Game: Space Beans

Thread: Space Beans - A Review

Craig_H — 2008-08-19T01:06:17+00:00

Space Beans

Designer: Uwe Rosenberg
Publisher: Rio Grande Games
Year: 1999
Players: 2-6
Ages: 10+
Playing Time: 45 minutes

The Idea
Space Beans is a card game in which players are making and converting sets of “space beans” in order to have the most points after someone reaches 30 points.

In the Box
The compact box is constructed from good quality linen cardboard and contains 105 playing cards and a single sheet of rules. The rules are well laid out and clear with some nice quality illustrations clearly showing how the game is played. Summary notes down the right hand side of each page serve as an excellent reminder of the key rules when you need to remind yourself.

The 105 cards are of pretty good quality and come in seven colours and numbered from 1 to 9. Each colour has its own science fiction TV series or movie associated picture including Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Star Wars, 2001, Alien, and Babylon 5. The last won’t be familiar to most English speakers as I’m informed by a German friend that it’s an old German show (the name of which I have since forgotten). It should be noted here that the space theme really has nothing to do with the game at all but the illustrations are cute (I particularly like Darth Bean) and do make the game more enjoyable.

Basic Game Play Summary
During the game each player will have up to 2 collections in front of them where beans of the same colour are collected. The first collection is face up so everyone can see what you’re collecting. The second collection is secret and is placed face down. The idea is to make as large a set of bean cards as you can (up to 9 cards) however the collection can only be scored if you have a numbered card in the collection that equals the number of cards in the set. For example if you have 6 cards in your collection then you must have a card with the number 6 on it in the collection. To keep track of your score you will set aside your number 6 card and the other cards are discarded.

The game play of Space Beans may feel a little bit strange at first because there are things happening in two directions at once but after a few turns it’s easy to get the hang of. If players play quickly and stay focussed then it tends to be easier.

On their turn, players have the option of drawing 2 cards. Next there is the option of converting one or both of their collections into points. They then have to plant bean cards from their hand into one of their two collections in front of them. If they can’t play a card (because they don’t have a matching colour) then they must convert their open collection (scoring points if possible). Their secret collection then becomes the open collection and they must then play one or more cards to form a new secret collection. After playing cards you pass the remainder of your hand to the player on your right (who won’t have any cards at the time). Play then goes to the left. That’s the confusing bit. After the next player’s turn is completed you’ll be handed some new cards which you’ll be able to use next turn.

Play continues until one player has scored 30 points by converting their bean collections. At that point all players convert their collections and total their scores with the player who reached 30 first getting a bonus 4 points. The player with the most points wins.

The play time given above is the manufacturer’s stated time but games usually play much quicker than this. A 3 or 4 player game is unlikely to go much longer than about 20 minutes.

Who Would Like It?
Space Beans is the loose sequel to “Bohnanza” (another bean themed game) and if you liked it then you’ll probably enjoy this one too. Space Beans is a much quicker game and simpler than Bohnanza However it has less player interaction than Bohnanza which some people may not like.

Science Fiction fans may be interested even though the theme has no relevance to the game itself. The illustrations are good and will be appreciated by fans of the various shows and movies.

Space Beans is essentially a filler and most fans of Eurogames will probably enjoy a quick game or two of this before playing something a bit heavier.

People who don’t usually play Eurogames will also probably enjoy Space Beans as it isn’t overly complex and it doesn’t take too long to play. Space Beans makes a great travel game to pull out whenever you have the opportunity to play games with your non-gamer friends.

Where to From Here
If you enjoyed Space Beans and haven’t yet played “Bohnanza” (also from Rio Grande Games) then it ‘s the most logical choice for your next stop.

Also worth looking at are “Mama Mia!” (also by Uwe Rosenberg) and Coloretto which are another couple of popular card games available from Rio Grande Games. Like Space Beans, both of these card games play fairly quickly.

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swuyau — 2008-05-26T11:52:39+00:00

card

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hugz313 — 2008-05-24T22:23:49+00:00

back of the card with all the spaceships

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hugz313 — 2008-05-24T22:21:17+00:00

special card with all the characters on it - came with game

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Artax — 2008-04-12T14:16:56+00:00

Two player game

Thread: Re: What's the seventh show/movie?

nocadlee — 2008-02-15T08:41:53+00:00

Well, thanks.
I was really quick, wasn't I?

Message received. Turning my monitor to read your posts.

Thread: Re: What's the seventh show/movie?

Liumas — 2008-02-15T08:18:28+00:00

...it's just an upside down '6', guy.

A true fan is not necessarily one that avoids typing erros lait at nicht.

