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Welcome to the world of Photosynthesis, the green strategy board game! Plant and shape the ever-changing forest as you cultivate your seeds and your strategy. Take your trees through their life-cycle, from seedling to full bloom to rebirth, and earn points as their leaves collect energy from the revolving sun’s rays. Carefully pick where you sow and when you grow, as trees in the shadows are blocked from light, and from points. This game features realistic gameplay and beautiful graphics.

• 1 Game Board
• 1 Sun Segment
• 4 Player Boards
• 1 First Player Token
• 24 Scoring Tokens
• 4 Sun Marker Tokens
• 24 Seed Tokens (6 of each species)
• 32 Small Trees (8 of each species)
• 16 Medium Trees (4 of each species)
• 8 Big Trees (2 of each species)
• Illustrated Rules

Photosynthesis Review

By: Author Bryan Truong

Categories Board Games , Board Game Reviews , Euro

Stats at a glance

Players : 2-4

Duration : 30-60

Difficulty : Medium

Published : 2017

Publisher : Blue Orange Games

Just like Sauron who forgot the awesome power of the forest , so too have board gamers neglected an astounding force of nature… trees. Check out the full Photosynthesis Review below.

“I thought all the trees were whispering to each other, passing news and plots along in an unintelligible language; and the branches swayed and groped without any wind. They do say the trees do actually move, and can surround strangers and hem them.” ―J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

The Photosynthesis board game is all about growing trees. No, not like the ones at r/trees , or the ents that tore down Isengard. Your average run-of-the-mill pine coney variety that grows straight, tall, and strong, as long as they have light.

The game is based on the chemical process that all plants use to gain food. If you need a refresher, sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water are transformed into glucose (sugar) for the plants’ cells and oxygen which we need to breathe.

It’s an integral part of our everyday lives that we rarely think about, but does it need to be a part of our board gaming shelf?

Let’s find out.

Table of Contents

A Brief Overview of Photosynthesis

In Photosynthesis, players become trees, and not in a weird druid or metaphysical sense. Players plant trees around the board to grow and capture those sweet, sweet rays of sunshine needed to grow and become big strong happy trees. Bob Ross would be proud.

The game is played over three rounds, tracked by the sun rotating around the board. Photosynthesis uses a unique game mechanic in which the sun tracker casts shadows depending upon its position, making the game a constant struggle for the best position for optimum sunlight.

For a very well-made and cute game about trees, it turns out that there is a lot of struggle and conflict on the board.

Versions & Expansions

Under the moonlight.

Under the Moonlight adds a whole new cycle to the game. In addition to the rotating sun, the moon enters the game rotating in the opposite direction.

Now players have the option of collecting moon points in addition to sun points to grow their trees. The moon points activate variable player powers that come in the form of different animals, adding a new level of strategy into the mix.

Unboxing Photosynthesis

First of all, there are a lot of trees in this box. That really shouldn’t surprise anyone, though. The tree cutouts for Photosynthesis are really cute and very well-made. It’s just a simple matter of punching out some trees and sliding them together.

I haven’t had too many issues with keeping them together during actual gameplay. Once together, they never have to be taken apart, and if you’re really nutty like I am, you may even consider throwing on a dab of glue. The box comes with 4 square holders that work the same way the little plastic table does in a pizza box. It keeps the box from pressing down and smashing all of your pretty trees, which I thought was really handy.

For a game about photosynthesis, you’ll notice that a lot of components are made of cardboard. Actually, there’s really not a whole lot of plastic to be found anywhere. The green-conscious designers over at Blue Orange Games use recycled cardboard or natural fibers for their games. Plastic trees would definitely be easier to mass-produce (and cheaper), but it’s rather refreshing seeing a company practice what they preach.

Blue Orange Games is actually pretty green

In fact, Blue Orange Games has been working since 2006 on a program to plant trees in China. For every tree used in one of their cardboard board games, they plant two in China. To date, they have planted over 125,000 trees! As residents of environmentally conscious San Francisco, Blue Orange has partnered with several other eco-organizations, like Save the Bay and PUR Projet . Save the Bay works towards cleaning up and restoring the San Francisco Bay, while PUR Projet is a company in France that works with companies to help offset their carbon footprint by reforesting the Amazon.

It’s refreshing to see a company working hard to protect the environment, while at the same time producing games that spread awareness of its mission. If you’d like to learn more about Blue Orange Games and their green efforts, check out their article on Playing to Preserve our Planet here .

How to Play Photosynthesis

The entire rulebook is about 4 pages. You’re not going to have any difficulties learning how to play Photosynthesis. The rules are extremely lightweight but there is a bit of strategy involved, so it’s not going to get stale after only a game or two.

Each player gets a player board that has all of the costs of actions on it. This makes everything super easy and doesn’t require any heavy memorization to play. Fill up all of the tree slots on the board with the corresponding size of trees.

There should be 4 seed tokens, 4 small trees, and 1 medium tree that are left over after you fill-up the player board. These are your starting supply of trees.

Light and Shadow

Next, find the crescent-shaped sun piece and place it on the edge of the board. After each player takes a turn, they’ll score sun points depending on their tree placement. Each tree casts a “shadow” depending upon the position of the sun.

A small tree casts a shadow 1 space away, a medium tree casts a shadow 2 spaces away, and a large tree casts a shadow 3 spaces away. If a tree that is equal to or smaller than the tree casting the shadow, it will not gain any sun points. If the tree is larger than the tree casting the shadow, it will still gain sun points.

There are 4 markers in the box that represent the movement of the sun (even though we all know that the Earth rotates, causing night and day, not the sun). They simply provide an easy way to keep track of the round being played.

After each full revolution of the sun, you can change the marker to indicate what round you are playing. Normally, there are only 3 rounds to the game, but if you are playing the advanced variation of the game, there are 4 rounds.

Sun points are used to grow and plant new trees. Each action will have a cost valued in sun points. All of the information is printed on the board for quick reference. To move closer to the center of the board, players need to plant new trees from seeds. The larger the initial tree, the farther the seed can be placed.

