Cultivate Beauty, One Decision at a Time
You are an aristocrat of the late 19th century. With newly acquired land, a loyal gardener, and a taste for the exotic, you set out to build a botanical garden unlike any other. But beauty alone is not enough. Visitors have discerning eyes and very specific expectations. To outshine your rivals, you must plan, plant, and adapt — not only to please the crowd, but to grow a garden of rare elegance and strategic depth.
In Botanicus, each turn invites tactical choice. Select an action space before others can, maneuver your gardener among flower beds, and place plants according to ongoing objectives. Coin economy, careful positioning, and timing matter: your gardener moves one footprint at a time, each step costing a coin — and every action has its price.
Tasks are the heart of your reputation. Each row of your garden must meet the exacting standards of visiting patrons. Complete their requests to gain prestige and unlock more demanding challenges. As your garden grows, so does its complexity — but also its brilliance.
Why Strategists Will Thrive in the Garden
This is a game of deliberate pace and layered outcomes. No luck determines your fate — only your foresight. Action selection is contested and dynamic, with each player competing to claim powerful effects before others. You must anticipate their intentions, adjust your rhythm, and carve out advantage.
Garden cards give flexibility: spend two coins to perform a tailored action, or sell the card for three coins and secure your next turn’s position. Watering, planting, advancing along tracks — each decision is interconnected. No step is wasted, but none can be repeated.
Round by round, your garden becomes a canvas of spatial control, clever sequencing, and evolving purpose. In the second round, flipped flower tiles alter the field, offering new actions and surprises. And in the final act, a single last move may tip the balance.
If you're ready for more, the Expert Variant brings asymmetric layouts, animal tokens, and secret scoring conditions. Play with two gardeners instead of one, unlock hidden bonuses by caring for animals in your flower beds, and pursue unique endgame objectives.
For the Botanically Minded
Among the most prized flora in Botanicus are the Level IV plants — rare specimens that represent true horticultural prestige. Here are just a few:
Nepenthes Alata — a carnivorous pitcher plant from the Philippines, with tooth-like ridges to trap insects.
Victoria Amazonica — the giant water lily with blooms over 40 cm wide, warming its petals to lure beetles.
Selenicereus Grandiflorus — the “Queen of the Night,” a cactus that flowers only once a year, for one night.
Brugmansia — the “angel’s trumpet,” beautiful yet toxic, with pendulous blossoms and hallucinogenic alkaloids.
Monstera Deliciosa — known for its split leaves and edible fruit, ripening like a green pinecone.
Dracunculus Vulgaris — the dragon lily, exuding the scent of decay to attract pollinators.
These plants aren’t just names on tokens. They embody centuries of botanical exploration, scientific curiosity, and horticultural achievement — and their inclusion makes each garden a living museum.
Let Strategy Flourish at Tabletopia
Botanicus isn’t about reacting — it’s about composing. Each choice is a seed. Each turn, a season. The competition is constant, the tempo elegant, and the reward lies in your foresight.
You can now play Botanicus online on Tabletopia, the platform for digital board games. Play or test your skills against real opponents. No downloads, no setup time — just strategy, beauty, and bloom.