Thanks for chiming in with the 'late breaking' news - 6 months after the fact.

Nice job on that!

Thread: Re: What's the seventh show/movie?

nocadlee — 2008-02-15T07:52:16+00:00

Liumas wrote:

Sorry, Eric.

It's a German series from the mid '90s.

Raumschiff Orion, as any fool can plainly see.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raumpatrouille

-- a true fan --

A true fan really should know that Raumschiff Orion is from the mid '60s.

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Mr Freedly — 2008-02-09T22:45:19+00:00

Rule Book Front

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ArtEmiSa64 — 2008-01-29T19:08:34+00:00

components

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ArtEmiSa64 — 2008-01-29T19:01:06+00:00

back of cards

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ArtEmiSa64 — 2008-01-29T16:03:36+00:00

Midgard Games - Box Back

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ArtEmiSa64 — 2008-01-29T15:58:27+00:00

Midgard Games - Box Front

Thread: Re: What's the seventh show/movie?

Liumas — 2007-12-21T06:42:15+00:00

You believe wrong (see above).

-- a true fan --

FatherNature wrote:
I believe it is lost in space. The spaceship looks a bit like it. At least that's my guess after pondering over it.

Thread: My trip into the Beaniverse

FatherNature — 2007-12-21T02:16:08+00:00

I ran across this game in the game store I frequent and it looked so cute I decided to give it a try. I was not disappointed.

There isn't a whole lot as far as game components are concerned, you have a nice box which is small enough and sturdy enough to carry around, a deck of cards of decent quality and a set of rules on one fold-out page. The graphics are light and whimsical following the graphics in the other bean games (which I've seen but not played). The cards are seperated into seven colors - each representing a different Sci-Fi staple: Aliens, Star Trek, Star Wars, Babylon 5, 2001 a Space Oddessy, Battlestar Galactica and I believe Lost in Space. The card stock could have been a little thicker, they will bend and wear down if used a lot. And the graphics although nice are the same for every card in each suit. The game also contains one card that displays all of the sci-fi staples at once, this could be used as a wild card or removed from the deck.

The game itself is rather clever. The cards are each numbered from one through nine. You are trying to create collections of these beans, all in the same color. If you have five cards in your collection and at the same time you have a card with the number five in the collection you can trade it in and get five points. You can have two collections at any one time, one face up and one face down. You can only cash-in your face-up collection.

Each turn you start by drawing two cards if you want, you can then trade in your visible (face up) collection and possibly get points for it (at this point if you have a face down collection you must turn it over for all to see), then you must add at least one card to either your face up collection or a hidden collection (you can add more as long as they are all going to the same collection and are all the same color as that collection), then you must give away all of your cards to the person who played before you. First person to 30 points wins.

There are two interesting things going on here: first, you must add cards to a collection every turn. This means that if you have a face-up collection which is yellow and a face down collection that is red and you don't have any red or yellow cards in your hand, you must convert your face-up collection even if you don't get any points from it so that you can lay down cards to a new collection. The other interesting game mechanic is that you give away all of your cards every turn.

After playing a few games with two to four players the game has really grown on me. It is cute, light and has an interesting mechanic. The game plays better with three or more, and it can get confusing keeping track of whose turn it is since game play moves in the opposite direction that the cards are moving. But the few times I've played it the game was a big hit with everyone including a few non-gamers.

PROS: Quick, light and fun. Easy to carry. Unique game mechanic.
CONS: Light card stock, could use more diverse graphics. Need to pay attention to turn order.

Overall I highly recommend this game. The negatives were minor and the game play was great.

Thread: Re: What's the seventh show/movie?

FatherNature — 2007-12-21T01:50:10+00:00

I believe it is lost in space. The spaceship looks a bit like it. At least that's my guess after pondering over it.

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sbilbey — 2007-10-16T21:16:00+00:00

Rio Grande English version - box back

Thread: Plant multiples at a time

daw65 — 2007-09-30T06:43:46+00:00

As we were finishing up To Court the King, Naomi arrived. Whoa! We hadn't seen Naomi at game night since September 10, 2004. In her honor, I chose a game that I know she likes playing, Spacebeans.