The starting trees and seeds (1 medium tree, 4 small trees, and 4 seeds) are the plants you have available. To plant a large tree or anything else that’s sitting on your player board, you’ll need to purchase the tree with sun points. You can’t plant a tree directly from the player board. They need to be purchased from the board first.

Another limitation is that any one particular plant can only be grown or activated once. For example, if you plant a brand new seed onto a new space, you can’t immediately grow it into a small tree on that turn. The same rule applies to all trees. This prevents players from stocking up points and hogging the center square.

Scoring and Ending the Game

When a tree is fully grown, players can choose to score it. Scoring the tree means removing it from the board and gaining points based on the tile on which it was planted. The center of the board is much more difficult to get trees planted and into maturity, but it has the most victory points.

When scoring, look at the color of the tile that the tree is on. You’ll notice there are three different colored tiles. The outer rings are browner in color and as players get closer to the center, you’ll see the tiles become a darker green.

As I mentioned earlier, the center (greener) tiles are going to be worth more points. Once a tree is scored, players will pick up a scoring tile that matches the color where the tree was planted. Each scoring tile will have a number of points on it. The darker green tiles in the center of the board will have a higher number of points on them, but players can still win the game if they strategically block from the outer board.

If you decide to score a fully grown tree, remove it from the board and place it back on your player board. If you ever have to place a tree or seed back on the player board and there are no open spots on the board, the tree or seed is removed from the game instead.

Once the sun has gone around the board 3 times, the game ends.

Your First Game of Photosynthesis

For your first game, start by setting up the player boards and supply of trees. Once that’s done, players will choose a spot for their happy little saplings around the edge of the board.

Most strategies in the game revolve around rushing to the center and keeping hold of the middle spot for points. You could also try blocking out the center by growing taller trees on the edge and using them as sun blockers, instead of scoring them.

Getting to the center of the board doesn’t necessarily guarantee victory. If you can’t make it to the center, try swarming around the edges with strategic blocking. If you can keep up the blocks by controlling the edges while simultaneously scoring trees, the center square won’t matter if you overwhelm them with smaller points and if you don’t allow your opponent to grow anything.

It’s a very simple game and you won’t have any issues learning it. The tricky part comes when players begin to grow trees willy nilly all over the place and start blocking out the sun. It’s very common for this happy tree game to swiftly devolve into death threats (at least at my table anyway) over tree placement.

Advanced Rules

After your first game of Photosynthesis, there are additional rules in the book that Blue Orange Games calls the advanced rules. Instead of 3 rounds, you get to play for 4 rounds (4 complete revolutions of the sun). In addition to this, you can’t activate trees that are in the shade.

This means if a tree is blocked, players can’t simply spend sun points to grow out of the shadow. They’ll have to wait until the sun rotates to a free spot, or on the low chance the poor tree is blocked on all 4 sides, it gets to sit there doing nothing for the whole game.

Personally, I like the additional rules. I’m a glutton for games and always want to play another round. This sometimes gets me into trouble, but the advanced rules, in my opinion, make more sense and feel like the proper way to play the game.

The Pros & Cons of Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis is probably one of the prettiest and aesthetically pleasing games I’ve seen in a long while. During a full game full of trees and all 4 players , the board does look very pretty. Most players appreciate solid components that work together, and Photosynthesis did an excellent job with them.

The recycled products used to make a board game about photosynthesis does make me really respect Blue Orange Games. I’ve been to a lot of places in Southeast Asia where plastic covers the ground as far as you can see, so it always makes me happy seeing a company try to reduce plastic.

The game is very easy to learn. If you like playing with your kids, it brings a fun teachable moment to the table. You could impress your younger family members with your vast knowledge of chlorophyll and cell walls if they’re really interested. I still remember when I was younger, I got interested in the weirdest topics because of board games, so I think it’s an excellent game for the younger crowd.

For a happy tree game, it’s kinda brutal. The majority of the game is about positioning trees in order to gain optimal sunlight and victory points, but that also includes blocking other players and denying them that sweet, sweet sunlight.

There has to be a philosophical lesson in there somewhere about how something so pretty can cause so much anguish and despair. The game is designed with blocking and denying other players in mind. If you aren’t into confrontational games, then this is not going to be for you.

There are no variable-sized boards for 2 players and it makes the game seem a lot less refined. There’s a lot more space and it’s much easier to stay out of everyone’s way with only 2 players, and it just seems unbalanced.

With 3 players , it seems to be the perfect balance between players and available space. There’s enough room for everyone to block and be blocked without causing a rage-induced fistfight and with 4 players, chances are good of someone walking away from the table with a bloody nose.

Photosynthesis Review (TL;DR)

• Lightweight & easy to learn
• Very pretty when it’s all set up
• Zero Violence – Photosynthesis is a pretty tame theme, but there is still plenty of conflict in the game.
• Has a good amount of strategy to keep each game interesting
• All the components are sturdy cardboard and made from recycled materials

Conclusion: Verdict?

I really enjoyed Photosynthesis. It’s a cute little game with a completely unique theme. I thought the use of a rotating sun was a nice touch as well. As far as gameplay is concerned it’s very lightweight and great for kids to learn. That being said it is a conflict-heavy game. It all depends on knowing your audience as well. If you do play with younger kids and they don’t do well with conflict, this either becomes a very teachable moment in their lives or the point in which they learn to hate board games.

Super easy rules

The rules themselves are so simple and easy to learn. I always enjoy it when I can have fun with a game without spending hours in a rulebook beforehand. Most of the upgrades follow a 1-2-3 progression.

• Seedling to small tree = 1 sun point.
• Small tree to medium tree = 2 sun points.
• Medium tree to large tree = 3 sun points.
• To score a large tree = 4 sun points.

Everything is in a nice neat progressive order that also extends to a lot of other rules like how much shadow each tree covers or how many light points each tree gets in a round. They again follow that simple 1-2-3 pattern making the rules very easy to learn.

