Trouble with Vegetables in Mr. Cabbagehead’s Garden

October 23, 2022 | Sessions | 4 comments

Grow an award-worthy vegetable garden while dealing with the nosy neighbors in Mr. Cabbagehead’s Garden.

Another wonderful classic in my collection, Mr. Cabbagehead’s Garden has always provided a combination of laughs and challenges. That blue ribbon is elusive! Yet the interesting ways vegetables earn victory points make for some tense moments… Especially when the neighbors steal my prized turnips! It was definitely time for a stroll through the garden.

Game Overview

Game Name: Mr. Cabbagehead’s Garden
Publication Year:
 2016
Designer:
 Todd Sanders
Artist:
 Todd Sanders
Publisher: LudiCreations
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game

Over the course of 3 rounds, vegetables are chosen to grow in the garden. Meanwhile, various neighbors peer over the fence, eager to steal something! It takes careful planning to grow the best vegetables while trying to manage the unwanted neighborly visits from the vegetable people!

Looking at the Blue Ribbon in Mr. Cabbagehead's Garden
R

First Play

December 29, 2018

Complexity

2

Latest Play

October 21, 2022

Expansions

2

Setup Time

Almost None

Lifetime Plays

30

Play Time

10 Minutes

:

High Score

115

1

Game Area

16" x 20"

;

Low Score

48

Invasion of Vegetables

The artwork is either considered to be charming and whimsical, or downright terrifying. I love the humor, as every neighbor makes me laugh a little bit. But the horror!

A selection of 4 random neighbors forms the basis for what might happen at the end of each round.

The neighbor with the most tokens takes an action, which is different for each one. But if multiple neighbors are tied for the most, nothing happens: Just some squabbling!

The strategies revolve around choosing vegetables and making sure the neighbors aren’t around, if possible.

Questionable Local Neighbors in Mr. Cabbagehead's Garden

Back to Basics

It had been over a year since I last played, but I still recalled some of the main strategies that worked! The different awards for card placements were paramount.

Rather than hope for the best, I had a set goal from the start that I stuck with. It wasn’t easy with the horrible neighbors making off with some carrots, but it worked!

I forgot how quick gameplay was, too. There were lots of decisions, yet it all happened in about 10 minutes.

So close to the blue ribbon! I desperately wanted some rousing applause, so back to the beginning I went.

Making the Most of Possibly Stolen Vegetables in Mr. Cabbagehead's Garden

A Flowering Garden

An optional module is about romancing Eudora, which provides some bouquets that can be grown between specific vegetables. Always random, but very useful!

I realized that I typically placed these cards sideways to make them stand out, but there was a much more pleasant way to present them. I think Eudora was most pleased!

Again, I fell short of my goal, but I was happy to at least have a generally consistent score. Not an easy task.

Still, the neighbors kept on coming. Just when I thought I had them cancelled out, the wrong token appeared. Yikes!

Finding a Better Spot for Eudora's Flowers in Mr. Cabbagehead's Garden

My Secret Weapon

Desperate times called for desperate measures. While most of the neighbors were simply fascinated with petty vegetable larceny, I deployed the popcorn tricycle.

Both of the corn-based vegetable people were most intrigued… And I wasn’t about to ask how this worked! Callahan even operated the popper. Be careful, sir.

Ever in a state of despair, the good ol’ Mayor of Onion Town came out to ask for permits and get hysterical.

Alas, even the wonders of the popcorn tricycle didn’t impress Eudora enough to award me the blue ribbon! 

Troubling Times for Corn People and Unapproved Popping in Mr. Cabbagehead's Garden

Multi-Purpose Cards: One of the Best Examples

I consider these vegetable cards to be awesome in terms of strategic choices. Each one contains a lot more information than expected. There’s the vegetable type, of course, along with the victory point value and number of cards in the deck. Yet the vegetable number and amount of neighbor tokens must also be taken into account for each choice.

Depending on the neighbors in play, it might be easy to plant a vegetable that will likely be stolen. That might sound worse than trying to cancel out the neighbor tokens, but it can open up the rest of the decisions and make it all much easier to manage. No more pressure! Yet the final scoring of vegetables and patterns still reigns supreme.

It might sound like completely different objectives, managing the neighbors and planting the garden, but they come together with the multi-purpose cards. Add to that the bee tokens, which might be paid or gained depending on the card’s spot, and the choices are even more intriguing. It’s not just about carrots vs. lettuce: This garden is busy!