The game started rather tentatively, with Dave and Alice beginning with small harvests (2 gray and 3 purple for Dave, 3 green for Alice), while the others worked on planting larger fields. Naomi next harvested 4 blue, and then the troubles started. For their good start, Alice and Dave were rewarded with bagels when Dave had to dump an orange field for 0, and then Alice had to dump a red field and then a green field, both for 0. At this point the others started in. Heather harvested red for 6, and then shortly afterwards a gray field for 9. Helen finally harvested yellow for 2 to make way for an orange field that was worth 7. Jim did the same, following a 3 yellow field with a 9 blue. Naomi went with samller fields, scoring 4 yellow, 5 green, and 1 purple. Through all this Dave was slowly collecting a larger and larger green field, while Alice kept trying to build her yellow field. But we could tell Alice was struggling with her cards. She kept looking at her private field, and at one point even asked aloud "I wonder if this changed?" She ended up having to dump the yellow field for nothing, though that private field behind it, collecting orange, did ultimately score her 5. Meanwhile Dave's green field was finally harvested for 9, and Jim picked up 4 for a red field and Heather quietly harvested 6 purple.

It should be noted here that by this point the harvests were pretty lopsided. Heather consistently pulled in big scores (6, 9, 6) while Naomi's successful harvests just didn't have the same impact (4, 4, 5, 1), and the others either had zero-valued harvests (Alice, Dave), or just very few harvests at all (Helen). It's apparent that Heather was getting pretty good cards, either from Helen on her left, or from the draw deck, and when she got them, she was doing the right things.

But the game continued. Helen, who thus far had only two harvests totalling 9 points, was forced to dump a purple field for nothing, but the red field behind it ultimately earned her 8. Dave and Naomi were bitten by the zero-harvests as well, dumping orange and purple, respectively. Jim kept scoring modestly, with 5 yellow, and Alice scored again with 4 red. That good showing was short-lived, as she was forced to dump both gray (ironically, right after Helen, to her right, had to dump a gray field) and then blue for zero points. Apparently Alice was being starved of blue, because just before the dump Naomi harvested a blue field for 9 big points. There were a few more harvests (6 orange for Jim, 6 gray for Dave, 2 green for Naomi) yet, before we again heard from Heather.

While all the activity was happening, Heather was quietly building both her fields. Finally it was time, and she harvested both of them at once. 6 orange and 7 green took her over the top, with 34 points, to end the game. Alice (4 purple) and Jim (5 purple) scored for fields on the table, but it wasn't enough. Even before the three point bonus for finishing first, Heather had enough for the win, but with the bonus, her 37 points gave her a sizeable 5 point lead over Jim, in second.

I do like this game, but I have to admit that I don't have a strong grasp of tactics in this one. You want good stuff for yourself, but you don't want to give too much good stuff to your neighbor. Ideally you want to plant multiple cards per turn, but if you draw too often you're just feeding your neighbor, and perhaps their neighbor as well. But like I said, I like it. Oddly enough, this game creates a similar reaction in me as I have to Fairy Tale. It feels like card drafting, but you end up doing very different things with the cards.

Thread: Re: What's the seventh show/movie?

fnord23 — 2007-08-08T04:40:54+00:00

Thanks; now we know!

Thread: Re: What's the seventh show/movie?

Liumas — 2007-08-08T04:31:18+00:00

Henry Rhombus wrote:
I believe it's a reference to My Favorite Martian, an old television show in the U.S.

Sorry, Eric.

It's a German series from the mid '90s.

Raumschiff Orion, as any fool can plainly see.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raumpatrouille

-- a true fan --

Thread: Re: What's the seventh show/movie?

Henry Rhombus — 2007-08-08T03:43:52+00:00

I believe it's a reference to My Favorite Martian, an old television show in the U.S.

Eric
Editor, http://www.BoardgameNews.com

Thread: Re: What's the seventh show/movie?

fnord23 — 2007-08-08T03:02:30+00:00

I've asked before, and never received an answer...

I figured it was something to do with Perry Rhodan, but don't really have anything to back that up (aside from the long-running book series originating in Germany).

This could work with or against the previous poster's information.

I'd love a definitive answer.

Thread: Re: What's the seventh show/movie?

kusinohki — 2007-08-08T02:49:22+00:00

Third hand info here, it was explained to me a while ago and my memory is fuzzy... *disclaimer over*

I believe that show only appeared in Germany. Unfortunately, I don't have a clue what the title was. It was described to me as a very low budget sci-fi show that would use everyday house hold objects as props. An iron would be used as a ray gun for example.

I can only guess that it was cheesy enough to be parodied.

Thread: What's the seventh show/movie?

EVolkert — 2007-08-08T02:14:22+00:00

Six of the bean types are really obvious. So far, no one I know knows what show or movie the bean comes from that's ironing a sock with spaceship boomerangs in the background...

Please help!

Thread: TVB - 5P - Plant what's right, not what's left.