It is a fun game. There’s strategy involved, it looks great on the table, and it has a completely unique theme. I, however, can only see myself playing this a couple more times before I’m really done with it, though. The worst part is I can’t really pin down why. I enjoy abstract strategy games , and I play chess quite a bit with Kendra, so it’s not that. The theme is neat and unique and as a teacher, it’s always cool to see games that can be brought into a classroom .

Meh…?

There are a lot of good reviews and a lot of great feedback for the game. I had a lot of fun the first few times I played it, but I just can’t see myself playing it a whole lot. I really wanted to like it, but I just couldn’t get into it. The theme which most likely attracted you to the game in the first place is interesting, but there just wasn’t enough there for me to want to keep it around on my shelf.

It’s won a handful of awards since it was released, so it has been well received by critics, which always makes me question myself when I don’t like a game, but I just can’t find enough gameplay that I like in the box. I’d be interested to see if they make an expansion for the game. I think it could fix a lot of the problems that Photosynthesis faces, especially scaling issues with the game.

What did you think of Photosynthesis?

We hope you enjoyed our Photosynthesis review! If you have any comments, find anything we missed, or just want to talk about some board games leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you.

Find even more Strategy Board Games in our video below:

Before starting GameCows with his wife Kendra, he used to teach English Language Arts in the US. He combined his love of gaming with education to create fun game-based learning lessons until he eventually decided to run GameCows with Kendra full-time. He’s known for pouring over rulebooks in his spare time, being the rule master during game night, and as the perma DM in his DnD group. Bryan loves board games, writing, traveling, and above all his wife and partner in crime, Kendra.

Tuesday 31st of January 2023

Maybe we are game challenged, but I found Photosynthesis confusing. Not sure how many actions can be completed at each sun position and we kept getting massive amounts of points.

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Photosynthesis Under The Moonlight - Expansion to Photosynthesis Original Game- Family or Adult Strategy Board Game for 2 to 4 Players. Recommended for Ages 10 and Up.

Photosynthesis Board Game

Photosynthesis Under The Moonlight

Purchase options and add-ons

About this item.

• STRATEGY TABLETOP BOARD GAME: Photosynthesis is one of the best environmental tactical board games referring to the life cycle of trees, for science and biology enthusiasts. This best-selling board game has an amazing table presence with an ever-changing forest made of high-quality cardboard pieces.
• EXPANSION- Under the Moonlight is the first expansion of the original Photosynthesis game. You need the original game to play with the expansion.
• Enhance the world of Photosynthesis with the Under the Moonlight expansion! The moon turns in the opposite direction of the sun and casts its moonlight into the woods. Strategically position your animal by the moonstones, activate their capabilities at the right time, and be careful to not stay too long in the shadow of the Great Elder Tree! Players collect lunar points for their new forest animal to activate special powers.
• Which one of the 8 animals will be yours? The boar collects trees, the hedgehog plants seeds, the fox steals and moves seed around, the owl turns lunar points into sun points…
• ECO FRIENDLY: Blue Orange is sensitive to the protection of planet earth and to climate change challenges and only uses recycled materials to manufacture Photosynthesis.

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Enhance the world of Photosynthesis with the Under the Moonlight expansion! The moon turns in the opposite direction of the sun and casts its moonlight into the woods. Players collect lunar points for their new forest animal to activate special powers. Which one of the 8 animals will be yours? The boar collects trees, the hedgehog plants seeds, the fox steals and moves seed around, the owl turns lunar points into sun points… Strategically position your animal by the moonstones, activate their capabilities at the right time, and be careful to not stay too long in the shadow of the Great Elder Tree! This expansion requires the base game Photosynthesis to play.

Important information

Safety information.

Small Parts- Not for Children under 3 years old

From the manufacturer

Enhance the world of Photosynthesis with the Under the Moonlight expansion!

The moon turns in the opposite direction of the sun and casts its moonlight into the woods.

The Under The Moonlight expansion includes:

1 Great Elder Tree, 1 Full Moon/ Half-Moon token, 1 Moon Phase tracker, 8 Animal meeples (wooden/both sides printed), 4 Lunar Point trackers,1 Dam tile (for the beaver), 8 Baby Turtle tokens, 3 Moonstones and Illustrated Rules.

What's in the box

• 1 Great Elder Tree1 Full Moon/ Half-Moon token1 Moon Phase tracker8 Animal meeples4 Lunar Point trackers1 Dam tile (for the beaver)8 Baby Turtle tokens3 MoonstonesIllustrated Rules

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Customers say

Customers like the entertainment value, ease of assembly, quality and pace of the board game. They mention that it's intriguing, gorgeous and awesome. They appreciate the complex instructions and the high quality construction. They also like the excitement, and gift. However, some customers are disappointed with damage and opinions are mixed on strategy.

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Customers find the game intriguing, well designed, and gorgeous. They also describe it as an awesome, simple, and fun board game with an interesting game mechanic.

"...The game is so intriguing , in fact, that my wife (who normally does not get involved in our gaming sessions) wanted to play the game over and..." Read more

"...Let me tell you, the strategy to this game is NOT simple . This is area control at its finest...." Read more

"...understandable and enjoyed by most eight year olds, but the strategy is in depth enough that your going to want to play it even without the kids!..." Read more

"...Non-gamer friendly - this game is clear , well laid out, has one major resource system, 4 major action systems, and 2 environmental mechanics - it is..." Read more

Customers find the board game fairly easy to learn and understandable. They also say the rules are easy to pick up and the game mechanics are easy. Some mention that the instructions are complex, but nuanced gameplay makes the game challenging enough. Overall, customers say the game is beginner-friendly and the future setup is easy.

