The definitive ranked list of the best board games about trees. This category spans many genres and perspectives, from making the education of trees and nature a little more fun, maybe it focuses on their beauty or maybe it is just about something magical and familiar to us. There are plenty of great options for board gamers of all ages and intensity levels. This is our list of the best board games about trees.
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#10 | Enchanted Forest
This is the first of few titles on the list of best board games about trees that are very targeted at kids. In Enchanted Forest, one treasure is hidden under each tree in the forest. As you move from tree to tree, you get to peek at the treasures you find. Can you remember where each one is hidden?
When the king asks where one of the treasures is, players race to reach the castle with the right information. This one came out back in 1981 and is still going strong today. You are in a blissful and fun Forrest the whole time, tree city. For 2 – 6 players, games run about 30 – 60 minutes.
FOR MORE: Buy Enchanted Forest on Amazon
#09 | Topiary
The art in this one is unique and very serene, the game has everything you could want. In Topiary, players try to position their visitors on the outer edge of a beautiful topiary garden in order to give them the best view possible.
Visitors can see the closest topiary sculpture to them and any behind that, in the same sightline, that are larger. You can score bonus points for visitors who see multiple topiary sculptures of the same type. Players slowly fill in the garden by adding tiles until everyone has placed all their visitors. An easy choice for the list of best board games about trees. For 2 – 4 players, games run about 15 – 30 minutes.
FOR MORE: Buy Topiary on Amazon
#08 | Hi Ho Cherry-O
Another game on the list of the best board games about trees that is very targeted at kids is the number seven title, Hi Ho Cherry-O. The game is all about teaching turn-taking and counting. Players spin a central spinner which dictates winning or losing cherries.
The winner is the first player to get 10 cherries into their bucket. The game came out in 1960 and this is mostly a nostalgia play. Who doesn’t remember the all-mighty cherry tree. This teaches a positive message and a great game for the family. For 2 – 4 players, keeping interest is easy at a run time of about 10 minutes.
FOR MORE: Buy Hi Ho Cherry-O on Amazon
#07 | Ewoks Save the Trees
This best board games about trees list entry followed the original Star Wars trilogy in 1984. In Ewoks Save the Trees, Phlog monsters have come to chop down and steal the Ewoks trees. The players act as young Ewoks, racing to warn the village elders.
This Star Wars track game takes place on a 3-D game board depicting the forests of Endor. To move, you turn either one of two dials and check the window next to it. If it shows a color, move ahead to the next empty space of that color. If you dial a hole, you may open or close either of the two secret doors (representing the Phlogs) to block or unblock a path, and then dial again. Sure this game is a novelty more than anything, and it is out of print, but it gets number six on this board game tree list. For 2 – 4 players, games last about 30 minutes.
FOR MORE: Buy Ewoks Save the Trees on Amazon
#06 | Kodama: The Tree Spirits / Kodama 3D
The first fantasy game on the list of the best board games about trees goes to a set collection and tile placement game. As caretakers for Kodama, the tree spirits, you must keep the forest a healthy and lush home for your little friends.
Over three growing seasons, you must cultivate trees with the right mix of flowers, insects, and branch arrangements to make your Kodama as happy as possible. Grow your tree by placing cards in smart arrangements, being careful to leave room for future growth. At the end of each season, one “Kodama” will award you points for how well your tree suits its needs. With wonderful artwork and innovative mechanics, Kodama is an inTREEguing game for the whole family. For 2 – 5 players, games run about 30 minutes.
FOR MORE: Buy Kodama The Tree Spirits on Amazon
#05 | Ohanami
Ohanami makes the list of the best board games about trees because it is a great card drafting title that does justice to one of the most beautiful pieces of nature, the Cherry Blossom. The beautiful art will calm you as you play and sine the game is in fact good, you will certainly enjoy that journey.
Games take place over 3 rounds where each round has players drafting 10 cards. Cards are cherry blossoms that have a number 1 – 120 on it (one card per number). Each player has three “garden” columns in front of them that grow over the 3 rounds as you add cards into them. The only rule is that the numbers have to go in ascending orders. If you placed a 32, then you can’t put down a 28 or 16 down on that column. Each card is one of four colors and that directly affects scoring, where after each round, certain colors get are scored. For 2 – 4 players, games go for about 20 minutes.
FOR MORE: Ohanami Page | How To Play Ohanami | Ohanami Review | Games Like Ohanami | Buy Ohanami on Amazon
#04 | Parks
As we get to the top of the list of the best board games about trees we really get into some amazing games that are not only beautiful but masterfully crafted. Parks is one of those games.
Players will take on the role of two hikers as they trek through different trails across four seasons of the year. While on the trail, these hikers will take actions and collect memories of the places your hikers visit. These memories are represented by various resource tokens like mountains and forests. This is a great point to point set collection game with touches of worker placement. All along the way with beautiful style. For 1 – 5 players, games last about 30 – 60 minutes.
FOR MORE: Buy Parks on Amazon
#03 | Bosk
From majestic Maples to ancestral Oaks, players nurture their trees aiming to thrive over the course of a year in a beautiful National Park. In the spring, players carefully grow their trees, scoring as hikers enjoy traveling the trails in summer.
When autumn comes, leaves fall in the ever-changing direction of the wind, guided to cover the terrain and other players’ leaves. Points are awarded in winter for the most coverage of each region in the park. Bosk is an abstract strategy game about area influence and hand management. It has it all, a slam dunk for the list of the best board games about trees. For 2 – 4 players, games last about 20 – 40 minutes.
FOR MORE: Buy Bosk on Amazon
#02 | Arboretum
In the runner up spot on the list of the best board games about trees is the strategy card game Arboretum. The main deck has different color cards, with each color featuring a different species of tree; each color has cards numbered 1 through 8, and the number of colors used depends on the number of players.
Players start with a hand of seven cards. On each turn, a player draws two cards (from the deck or one or more of the discard piles), lays a card on the table as part of her arboretum, then discards a card to her personal discard pile. When the deck is exhausted, players compare the cards that remain in their hands to determine who can score each color. For 2-4 players, the game combines set collection, tile-laying and hand management while playing in about 25 minutes.
FOR MORE: Buy Arboretum on Amazon
#01 | Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is not just about trees but the process of growing them. The top spot on the list of the best games about trees goes to a game that makes the scientific process strategic and fun. Photosynthesis is a puzzle wrapped in an engine-building board game.
You and players need to place trees on a grid. Sun rotates around the grid giving out light points if your tree is hit, but beware, trees cast shade and can block others depending on where the sun is for that turn. You then take those sun points to plant seeds and grow them into small then medium and finally large trees. It is a medium on the intensity scale and very unique in how the puzzle works. And so on theme, a fantastic game about trees. For 2 – 4 players, games run about 30 – 60 minutes.