RPardoe — 2006-05-09T04:29:07+00:00

With just about an hour left to play, we had a bit of discussion what to try to finish the evening with. The consensus drifted to Space Beans - last played December 8, 2004. With the constant passing of cards, hard to take good notes, but did record the harvests:

Rich: 4+5+6+8+8 = 31
Sam: 5+5+4+7+1+8 = 30 + 3 (first to 30) = 33
Kern: 5+4+4+4 = 17
Dave W: 3+2+1+3+4+2+5+2 = 22
Dave: 4+8+5+4+2+4 = 27

Some general comments - while the game can seem random, this is a game where you try to pay attention to what the player on your right might be playing. Rich knew that Dave had a red field - so when offered 2 red cards in his hand, planted those to his area to act as a sinkhole for all the reds to keep them away from Dave. The flipside of this is that if a player chooses a colour that the player on their left has chosen, they natural handicap themselves. Kern suffered quit a bit of this also as Dave W always seemed to be collecting and harvesting the cards Kern needed.

An underappreciated aspect of the game is to know when to cut a harvest (even at a loss) because the cards offered in hand have a greater potential. The obvious cases are dumping green when you realize that 2 other players are into green also. But if given a triple of cards - it might be worth dumping a smaller field in front of you hoping for that triple to grow. Certainly better to keep the triple for yourself than to pass it to the next player.

One thing I do like with Space Beans is that the game can be played very quickly as the decision space over each hand is relatively small. With practice, the turns can move fairly quickly and I find that much of the enjoyment from the game is trying to play this a bit quickly and perhaps making the mistake or two much to the amusement (or bemusement) of the person on your right receiving the cards.

All in all, a rather under appreciated little gem of a game that I have enjoyed every time it hits the table.

Thread: Don't draw cards!

Spielguy — 2005-09-15T22:28:12+00:00

Both Joe and I brought Space Beans which was an omen. We settled in for a four player game. The flow can certainly get confusing, even with a good grasp of the concept. Players were Joe, John, Sam, me. The first few turns Joe, Sam, and I were forced to discard fields without keeping point cards. John was openly working on Yellows and had another face down field with a few cards.

Sam was to his left (and my right). I was trying to starve him of cards, but regardless of whether I gave him zero, one or two cards he would always draw and still end up doing no good. Then he would pass the cards to John. I advized him numerous times that he shouldn't draw. He kept trying to fish for a good card but would end up not getting what he wanted. John benefited. He got to keep a Yellow nine and soon after a red 8. I had four points at that time and both Joe and Sam were doing better.

I decided to try to change my tactics and draw on my turn and pass a decent amound of cards to Sam. I figured if he was going to draw then I could draw for him and I would get the benefit of seeing more cards. Certainly if I pass him 3 or four he wouldn't draw. But alas, he did. And John benefited. And John did a decent job of starving Joe.

As the game was getting to the end I was getting close to going out. I didn't think I could beat John's head start and the truth was I didn't. John went out with 31 which gave himt he 3 extra points.

John 34
Joe 26
Brent 29
Sam 18

Thread: Tao of Gaming Review

Bankler — 2005-06-29T04:01:38+00:00

This review was originally written in 2000 -- Brian

"This game is just Bohnanza." I'd heard that a few times. A local store owner asked me if it was just a remake of Bohnanza. I didn't really know. Now I've played it.

But a sidetrack. I haven't reviewed Bohnanza, but it's a great game, innovative and deep. Uwe Rosenberg has kept piling on the weird things you can do with cards. Klunker, Mamma Mia, Bohnanza. Games that take cards and do new things with them. In Bohnanza, the great innovation is that you hand of cards is ordered, and you play cards in order. And a negotiation game tacked on.

In Space Beans, the innovation is that you make a single play, then pass your hand to the right.

Basically, you have a deck of cards with seven suits (the space beans). Each suit is a take off of a Sci-Fi movie or TV show. So you have the Londo Mollari Bean (from Babylon 5), the Klingon Bean (from Star Trek), the Alien Bean, The Monolith Bean (2001), The Darth Vader Bean (Star Wars) and a few I don't recognize. I'm sure I'll feel dopey when someone tells me what they are. You have two bean fields, like Bohnanza. Each field can only have one type of bean. But you have one secret (face down) field and one open field (face up).

On your turn you:

1. Draw Two Cards (optional)
2. Plow Any fields (optional)
3. Play as many beans into one field as you like (mandatory)
4. Pass your hand (mandatory)

First you draw cards. This is optional unless you don't have cards. Then you plow any fields. This works a bit differently than in Bohnanza. Notably, you don't get a choice. You plow your open field if you have two. Then your secret field is turned face up. (You can plow it too, if you like). Scoring is also different. Unlike Bohnanza, there are the same number of cards in each suit. Each card also has a number from 1-9 (the bigger numbers are more common). If you have a card whose number matches the number of beans when you plow it, you keep the card as points. If not, you get nothing. Then you play as many cards as you want into a field. If you are starting a second, new field, they go face down. Then you pass your hand to the right.