"...Because it's based on nature, I found the rules very easy to pick up ; just do what a tree would do, and you'll be fine...." Read more

"...This game is simple enough to be understandable and enjoyed by most eight year olds, but the strategy is in depth enough that your going to want to..." Read more

"...4 major action systems, and 2 environmental mechanics - it is easy to understand , quick to learn, and fun to jump into.The Bad..." Read more

"...can easily store all the assembled trees separated by color so future set up is easy ...." Read more

Customers like the quality of the board game. They say it has beautiful art, high quality construction, and great components. They also say the game is durable and has original mechanics. Customers also mention that the game has simple and solid rules that make it a really fun game.

"...All the components are high quality and very well done . All four sets of trees are different and colored beautifully!..." Read more

"...readable board and tiles to the obvious stand out, the trees, each unique and aesthetically thrilling as the forest begins to populate the board...." Read more

"...Completely different than most games. Strategic and a joy to play. Great components ...." Read more

"...High rate for friendly game playBeautiful art High quality construction Very family friendly !..." Read more

Customers find the pace of the board game fast and easy to learn. They also say the game moves pretty quickly and is great for friendly game play. However, some customers say the timing is deceptively hard to master.

"...Game time runs at around 45 - 70 minutes, but it seems to go very fast ...." Read more

"...captivating, easy to learn and play, accessible to new gamers and fairly quick ...." Read more

"...Low mental impact High rate for friendly game play Beautiful artHigh quality constructionVery family friendly !..." Read more

"...on YouTube to get you started that's what we did and it made it really fast and easy ." Read more

Customers find the board game exciting, engaging, and captivating all the way through. They say the game is interesting, makes them think ahead, and is a brain-burner. Customers also say the gameplay feeds into a rich storytelling experience and is challenging in its own ways.

"...Story - the theme, art, and gameplay all feed into a rich storytelling experience ...." Read more

"... Low mental impact High rate for friendly game playBeautiful artHigh quality constructionVery family friendly !..." Read more

"...What's nice is the playing field is always shifting ...." Read more

"...it says on the box, but you will have an amazing time and a very unique experience ." Read more

Customers are satisfied with the gift. They say it's a perfect gift for board game lovers, and an excellent addition to any gaming collection.

"...Also it’s really cute and a perfect gift for any plant lover you know!Update: I bought this game again...." Read more

"This is the perfect gift for board game lovers . The box is beautiful and it’s fun to play!" Read more

"...I would say it is an excellent addition to all gaming collection in the like of chess, checkers, and other classic games that are less story driven." Read more

"Beautiful game board fairly easy to learn and play. Makes a great gift ." Read more

Customers are mixed about the strategy. Some find the game fun and simple, but it can be made very strategic. They also say it forces them to think radially and quickly shift tactical resource management. However, other customers say the strategy seems to be a bit limited and easy to make mistakes.

"...game is clear, well laid out, has one major resource system, 4 major action systems , and 2 environmental mechanics - it is easy to understand, quick..." Read more

"I love this game. Completely different than most games. Strategic and a joy to play. Great components...." Read more

"...The only thing is the strategy is more complex , so she had a hard time understanding where to place trees and why she would place them in those..." Read more

"...the game goes differently every time because there are so many different strategies to use ...." Read more

Customers are dissatisfied with the damage of the board game. They mention that the box was damaged, some of the trees were damaged, and the top of the box had a dent in it.

"...The game box came a bit tattered . Almost as if it was damaged during shipment. This is not a big deal to me though...." Read more

"Simple and fun board game. It's a pity that the outer box was slightly dented when received!" Read more

"Just to start off, I wanna say that I received my box damaged on the side ...." Read more

"...its a fault of the manufacturer or Amazon, is that the inside box was damaged on three sides ...." Read more

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Photosynthesis Review

We review Photosynthesis, a new arboreal game published by Blue Orange Games. In Photosynthesis, players are trying to earn the most points by completing the life cycles of their trees.

Photosynthesis is an abstract strategy game for 2-4 players that takes about 60 minutes to play. Photosynthesis plays well at all player counts.

Gameplay Overview:

In Photosynthesis, the goal is to earn the most points by completing the life cycles of your trees. The game is played over a series of rounds, each of which has two phases :

1. The Photosynthesis Phase The sun is moved to the next segment on the board clockwise and players total up their light points from the trees they have on the board. The light “shines” from where the sun marker is at, and tress will earn light points based on their size. Trees will also cast shadows based on their height, and will block other trees in their shadow from earning light points.

2. The Life Cycle Phase In player order, each player can spend their light points to buy, plant, grow and collect trees. Each seed and tree has a cost in light points to add it to your ready area. Once in your available area, light points can then be used to move a seed to the board. Players can also grow a seed into a small tree, a small tree into a medium one, and a medium to a large. Finally, a player can spend 4 light points to harvest a large tree, earning victory points based on where it was on the game board. The closer a player is to the center, the more points.

The only other thing to be aware of is that players can only interact with a space on the board once per round. So you can’t grow the same tree twice, or plant and grow it in the same turn.

Once the sun makes three full revolutions around the game board, the game ends and the player with the most points wins.

Game Experience:

First of all, in case you can’t tell from the photos, Photosynthesis looks amazing. The artwork is beautiful and when the trees are laid out across the board in varying heights, it looks like a real forest. As it’s essentially an abstract strategy game, the publisher could have gone a lot of routes with the components. They could have even used wooden blocks and the game would work just as well. But they didn’t, and the fantastic package they put together defiantly makes the game more enjoyable to play.

However components would mean nothing if the game play didn’t hold up, and thankfully it does. The mechanics are very easy to learn as the player boards do a great job of handholding the players through their turn. Everything has a labeled cost, and it even shows upgrade costs and other relevant information. That makes Photosynthesis an easy choice to pull out with your non-gamer friends as questions should be minimal.

When it comes to player scaling, I’ve found that Photosynthesis plays somewhat different at each of its player counts. A 2 player game is going to have a lot of spaces for expansion, so it can turn into a very strategic affair. Chances are the spots you want for your trees will be open. Simply form a plan and execute.

