Blume: How to Play
The birds are chirping, the flowers are booming and people everywhere are taking there allergy meds as their noses run and eyes itch. *Sneeze, rub eyes*
Hi I’m Bebo and today I’m going to teach you how to play Blume.
(Do you typically have credits at the beginning? Blume designed by, published by, player count and time, etc?)
In Blume, Players will be building their own garden, stocking up flowers in their greenhouses and influencing a public market! Over the course of three total rounds, players will expand their small patch of dirt into a fully grown flower bed!
To set up the game give each player a garden board and 6 colored point markers. Each marker starts at 0 and will increase in value as the game progresses.Then place the market track in the center of the table with 6 colored point markers.
Seperate the round cards and shuffle each deck. Then take 1 card from each deck and place them face down, from 1 to 3 below the Market Track.
Flip over the first round card and then select 3 hybrid tiles and place them face down below the round cards. Then reveal the first Hybrid flower and place the bag of tiles below the hybrid flowers. (Make sure to have 3 face up tiles reveal from the bag. )
Blume is played over a total of 3 rounds. Each round the players gardens will grow marginally. In the first round you’ll have a small garden which is 3 tiles by 3 tiles. In the second round it will grow to 4 tiles by 4 tiles and in the final round it will grow to 5 tiles by 5 tiles.
In the first round the players will start in their 3x3 grid. There will only be a single hybrid flower and the water can card revealed. On the first turn, the players may place their beginning tile anywhere in their starting grid which is only a 3x3 in the first round. Then the next player takes their turn. This continues until no more tiles can be placed on the current rounds grid at which point the players prune their gardens in preparation for the next round.
In the pruning phase the players prune flowers to allow growth of their garden. To do this they simply take a tile from any location in their garden then remove it. When pruning they must remove 4 total tiles. This only happens during the first two rounds of the game.
With that said, for each completed hybrid flower the player must add or subtract one tile from their prune total for the round. Instead of pruning 4 tiles this round, I would either prune 3, or 5 tiles instead.
Once all players have done this the next round begins. Next, the players flip the completed watering can card face down and reveal the card to the right of the completed card. A new Hybrid Flower will also be revealed. The previous hybrid Flower will stay face up until the end of the game. By the 3rd round, there will be a total of 3 hybrids available to grow.The player who started the game starts the new round as well.
When the first round begins, a new water can location will be revealed allowing players to achieve a goal. These locations will vary from card to card and will offer the players a bonus upon completion. This is when the location card will flips and new one will be revealed for the next round. Repeat?
Now, let's dive into the details of what happens on a players turn. Each turn takes place over 4 total steps. Refresh Tiles, Select Tile, Place Tile, and Take an Action.
Step one: refresh tiles. If at the start of a players turn there are less than 3 tiles available, reveal a new one from the bag and place it into the tile row.
Step Two: Select Tile. At the start of each player turn, take a single petal tile from the row or draw blindly from the tile bag.
Step Three: Place Tile: Place the selected tile onto your player board. The first tile of the game MUST be placed within the starting 3x3 garden area, but may be placed anywhere within this space. Any subsequent tiles, MUST connect to another tile, side by side. Flower colors do not have to match.
Step 4: Take Action. If by placing a tile, a flower is formed, the player must then take an action.
Any time a flower is formed by connecting 4 matching corners, the player must perform an action. Depending on the type and location of the completed flower, determine which actions they can take!
There are Several actions available.
If the player forms a single colored flower they get to choose:
They may add a flower of the match color to their personal greenhouse
Or
They may increase or decrease any color flower on the public market track by one.
If a single colored flower is completed on a watering can location then the player MUST:
Add 1 flower, of the matching color, to their personal greenhouse.
AND
Increase or decrease any color flower on the public market track by 1.
If a hybrid flower is completed then the player MUST:
Add one flower for each color in the hybrid to their personal greenhouse
If a hybrid flower is completed in a watering can location than the player MUST:
Add 1 flower, for EACH color in the Hybrid, to your personal greenhouse
AND
Increase or decrease any color flower on the public market track by 1.
In some games, a player might fill their greenhouse with one color. When this occurs the player may not add any more to their greenhouse or increase the market for the maxed out color, however, they are able to decrease the market for any other color.
The game will end after the 3rd ground and the winner of the game is the player with the most points after tallying up the score of the flowers in their greenhouse multiplied by the value of each of those flowers on the public market.
Thank you so much for watching and tell us in the comments below what your favorite flower is! Be Bold, Play Games, Be You! Happy Gaming!