When a player hits 30 (or more points) the game ends. The player who ended the game gets a 3 point bonus, and then every other player can cash in any fields they have ready to go. I originally thought that whoever ended the game should automatically win, but I managed to win a game when another player just hit 30 and each of my fields were worth 6, catapulting me to 35.

This game, apart from theme, actually feels nothing like Bohnanza. No negotiations are a big reason. But it is actually somewhat interesting. The obvious decision to make is whether to draw cards or not. It gives you more options, but it also helps the other players after you. Sometimes it helps them quite a lot. If you can play your entire hand down and then pass nothing, the player to your right is going to be stuck with the luck of the draw next turn. Of course, you partially know what the player to your right is collecting. But that isn't the only decision.

If you have a four matching beans with the number 4 in them, do you play a 5th and 6th bean if you don't have a 6 showing? You are risking four points to try to get 7-9 later. And since you can't choose which field to plow, it's difficult to protect them. Finally, do you plow a field just to take a few beans away from the person who you are going to pass your hand to?

That last option diminishes my enthusiasm. It's a valid question, but different opinions can really affect other players. In my second game, the player who passed me cards always drew cards ... so I routinely had 3-5 cards passed to me. I drew cards about half of the time, and I passed the player to my right about 2-3 cards on average, and zero cards at least three times. I don't know if she came in last, but she was out of the running and I won. Did I play well? Of course. But I don't believe that my play mattered as much as the player who passed me lots of cards.

In a casual group, that means that the game is OK. In a competitive group, fine again. But in a mixed group, where some people playi casually and some don't, seating order dominates, and the cards don't matter as much. So I don't recommend Space Beans. It's not a bad game, but it is ill-suited for mixed company. That being said, everyone seems to enjoy the game. It's another interesting idea and, at the price, you can check it out if the mechanics strike your fancy.

Thread: Session Report

RPardoe — 2004-12-10T14:49:22+00:00

This game is a follow-up to Bohnanza, but without the trading. Instead a player is given a hand of cards from the player on their left, draws cards (if desired), harvests (if desired) and then plants. Cards left in hand are then passed right while game play moves left. In Space Beans, a harvested field is only worth something if the number of cards in the field is represented on one of the cards harvested. Each type of bean is numbered from 1 to 9, so a field consisting of 5 cards, for example, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9 is worth 5 points (5 cards and contains the 5 card). If the field had contained 3, 4, 6, 8, 9 it would be woth 0 points when harvested (no 5 card).

The game itself plays fairly quickly as we were done in about 45 minutes. Each of the players seemed to following various strategies. Dave W scored often but with smaller (1, 2, 3 point) fields. Rich on the other hand seemed to go after a large field (9 points) at the start. One of his fields was started as he knew Sterling (player on his right) was collecting red, so Rich started a private field in Red to prevent passing the points to Sterling. Only trouble was he had 5 cards in the field, but no 5 card. Dave seemed to balance his approach the best, some large, some small and ended the game harvesting 2 fields to get to 34 points and the 3 point bonus for a final score of 37 and the win.

Rich did manage to get a final harvest and 27 points. Dave W also had 27 points. Sterling had 22 points while Jeff (player to Dave's right) seemed to get only Dave's rejects that never were much help and scored only 15 points.

Thread: Session Report

daw65 — 2004-09-26T20:17:56+00:00

There were six of us out of the gate, and while we knew that Rich wasn't going to attend, we also knew that Dave W was. So as per usual we looked for that quick game to play until he arrived. Dave thought it'd be a good idea to try out Space Beans again, since it was one we had played last session with which we had had rules problems. The others agreed, so we pulled it out and got started.

The game started very slowly. The first six harvests scored nothing for their collectors, as just about no one was getting coherent sets of beans. Alice finally broke that string with her first harvest, scoring her four points. In fact, the early harvests were particularly hard on Helen (0 for her first 3 harvests), Heather (0 for 2), and and Dave (0 for 4). In contrast, Sterling scored on two of his first three harvests, and Alice on 3 out of 4. Jim, meanwhile, scored nothing, but harvested nothing, as he patiently built up his fields.

