all! Yet with some patience and a little luck near the end, I managed to get all of the composition goals in line. 2-4-8 happened!
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a lot of ways to offset the cards to get all of those corners and neat angles.
Looking through the other goal cards, there are some very fun and interesting puzzles with the combinations. I simply fell across one of the most difficult set of goals.
At least my trees were all very varied, though! I enjoyed the final arrangement and appreciated the unique shapes.
Going Beyond Simple and Boring Card Shapes
I know no one is going to say that these trees look like actual trees, yet they remind me of some of the pixel art found in video games. Lovely! This clever mechanic really is quite nice, as I find myself always taking the time to admire the sort of delightful shape I created… Or monstrosity. Ha ha! There are a lot of things that can be done with cards.
This is also a nice reminder that custom components or special cards don’t necessarily need to be created. I’ve also seen ways that print lines appear on cards to overlap them in unique ways. Lots of different shapes are possible, and the games that go beyond the usual rectangular shape are quite interesting to me. Hurray for creative components!
Session Overview
Play Number: 7-10
Solo Mode: Designed for Solo (Included in the Base Game)
Outcome: 4 Losses
I was so confident in my final play. The flowers were kept under wraps, and I even reworked my final turns a few times to complete the goal. Success! Oh, wait… I ended up with 13 corners, thereby actually losing. It was still a nice time, although I have lots of similar solo games. This one is quite charming and great for those who love the aspect of overlapping cards. I seem to have taken on the hardest challenge and lost, but I still made some really cool trees!
%
10 Plays
Affordability
Price & Value
7
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
7
Originality
Design & Theme
5
Quality
Components & Rules
10
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
7
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
5
+ Pros (Positives)
- Each tree takes literal shape in a different way, and putting a goal card as the trunk makes a satisfying image.
- Although the artwork is very simple, it’s bright and colorful to ensure that the play area looks quite pretty.
- Gameplay moves along quickly with plenty of interesting decisions, particularly during the last card placements.
- There are no specific boundaries, aside from following the goals, so crafting a tree doesn’t feel too restricted.
- Goals provide a whole lot of challenges, and combining different ones leads to even more choices and outcomes.
- Completing the goals is the victory condition, but gameplay is pretty relaxing and fun without much tension.
– Cons (Negatives)
- A lot of goal cards have lengthy text and a small font size that makes everything look overly complicated.
- Some degree of luck is needed when working on certain goals, especially in regards to the order of the cards.
- It would have been great to use difficulty ratings on composition and construction goals to help tailor gameplay.
- Keeping all of the cards neatly organized with a lot of overlapping can be a bit of a frustrating challenge.
Victory Conditions
Complete Both Requirements
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Win at least 1 game.
Continue the Conversation
What do you think of Arbortect? Are there any goals that you’ve found to be particularly challenging? I had a lovely time with this one, as it provided a way to take another look at overlapping card games and what they can offer. Maybe I’m no master of the trees, but I tried. Now, if you want a 13-corner tree, that I can deliver on pretty consistently! Ha ha!
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