However at the four player count, competition is going to be fierce for prime real estate and the game can actually get a little mean (if that’s your group’s style). Because trees can block other trees from earning light points, there will be plenty of times when you can block an entire row of your opponent’s trees with a well-placed tall tree. The game also migrates from strategic to tactical here because the board state can change a bunch in between your turns, so you will definitely need to be flexible and ready to react.

And as accessible as Photosynthesis is, it can also be a very thinky game. You have to place your tress carefully to make sure no one is blocking their light. Then, you have to decide when you harvest your trees. Those level 3 trees earn you a lot of light points, but they don’t do you any good until you cut them down (earning you the bulk of your victory points). So there is a risk vs reward nature to the game where you have to try and determine the best opportunity to cut your trees down against future earnings. Plus, the victory points decrease as players collect tokens, so that’s another factor to consider.

As much as I’m enjoying Photosynthesis, and I definitely am, I have found that the end game can be sometimes lack luster. The first round is going to be a quick ramp up, with the second round containing the most actions and longest turns. However the final round will be all about trying to maximize your points. Yet since you can only interact with a space on the board once per turn, the last couple of rounds can be a bit slow (or even boring) if you didn’t play exceedingly well. In one game, players didn’t even take any actions in the final round, because you can’t grow and harvest a tree in the same turn. So usually it was just better to do nothing and collect some light points (which earn VPs).

Final Thoughts:

I was really hoping that I’d like Photosynthesis and I’m glad I did. The components looked so good and the theme was a fresh one. The game ended up being easy to learn, yet still provided more than enough depth to keep just about anyone entertained. And for an abstract strategy game, it actually uses its theme quite well. The sunlight mechanic in Photosynthesis is very clever and growing trees made perfect sense.

Whether you are looking for a new gateway game, a game to play with your family, or even a light game to play with your gaming group, Photosynthesis can easily slide into any of those roles. This one will be staying in my collection and I can easily see it making its way to my gaming table quite often.

Final Score: 4 Stars – A unique, accessible, and excellent looking game that plays well at all player counts.

Misses: • End game can be a bit boring unless you planned really well

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Easy to learn but hard to master, Photosynthesis is a great strategic game, and a lovely way to pass 45 mins or so.

Simple but has deep strategy

Easy to learn and teach

Looks great

Really captures the 'circle of life' theme

Can be dry and deterministic

Takes a few minutes to set up

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Photosynthesis is a rare blend you find in only the best board games: a very simple game with deep strategy that also perfectly evokes its theme. As the title implies, that theme is trees growing in the sunlight. 

The more trees you have, the more light they capture and the more you can grow new seedlings. But you can’t keep growing more trees forever: to score you must sacrifice a full-grown tree, in a neat simulacrum of the circle of life.

Photosynthesis has been a big hit with modern board game fans, and is starting to find a home with more casual players. And that's well deserved, because this kind of easy-to-learn, great-looking game should have wide appeal. 

And there's more here than just looks – experienced players will find there's a layer of strategy to the game that's very rewarding for those who grow with it.

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Photosynthesis board game: Price and who it's for

The game comes with a lot of cardboard trees that you have to punch out and slot together. They look fantastic in play; a bonsai forest growing on your tables. So the asking price of around £35/$40 seems very reasonable. And the whole family can enjoy the spectacle as the suggested age of 10+ seems right on the money, and each game takes about fifteen minutes per player to play.

It also scales well from the two to four players it accepts, although three is probably the sweet spot. The rules are logical and straightforward with a clear cause and effect path, so they’re not difficult to learn. Like Chess, though, the game has no random elements, so success depending entirely on planning ahead. Players who prefer lighter, more chaotic fare like party games may find this a turn-off, but it's not too much of a brain-twister, and isn't intimidating in any way.

Photosynthesis board game: How it plays

Each player starts the game with a solitary small tree of their type on the board, and a supply of trees and seeds they'll be able to add to the board over time. On your first turn, that tree will collect one light point from the sun, which you'll probably then use to plant a new seed. 

On later turns, you can spend larger amounts of light to grow seeds into small trees or increase the size of existing trees. Bigger trees can then collect more light, increasing your options.

The board has highlighted zones which score higher points for trees the closer they are to the centre. So the initial turns are a race for the best scoring spots. But at the same time, trying to gobble up all the space as fast as possible is a risk. You’ll soon run out of trees, meaning you have to use some of your light to buy more. And you won’t be growing your trees taller if you're spending all your points to make new ones, which leaves you at the mercy of the game’s very novel method of interaction.

Each turn, the sun (represented by a large token) moves to a new spot on the board, rotating around the board one side at a time. You then draw a line from the position of the sun across the board to see which trees are in a position to soak it up and get light points. 

Trees hidden behind other trees will only get the light if they’re taller than the one in front, otherwise they're stuck in the shade, and don't earn any light point for you. Taller trees, in turn, cast a shadow further back, blocking precious light from more competitors behind them. As a result, racing to cover ground with lots of small trees isn’t always the best option.

This is how the game unfolds: the sun and the turn order follow a fixed path. It’s up to you to identify what spots will be in sun and which in shadow, second guess other player’s moves and plan accordingly. You’ll need to balance getting light for yourself against blocking it from others, as well as access to the best scoring spaces. It’s a game that rewards logical thought and organization, but even when you’ve got that down, there’s another catch.

Growing trees is all very well, but at some point, you have to sacrifice them to get them to score – in this case, that means removing a tree from the board, leaving its spot empty. Before you can sacrifice a tree, it has to be full-grown (ie, the tallest of the three stages), and you only ever have two full-grown tree pieces to play with. Timing it so you can get both on the board, and have a mid-size tree ready to grow when one gets sacrificed and you get the piece back is a tricky art.

All the more so because as soon as that big tree gets recycled into points, two things happen. First, it’s no longer casting its long shadow on the board, giving lots of other trees a chance to catch the light and grow. Second, you’ve just lost a major source of light yourself. So it’s a double whammy, reducing your ability to grow while increasing that of other players. But if you want to win, you’ve got to do it. And in a further twist, earlier trees get more points, creating another awkward tension between scoring now and scoring later.