Fortunes changed in the middle of the game. Dave finally began to harvest fields of value, and two-thirds of they way through he had 20 trophy points collected. Alice slowed down some -- not in the frequency of harvests, but in the points collected. Sterling continued his slow-harvest ways, but scored pretty big when he did harvest, and led the way at the two-thirds point with 23. Helen found some trophy points, but Jim really struggled, harvesting for nothing three straight times. And Heather really struggled -- whenever she harvested, she either scored nothing, or next to nothing, and at the two-thirds point she sat at the back of the pack with 9 trophy points.

At this point Sterling's and Dave's luck both changed for the worse. Sterling twice in a row harvested for nothing, and finally scored a 4 point field. Dave returned to his early ways, scoring nothing 3 out of 5 harvests (and only collecting a total of five in those other two). Heather got really quiet, collecting beans but not harvesting much. Alice harvested five more times as well, but scored on four of them. And, in her last harvest, she increased her trophy points to 32, which was enough to end the game.

Alice got her three points for ending the contest (see, we remembered the rule this time!), and everyone harvested what they could. Heather was the big earner there, with an 8 point field that she added to her score. Helen and Sterling harvested 5 and 4, respectively. But when we added everything up, no one could top Alice's score of 35, making Alice Lord Ruler of the Beaniverse!

Thread: Session Report

daw65 — 2004-09-14T03:38:16+00:00

With just a little more time left, we decided to play another quick one. Jim wanted another crack at Streetcar, but the rest of us thought it might take too long. So we instead brought out a new game to the group, Space Beans.

Carrie started out slowly, being forced to convert her first two fields before they were worth anything. Dave, Jim and Sterling all netted four from their first conversions, and Carrie was quick to follow. Dave and Sterling each converted twice more (0,6 for Sterling, and 2,5 for Dave), and then Jim, who had been building his two fields to massive proportions, harvested twice in quick succession, taking in 8 and 9 points for the two fields.

At this point Dave altered his strategy, trying harder to deny Jim points, though it wound up costing his score some. It worked to a degree, as Jim's next two conversions were both worthless. Dave, however, only converted once in that span, for 7 points. Carrie, meanwhile, was quietly adding to her score with 6 and 9 point trophies.

Eventually Jim made it to 29 points, and had the fields to finish the game, but he was worried about what Sterling had in his fields, and decided he wanted to improve his score before finishing. In the ensuing two rounds, everyone added to their fields, and eventually Sterling also found himself in the same position, and came to the same conclusion. Carrie, however, decided that the game needed finishing, and when she converted her last field for the 9 trophy points, she had reached 31 points, and ended the game. Everyone else converted what remained, and Dave had reached 29 points, while Jim and Sterling both reached 34.

At this point we realized that there was another rules snafu. Dave checked out the rules to see if there were any tiebreakers mentioned, and he discovered the rule that the player who first reached 30 trophy points was supposed to receive a 3 point bonus! That meant that Carrie's 31 was really a 34, and there was a three-way tie! No tiebreaker was found, so the game ended as a three way tie. We all agreed, however, that had we known about this rule, Jim would no doubt have ended the game when he first had the opportunity after reaching 29 points, and would very likely have won the game outright at that point.

Thread: User Review

bwridge — 2004-09-09T16:29:33+00:00

Did you ever want to be the Lord Ruler of the Beaniverse? Well, neither did, but now you have the chance to reach such stellar heights with a sci-fi addition to the Bohnanza universe: Uwe Rosenberg's Space Beans (Rio Grande Games).

I'll get the obvious questions out of the way first: Is this game similar to the more popular Bohnanza? Well, yes and no. Yes, it is a bean game. And yes again in the sense that some of the mechanics work the same way. As in Bohnanza, players are planting beans in bean fields, only this time in space, which are then converted into points later in the game. The similarities end pretty much right there, as there is no trading or negotiating in the game.

The gameplay involves collecting cards in any of the seven suits, er... types of beans. Cards are acquired by drawing two at the start one one's turn, though this draw is not required unless the player starts the turn empty-handed (see below). The collections are planted in front of the players, with each participant limited to one open field (face up) and one secret field (face down). In other words, at any given time, players can be collecting at most two types of beans. Like Bohnanza, if a player is unable to add to a current field, he must trash a current crop and start a new collection. Beans can be converted into points if and only if the number of beans in a field matches the number on one of the bean cards in that field (from 1-9, with the value indicating the points given). For example, if I have 3 cards, and one of them is a 3, then I can trade it in for 3 points.

The twist in the game is that once a player finishes his turn, he then has to pass his hand of cards to his right (meanwhile, the play proceeds around the table clockwise). So a good part of the decision making in the game involves keeping an eye on what your right-hand neighbor is doing... you really do not want to pass him any cards that will help his current position. While this does sound like a neat trick at first, it leads to a very serious problem with the game. Let me explain...

