Renature

Michael Kiesling and Wolfgang Kramer. Art by Dennis Lohausen. Deep Print Games, 2020.

2-4 players | 45-60 minutes | Age 8+

Renature is a competitive board game where players plant trees in a national park to compete for points. There are various methods for collecting points: by planting trees which are an equal or larger size than an opponent’s, by collecting cloud actions throughout the game and by obtaining the highest number of tree points within a blocked off area.

Animal dominos are required to be next to an area of land in order to plant a tree however, they aren’t really used for gaining points. The dominos are also used for blocking off areas of land, where the person with the highest number of trees gains further points for that area. Laying the dominos on each turn can sometimes make the game limiting, as an area needs to be completely concealed to gain points from it. With many ways for players to gain points, differing objectives sometimes caused areas to remain open, meaning there are points going unclaimed. Whilst trying to populate the land with trees, players are also trying to prevent others from planting the biggest tree. The complexity could possibly be a hinderance, as sometimes not all strategies can be used however, this reflects the complexities of a functioning ecosystem in a national park.

Hacks of the game could be focussed around increasing diversity. The dominos represent animals usually found in a typically European national park, so choosing a different ecosystem could be a way of expanding knowledge of different areas. Players could also gain points for the variety of dominos they use and for the variety of trees they plant. Another method to increase diversity would be to play collaboratively. By being transparent with the dominos players could work out the best strategy to populate as many of the areas of land as possible, rather than competing for the space.