As you’ve likely noticed, the game does an outstanding job of capturing its title. The way more trees capture more light allowing your species to thrive creates a beautiful, circular mimic of a real ecosystem on the board, and this also makes it easier to teach – everything just makes sense to people because it fits with real life. 

The strategy is also pleasingly circular, forever catching the players in a bind of competing priorities. It’s fitting, then, that the board itself is also a circle and the trees create a vibrant tabletop woodland to enjoy.

But for all its autumnal color, Photosynthesis can be dry and deterministic. It’s often possible to see who’s going to win a turn or two in advance. Only some secret scoring discs put it in doubt, and even they follow a fixed order so veteran players will still know the score. Said discs are also a bit of a pain to put in order when you want to set up each new game. 

This is not a thrill a minute game, but is more about the satisfaction of building your woodland over time, and pulling off the occasional tactical coup. And younger or newer players will be at a significant disadvantage compared to old hands, though that won't stop them enjoying playing – again, there's pleasure in the building, not just the winning.

Photosynthesis board game: Verdict

Simple to learn, quick to play and attractive to look at, Photosynthesis deserves to be a big hit. It's worth remembering that it's a game that can be tough on the players if approached with merciless competitiveness by more experienced players – without any randomness there’s nowhere for weaker players to hide, and the only way to do better is to think harder – but some will also prefer that luck can never turn against you in it. 

But if you're up for the challenge, or are happy to build develop something attractive regardless of winning or losing, it will prove very rewarding while also being very accessible. 

Photosynthesis board game: Also consider

A game with a similar feel but which offers more variety is Santorini. This is another logical game where players race to build and climb towers while blocking their opponent from doing the same. There’s a raft of easy special powers for the players that make each game different. It’s best with two, though, as there’s lots of head to head competition: playing with more means playing as a team.

For families or younger players, check out Kingdomino and its more complex cousin Queendomino. In both games, players build a kingdom by connecting colorful domino pieces, trying to get big areas of the same type of land together. You can see which pieces are up for grabs a turn in advance, but the better the piece you choose, the later in the order you’ll be for choosing next turn, giving it an additional element of skill.

Matt has been writing about and reviewing tabletop games professionally for over a decade and playing them since he could talk. He's also the author and co-author of three books on the subject. He writes about video games, too, and his other hobbies include hiking and cooking.

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Photosynthesis Board Game Review and Rules

By: Author Eric Mortensen

Categories Abstract , Area Control , Board Games , Reviews , Strategy

Released back in 2017, Photosynthesis is a game that quickly became a hit. Just as the title aptly points out the game is about using the sun to grow plants (trees in this case). While I am no botanist or gardener, I thought this premise sounded interesting. There have been a lot of different board game themes used over the years and yet I haven’t seen a lot use this type of theme before. Photosynthesis is a game that I have been looking forward to trying out for quite some time and yet I never got around to playing it. Well that changed when Blue Orange Games sent us the game’s first expansion (the review of the expansion will be coming next week) which gave me the perfect opportunity to check out the base game. Photosynthesis is arguably the best blend between a theme and gameplay that I have ever seen which leads to an original and really fun experience that is a delight to play.

How to Play Photosynthesis

• Place the Main Board in the middle of the table.
• Each player chooses a color. They will take the Player Board, Seeds, and Trees of their chosen color. They will also take a Light Point Tracker.
• Each player will place 4 Seeds, 4 Small Trees, 3 Medium Trees, and 2 Large Trees on their Player board in the corresponding sections. The Light Point Tracker will be placed on the “0” space of the track in the top left corner.
• The remaining 2 Seeds, 4 Small Trees, and 1 Medium Tree are set next to the Player’s Board. These items will constitute the “Available Area”.

• The Scoring Tokens are sorted by the number of leaves on the back. Each set of tokens are then placed into a stack with the most valuable token on the top. If you are playing a two player game leave the four leaves tokens in the box as they won’t be used.
• The youngest player will start the game. They will be given the First Player Token to indicate that they are the first player.
• Each player will take turns placing one of their Small Trees on the main board. Players can only place their tree on one of the outside spaces (1 leaf zone). This will continue until all of the players have placed two trees.
• The Sun Segment is placed on the board in the position that shows the sun symbol. Place the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Revolution Counters on the edge of the board with the 1st Revolution Counter on top. Leave the 4th Revolution Counter in the box unless you are playing the advanced version of the game.

Playing the Game

Photosynthesis is a game that is played over three revolutions. Each revolution consists of six different rounds. Each round consists of two phases:

Photosynthesis Phase

Life cycle phase.

The Photosynthesis Phase begins with the player with the First Player Token. They will move the Sun Segment clockwise one position on the board so it lines up with the next angle on the board. This is not done in the first round of a game.

Players will then score points based on the position of the sun and their Trees. Players will score light points for each of their Trees which aren’t in the shadow of another Tree. Trees that are taller than the Trees in front of them will not be affected by their shadows. The height of a Tree will determine how large of a shadow that it will cast on other Trees.

• Small Trees: 1 space shadow
• Medium Trees: 2 space shadow
• Large Trees: 3 space shadow

The height of Trees also determine how many Light Points that the Tree will acquire:

• Small Trees: 1 point
• Medium Trees: 2 points
• Large Trees: 3 points

In this Photosynthesis phase players will earn Light Points as follows. In the far left line the blue and orange Small Trees will both receive one Light Point. In the second line the orange and green Small Trees will receive one Light Point. The yellow Small Tree won’t receive Light Points as it is in the shade of the orange Tree. In the third line the small green Tree would receive one Light Point and the medium green Tree would receive two Light Points. The medium yellow tree would not receive Light Points as it is in the shadow of the medium green Tree. In the fourth line the medium orange Tree will receive two Light Points and the blue and yellow Small Trees will receive one Light Point. In the fifth line only the front yellow Small Tree will receive a Light Point as its shadow will impact the other yellow Tree. In the sixth line the large orange Tree will receive Light Points. The other Trees won’t receive Light Points as they are in the shadows. Finally in the seventh line the orange Tree will receive one Light Point.