When we first started playing Space Beans, the players were all pretty fast and loose with their turns; just everybody drew cards on their turn, and a large number of cards were circulating around the table. But then, over the course of several games, one by one we started seeing the problem with such an approach: it helps your neighbor a bit too much. The ideal play, we learned, was to starve your neighbor by only drawing cards when you absolutely had to. By giving your neighbor as few cards as possible, you force them to trash their bean fields without getting any points from it. Eventually, we all started adopting this strategy and the game turned into a fairly boring affair with very few cards working their way around the table and a player's success or failure often being decided by their draw of two cards at the start of their turn.

You can see this problem in action by inviting a newbie to play with several experienced players. The newbie is likely to go after a lot of cards but end up passing most of those to their neighbor on the right, who will win the game. Just watch.

With such a serious shortcoming, it's hard to recommend the game strongly. It was fun at first, but it's just one of those games where the optimal strategy is just a bit too, well, optimal, leading to boring and predictable gameplay. As a light game for non-serious gamers, it might work well, as those involved would probably play a looser game, but the moment the players catch on to the winning strat, the game will lose a lot of its enjoyment.

The game isn't a total waste, however. It is pretty easy to get into, and the beans based on famous sci-fi characters are pretty cute (I like Darth Bean myself, as well as the Battlestar Galactica bean) and quite likely to appeal to your non-gaming friends. The problem, as I said, is what happens to the game once the winning strategy is discovered. If you can overlook that one flaw, give Space Beans a try.

Thread: Session Report

daw65 — 2004-08-09T04:25:03+00:00

With a little time left, we dove into one last game, Space Beans.

At first it was tough, as everyone lost a field without compensation. Dave was the first to convert to a trophy, but it was only 3 points. Rich next got 7 with his, and Sterling a 2. Fairly quickly people harvested to get to the teens, and then the stall hit. People were dumping fields left and right. Sterling was playing cards two and three at a time to start new fields, but each time he had to dump an old one without earning a trophy.

Eventually things started coming around, and Rich and Sterling started earning more trophies. When the scores were in the low (Dave) to mid-20s, Sterling, over the course of two turns, was able to harvest three fields for trophies, putting his score at 33 points and ending the game. Dave and Rich were able to gain trophies from fields they had on the table (8 and 5 points, respectively), but it wasn't enough to top Sterling's 33. Second place went to Dave with 30 points (thanks to the two 4-point trophies on the table at game end), and then Rich with 29.

Thread: Session Report

FlyingSheep — 2003-09-16T18:24:52+00:00

Last time we played this game, we passed cards in the wrong direction, which made for a much less interesting game. There was some initial confusion about the direction of cards and turn order, but we eventually got into the swing of things.
I like this little game. Turns move quickly, so there's little downtime. There isn't very much in terms of player interaction, but that's fine.

Thread: General Comment

BoardGameGeek — 2002-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

Rating: 7

Space Beans is an extension to the Bohnanza Family. The object is to collect the most points in beans. The mechanism is straightforward. You get cards, if you want. You then play them on types of beans (up to two collections) in front of you. You have one open and one secret collection. You must always close out your open collection before your secret one. The way you score is to turn in a card who's number matches the exact number of cards that you have in a collection. If you have 5 Darthbohns and the Darthbohn 5 card then you keep the 5 card and that adds to your score. Then you pass your entire hand to your right. That's right, your entire hand.

Anyhow, this is a fun and fluffy game that's fun to teach and quick to play. It's primary weakness is that you only interact with the players to the left and right of you. The artwork is also pretty funny. All in all a good family game.

Thread: General Comment

BoardGameGeek — 2002-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

Can't say much good about this game. I always feel like I'm just sitting there mechanically doing the same thing all of the time and waiting to see who'll win. There just aren't enough decisions for my liking. Boring.

Thread: General Comment

BoardGameGeek — 2002-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

We really love Spacebeans. It's a good game at home but it's also great to take along on holidays. It's not too expensive so if it gets damaged or lost, you just buy another. Everybody we introduced to it learn easily and so far everyone got absorbed and obsessed in no time. Only the americans seem to have some trouble to loose the idea of "playing merely to win win win".
:-)
It has a good combination of strategy, luck and bluff.

Thread: Session Report

ssmooth — 2001-11-28T01:06:01+00:00

With Philip heading for home, the four remaining players chose SpaceBeans, one of our new favorites. This was only my second time to play the game, but I enjoyed it so much I decided I'd have to get a copy of my own. The timing worked out very well with four players. Somebody would pass you his cards, and you'd have just about time to look them over and decide whether or not you were going to draw two cards at the start of your turn when, hey, whattaya know, it was your turn again! So downtime was next to nothing.

