Lotus - Review

Should We Leave "Lotus" on the Table?

"Lotus" is an abstract game in which the players are growing (or building) flowers in a lotus patch.  The winner of the game is the person with the most points at the end of the game.

Each player has their own flower petal deck of cards, plus there is the public wildflower deck that players can draw from too.

In "Lotus" each player gets two actions that must be taken.  They can be played in any order followed by drawing cards back up to the hands size of four cards.  The player can place up to 2 petals on the same flower, exchange cards for others, or place/move a guardian to a flower.  Each petal from the player's deck has their players guardian symbol on it (insects).  When the flower is completed, the player with the greatest control over that flower when it is picked either gets 5 points or a special power token. 

However, the player who finishes the flower, then picks it and keeps the petal cards to be turned into victory points at the end of the game.  Various flowers require different numbers of petals to finish.

Upon playing it tonight, I knew I had something special here.  The artwork is stunning and the gameplay is unique.  Watching the flowers bloom is fun to watch, however watching your opponent finish and pick the flower you've been laboring over is nerve wracking.  This reminds me of the tree building game, Kodama, another card game I love. 

I loved playing "Lotus".  Even though stressful at times, there was a Zen type feeling while playing.  I know I liked it, but what did the wife think??

She loved it!!  She beat me by 1 point and was ready to play it again.

She said very enthusiastically, "LEAVE IT ON THE TABLE!!"