Players will move their Light Point Tracker a number of spaces on their Player Board based on how many points they received.

This player earned three Light Points which they recorded on Player Board.

During this phase the players will take turns starting with the player with the First Player Token. Players can take a number of different actions spending the Light Points they received in the Photosynthesis Phase. Players can take as many actions as they want, and can even take the same action multiple times. The only rule is that you cannot take more than one action that impacts the same space on the Main Board. Each player will take as many actions as they want. The next player clockwise will then take their actions.

The first action that a player can take on their turn is buying Seeds or Trees from their Player Board. On the right side of each Player Board is a market of Seeds and Trees of the player’s color. The number next to each space is the cost to purchase that Seed or Tree. Players can purchase any Seed or Tree size. They must buy the Seed or Tree that is in the lowest position in the market of their chosen type.

This player has three Light Points to spend. They can buy a Seed and/or a Small Tree. They could otherwise purchase a Medium Tree.

When a player purchases a Seed or Tree they will deduct the corresponding points from their Light Points track. The Seed or Tree they bought will then be moved to the player’s Available Area.

Planting A Seed

The second action that a player can take is to plant Seeds. In order to plant a Seed you need to spend one Light Point. You will then take one of the Seeds from your Available Area. The Seed can be placed on the Main Board based on one of the player’s Trees already placed on the Main Board. The number of spaces away from the Tree that a Seed can be placed depends on the height of the Tree:

• Small Tree: 1 space
• Medium Tree: 2 spaces
• Large Tree: 3 spaces.

The orange player wants to plant a Seed from this medium sized Tree. They can place a Seed on one of the spaces indicated above.

During a turn a player can only use a Tree as a starting point for one Seed. A player can also not upgrade the height of a Tree and then plant a seed using that Tree on the same turn.

Growing A Tree

The third action that a player can take is to upgrade the size of one of their Trees. The cost to upgrade the size of a Tree depends on its current height.

• Seed – Small Tree: 1 point
• Small Tree – Medium Tree: 2 points
• Medium Tree – Large Tree: 3 points

The blue player has decided to upgrade their small tree to a medium tree. This will cost two light points.

To grow a Tree you must have the next size Tree in your Available Area. When you upgrade the Tree you will replace the current Tree with the larger sized Tree. The previous Tree/Seed will then be returned to the Player’s Board to the corresponding column. The Seed/Tree will be placed on the highest available spot. If there are no spaces available in the column the Seed/Tree is returned to the box for the rest of the game.

This player grew their Small Tree to a medium sized Tree. As there is no room left on their Player Board for the Small Tree they will return it to the box.

The final action that a player can take is collecting Scoring Tokens from one of their Large Trees. This action will take four Light Points. The player will choose one of their Large Trees (on the Main Board) to use the action on. The chosen Large Tree is removed from the board and returned to the topmost spot available on the corresponding column of the player’s Player Board.

The player will then look at the space that the Tree was one. Each space features a number of leaves. The player will take the top Scoring Token from the stack that features the same number of leaves. If there are no tokens left in that stack the player will take the top token from the next pile that features one less leaf.

The orange player has decided to collect their Large Tree. As the Tree is on a three leaves space they will take the top Scoring Token from the three leaves pile.

End of Round

Once all of the player’s have taken their actions in the Life Cycle Phase the round will end. The First Player Token moves to the next player clockwise. The next round will then start with the Photosynthesis Phase.

After the sun has made a full rotation around the board (it has been in all six positions) the current revolution has ended. Take the top Sun Revolution Counter and return it to the box.

End of Game

The game ends after the third revolution has been completed.

Each player will then count up the points that they scored from their Scoring Tokens. They will also score one point for each three unused Light Points. Any extra Light Points are worth no points. The player with the most total points wins the game. If there is a tie the tied player with the most Seeds and Trees on the main board will win. If there is still a tie the tied players will share the victory.

This player collected four Scoring Tokens in the game worth 69 points (22 + 18 + 16 + 13). They will also score one point for their remaining Light Points for a total of 70 points.

Advanced Game

If players want a more challenging game they can implement one or both of the following rules.

First the players can choose to also use the 4th Sun Revolution Counter which will add another revolution to the game.

Players cannot plant a Seed or grow a Tree if it is currently in the shadow of another Tree.

My Thoughts on Photosynthesis

At this point I have played around 900 different board games and I have to say that I don’t know if I have ever played one quite like Photosynthesis before. As a matter of fact I am not quite sure what I would even classify the game as. Probably the most fitting genre is an abstract strategy game, but that doesn’t quite feel right either. I think the reason that it is hard to classify the game is the fact that it really is its own unique game.

What really drives the unique gameplay of Photosynthesis is the sun mechanic. I was genuinely surprised by this mechanic as it is unlike anything that I have ever seen before in a board game. Basically the sun rotates around the board. As the game is about planting and growing trees sunlight is key in order to take actions in the game. The more sunlight you are able to collect the more actions that you can take on a given turn. Because of this a key element of the game is to track the sun and follow it. The sun will eventually shine along each side of the board, but if you can time your actions to how the sun is turning you can really maximize the amount of light points you receive.

A key element to this is the fact that the trees will cast shadows. Only part of the forest will receive sunlight each turn. If you have a tree planted in the front row that is directly in the sunlight it is guaranteed to receive sunlight. As these spaces will score you less points though they are not always the most beneficial. Thus you will be tempted by the spaces closer to the center of the board. This is where shadows become quite a bit more important. Basically you want to create some distance from the other player’s trees and you want to use height to your advantage. How you place your trees on the board in relationship to the sun and the other players’ trees will play a big role in how well you will do. Unless you do a really good job spacing out your trees you are unlikely to get a lot of sunlight every turn. Instead you are much more likely to have some rounds where you receive a lot of light points and others where you will receive few points.