Eventually I was able to go out. Jack had one meld left to score, but with the 3-point bonus for going out I managed to edge him for the win.

Thread: Session Report

ssmooth — 2001-10-29T21:11:59+00:00

After the big Entdecker game we wanted something light to close the evening, so Ward and Jack decided the time was right to teach me Space Beans. This had been a hit at the Labor Day games, when Sheldon Smith taught it to a table of six (I was in the other room suffering through Europa 1945-2020 at the time), and Ward and Jack had both ordered copies.

I liked it! The planting and harvesting felt just enough like Bohnanza to recall that game pleasantly, while the increased speed of each person's turn (since there's no trading) seemed to work in the game's favor as well.

Reading some other players' comments later, I think we had the direction of play backwards -- we were passing cards to the left and passing the turn of play to the right -- but of course that doesn't really make any difference in the way the game is played.

Jack led for most of the game. Then Ward crept up to 29. (You need 30 to go out.) Then I made a move from a LONG way back, adding 6 to my 19, then 4 a couple of turns later, then 2 the turn after that, to snatch victory from the jaws of beans.

Good game! We'll play this one again.

Thread: Session Report

gschloesser — 2001-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

With the hour growing late, we opted for what I thought would be a fairly quick card game, Space Beans, the latest from Uwe Rosenberg. Well, quick it wasn't. I'm sure the late hour had much to do with it, but it seemed out minds kept wandering and we were finding it difficult to concentrate on the game. This could also be due to the fact that the game itself is fairly weak and not terribly exciting.

Lack of player interaction immediately springs to mind. There's no trading or negotiations between the players; there is no direct play of cards to hinder an opponent's efforts; nothing. It's basically a solo effort here. Decide how many cards to pick from the deck (nearly ALWAYS the three allowed by the rules), start or add to a field, then pass your remaining cards to the player on your right. Lather, rinse, repeat.

There's really not a lot you can do to affect the play of an opponent either. About the only thing you can do is try not to pass the player on your right cards which he is currently collecting in his face-up bean field. Since players also have a face-down bean field, it is guesswork as to what he is collecting in that field, so you may well be inadvertently assisting him in that field's development.

Are there strategies here? Some, but not much. Try to manage your cards properly so you can time the harvesting of your fields for maximum points ... but even this is left largely to chance based on what you draw and what is passed to you. Nope ... not much here for a 'gamer's' game. I certainly want to give it a try with my family and friends and hope it meets with a warmer reception in that arena.

Mike Labranche ran away with this one:

Mike 38, Greg 25, Shanna 20, Jason 18, Alan 17, Walt 16

I was able to meet again with Jason Saturday afternoon at his hotel for some two player games. I had picked up a number of these while in Germany, some new, some old, and was anxious to give them a try. Jason was more than accommodating.

Thread: Session Report

gamemark — 2001-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

This wasn't my first playing of the Uwe Rosenberg game, but it was the first time with the right rules (play passes to the left, cards to the right). I still don't find much here, but my wife seems to like it.

As you can see, this was a 2 person game, with Vicki, Shari & I just putting in an appearance.

Gail Schloesser 26
Shay Douds 22
Mark Jackson 15
Vicki Watson 11
Shari Jackson 3

Rating: 5
This is the first Uwe game I haven't really enjoyed (and, no, I haven't played his pre-BOHNANZA stuff or S. JAGD).

Thread: Session Report

BoardGameGeek — 2001-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

Players: Chris, Geoff, Trev, Garry

At this point, Steve had to leave and there was not enough time to try anything else new. So, we dug out Space Beans, which I really like. This may come as a surprise to some of the others in the group, because I remember the first time I played it, I failed to score a single point. The cards really were against me that night.

Tonight, however, I was faring much better but it was Geoff who was struggling, much to the amusement of everyone ( including Geoff ). Bean field after bean field was ploughed up without scoring, while the rest of us were merrily harvesting scoring fields. I managed to score three high numbered fields and a couple of others by game end to claim victory.

Result: Garry, Trev, Chris, Geoff

Thread: Session Report

gschloesser — 2001-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

A light filler while the other group was finishing a game. This is one of my least favorite Rosenberg designs, but it is one of my wife's favorites. I prefer reserving this one for family gaming.

Finals: Craig 33, Rob 30, Ted 29, Greg 26, Clint 26

Ratings: Craig 8, Rob 7, Clint 6.5, Greg 6, Ted 5