Session Overview

Play Number: 28-30
Accessory 1: Burlap Draw Bag
Accessory 2: Playmat
Accessory 3: Wooden Bee Tokens
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Play Details: Grasshoppers and Romancing Eudora
Outcome: 105, 112, and 102 (3 Wins)

This group of neighbors almost always affected the garden in some way, yet I fared pretty well. Still shy of the blue ribbon. Come on, Eudora! I enjoyed this session, as always, and love the game just as much as ever.

Making the Neighbors Talk Amongst Themselves in Mr. Cabbagehead's Garden

%

30 Plays

Affordability

Price & Value

10

Functionality

Challenges & Mechanics

10

Originality

Design & Theme

10

Quality

Components & Rules

10

Reusability

Achievement & Enjoyment

10

Variability

Distinctness & Randomness

7

+ Pros (Positives)

  • There is a great deal of variety in the order of the vegetable cards and the different neighbor combinations.
  • Multi-purpose cards create interesting choices, both in terms of growing vegetables and drawing the tokens.
  • Achieving the highest scoring tier is very challenging, which makes playing more and more very appealing.
  • Even when the most important vegetable is stolen, there is a good deal of humor to avoid any major frustration.
  • Planting the garden is just as important as managing the neighbors, and these dual goals work well together.
  • For a seemingly small and quick game, there is a lot of strategic depth to choosing the vegetable card each turn.

– Cons (Negatives)

  • Some of the text on the neighbor tiles is very small and can be difficult to read at a glance during play.
  • The awards offer different goals, but these are always static, so strategies can feel a little repetitive over time.
  • A custom storage solution is needed to keep the neighbor tokens separate to help cut down on setup and cleanup.
  • Some of the accessories, like the playmat and bee tokens, are a little underwhelming in terms of quality.

More Mr. Cabbagehead's Garden

Explore related posts about Mr. Cabbagehead’s Garden!

Victory Conditions

Score 100+ Points

  • Overall Goal Progress 67% 67%

Goals and Milestones

R

Earn every award at least 1 time.

R

Score at least 115 points.

Q

Score at least 120 points.

Continue the Conversation

What do you think of Mr. Cabbagehead’s Garden? Are there other solo games with dual goals or multi-purpose cards you enjoy? I’m still hunting down that elusive blue ribbon, yet I’m glad to see my tabletop gardening skills are alive. This is a wonderfully unique sort of game, in terms of its artwork and mechanics, and I look forward to playing again!

4 Comments

  1. Thanks for again highlight Mr.C and his annoying neighbors.I think Bernard might be interested in the popcorn. He could make popcorn balls with the honey is always hoarding for his cakes.

    Reply
    • You’re welcome! Ah… I should have planned ahead. I believe Bernard stopped by to cause some issues. Should have just driven the popcorn tricycle right at him. Ha ha!

      Reply
  2. Great review, and I like your format!

    In 2019, as part of a challenge by Travis Hill, I took part in the Cabbagehead200 – a race to play through Mr Cabbagehead’s Garden 200 times. I actually managed to finish in 3 months; tracking every play.

    It was a fun time, though I was pretty burnt out afterwards. I did think that there were some arrangements that were just not as viable, and so I tended to orient my garden towards a stable, high-scoring design that was generally robust to nosy neighbours.

    In all, I only achieved 5 blue ribbons across the whole run, but I probably could have done more if I had set that as my singular goal (with substantially more failures due to the added risk).

    I enjoyed the extra wrinkles of Eudora and the Grasshoppers together (100 of my games). On average this also added an extra 5 points, but more importantly gave me more to think about when choosing.

    A great game, and one that I should get back onto the table, now that I have the new expansion 🙂

    Reply
    • Thanks so much, Jacob! And that is awesome about playing 200 times in 3 months. Reminds me of the way I constantly play Herbaceous. Over 2,000 lifetime solo plays!

      It gives me hope that the blue ribbon is achievable. I enjoy these extra modules, too. Makes for some challenging decisions, yet those extra points can be helpful.

      Hope you have a great time! The newer neighbors tend to avoid me when I randomize the tiles at the start… They just know I have enough troubles with the original ones. Ha ha!

      Reply

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