Bean Trader Board Game - Buy/Read Reviews  

Rainy Day Game's Board Game Review of Bean Trader - The Bohnanza Board Game:

Bohnanza is one of the most loved party games ever. The interesting game play and very high player interaction has encouraged a set of expansions to the original. And now for Bean Trader, the board game realization of the concept.

From the same publisher, the same designer, same theme, even the same illustrator, Bean Trader certainly has a solid case as Bohnanza in a board game. However, after a few plays it's obvious that Bean Trader gets its charm by being a little different than the original.

Bean Trader borrows some of its game play ideas from its predecessor. Gamers play with a deck of cards which must remain in their proper order. And players trade beans with each other in order to fulfill the sets they need to make money. But Bean Trader is a board game and so the differences create a distinct game play experience.

First, with a max of five players and a playing time over an hour, the Bean Trader board game is aiming more at the light to medium Eurogamer crowd. While Bohnanza is played with our non-gamer friends or as filler, Bean Trader is enough of a game to make centerpiece of a game night.

Also, the map-based trading aspect of the game changes the feel. Bean Trader is played on a map of 10 cities. Each city buys and sells beans based on order and production cards which come up in the course of play. The bean traders of the game title draw random order cards and travel from city to city attempting to fulfill their orders for profit.

Players travel from city to city with a "travel deck" of 10 cards which includes 8 basic travel cards, 1 toll card which forces you to pay 20 coins, and a production card which triggers the release of more beans into the market. After you use the cards, they must be placed back on the bottom of your deck in the proper order.

The Bean Trader board game is a different gaming experience than Bohnanza, so you'll have to wrap your head around that difference. Once you do, Bean Trader is a satisfying game your gaming group will enjoy trying to master.

The Manufacturer's Board Game Review of Bean Trader - The Bohnanza Board Game:

This board game is based on the classic card game: Bohnanza. It is a complete game, but naturally highly interactive like the card game.

The players take the role of bean traders and are all members of the famous Bohn Hanse, a trade union of cities and merchants in the middle ages. You are driving your wagon, laden with valuable beans, toward Edinburgh, where you hope to deliver an order worth many thalers.

All should be so simple! But the roads through Bremen or Groningen are rutty, the tolls are high, and you still need a red bean to complete the order. With luck, you will make the bean trades you need with your fellow merchants, make the delivery, and soon the business will start to run itself. At the end, the player with the most bean thalers is the winner, as always.