To succeed in Photosynthesis you really need to do a good job thinking several turns in advance. Part of this is because you want to prepare for where the sun will be on future turns. You are much better off investing in trees that will receive sunlight in upcoming turns rather than areas where the sun just passed. The other reason why planning ahead is important is because of the rule that you can only take one action with each space each turn. For example to be able to collect from a tree you will have to plan out the process at least four rounds in advance as you have to grow a seed to a small, medium and then large tree and then use the collect action. You could maybe luck into winning without planning ahead but I wouldn’t put much chance on it. The game has a quite a few mechanics that are interconnected. The players that do the best job using these mechanics are going to have a good chance of winning the game.

Other then the unique sun mechanic I think the game deserves credit for giving players a lot of different options which adds quite a bit of strategy to the game. I genuinely enjoy games that give players a lot of options as players then feel like they are having a real impact on the game. On your turn you have four different actions that you can choose from. You can take all or some of the actions and can even take the same action multiple times. The only restriction is how many light points you have and that you can’t take two actions on the same main gameboard space. The actions are somewhat intertwined where you have to perform them in a certain order. Between the number of different actions and the number of spaces that you could perform them on, you have a lot of impact on how well you will do in the game. This leads to a really satisfying game that anyone with any interest in the game’s premise should really enjoy playing.

Between Photosynthesis’ unique mechanics and the fact that the game has a number of different actions to choose from, I was a little curious about how difficult the game would be to play. Photosynthesis is probably more difficult than most mainstream and family games and yet it is still pretty easy to play. I would guess that the game could be taught within 10-15 minutes to most players. The game has a number of different mechanics to learn. Most of them are pretty straightforward though. The game has a recommended age of 8+, but I would say 10+ is more appropriate. The game is not particularly difficult to play, but it is the type where it will take quite a bit into your first game for players to really start understanding the game’s strategy as they learn from mistakes they made earlier in the game. After a game or two though I don’t see any players having problems with the game.

The scoring structure in Photosynthesis is not exactly what you would typically expect. In most board games you usually steadily score points throughout the game with some bonus points thrown in at the end. Photosynthesis is quite a bit different. While you can choose to score points early in the game, you are usually better off waiting until the end of the second revolution or even the third revolution. When you choose to collect your trees is a really important decision in the game as it could make the difference between winning and losing. Collecting a tree earlier lets you take a higher valued scoring tokens. The problem is that by getting rid of trees too early you reduce the light points that you will receive on future turns which ultimately reduces what you can do. Because of this instead of scoring points throughout the game, at the end of the game there is a race to collect your large trees in order to score points.

Themes and board games are something that can be kind of contentious for a lot of people. Some people refuse to play a game if the theme is not good while others could care less as they are only interested in the actual gameplay. I would personally consider myself to be somewhere in the middle even though I would lean more towards gameplay over theme. For this reason theme has never been a big deal for me. A good theme is always beneficial, but it is not going to make or break a game for me. I bring this up as I have played 900 different board games and yet I don’t think I have ever played one that is as seamless as Photosynthesis.

While playing Photosynthesis it was obvious that the developer really tried to merge the theme and gameplay. I don’t know if the theme or gameplay was designed first, but I think it would have been hard to find a better combination. The collecting mechanic doesn’t make a lot of sense with the theme, but all of the other gameplay mechanics feel like they were genuinely crafted with the theme in mind. I am genuinely not a big fan of themes in board games as it mostly just feels like window dressing. In Photosynthesis the theme and gameplay feel as if the game wouldn’t be the same if you took one of them away.

Supporting the theme is the fact that the game’s components are quite good. The mini trees are obviously the standout. The trees consist of two cardboard pieces that are slid together to form a three dimensional tree. The trees show quite a bit of detail including each color being a different type of tree. When players start to build out the forest it really starts to look like one. The only problem with the trees is that it can sometimes be a little hard to tell a medium tree from a large tree. Other than the trees the rest of the components are cardboard. The cardboard pieces are thick where they should last. What brings all of the components together are the game’s great art style that works really well for the game. I honestly thought the components were really good.

So I have spent most of this review talking about what I liked about Photosynthesis. The game is really good, but it is not perfect. I just felt there were a couple issues that prevented it from being quite as good as it could have been.

The first issue that I had with the game is that it can feel a little long at times. There are a couple of factors that play a role in this. In particular your first game is going to take some time. I attribute this to the fact that Photosynthesis features quite a few mechanics that you don’t really see in other games. This means that your first game will take more time as players adjust to these mechanics. Future games will take less time as you get used to the mechanics. The bigger problem is the fact that there is the potential for analysis paralysis. The decisions in the game are pretty simple, but the game gives you a lot of flexibility in what you choose to do. In some rounds you won’t have many light points which will limit what you can do. In other rounds you have a ton which opens up a lot of possibilities. For players that want to maximize their score there are a ton of different options to consider. If you want to analyze all of the different options it will take a long time to consider them. To make sure the game doesn’t drag on for too long though players should agree to a time limit for each turn. This will speed up the game and prevent players from having to sit around waiting for one of the players to make a decision.

The other issue with the game is the fact that despite the theme the game can actually be quite mean. Players don’t have a lot of direct control over the other players, but they can have a lot of indirect control. For most of the game players are doing their own things as how they spend their light points don’t impact the other players. Where a player can really impact another player though is through the trees they place on the main board and which they decide to grow. How a player places their seeds and how they grow their trees can have a big impact on the other players. This is due to the ability to place a tree that blocks another player’s tree(s) from receiving light points. Usually you can only impact a player for one or two of the phases of the sun, but with a concerted effort you could really mess with the amount of light points that another player receives. This will significantly impact what the other player is able to do. For this reason a player can fall behind early and never be able to catch up as they will always be behind.

Should You Buy Photosynthesis?

I have played a lot of different board games and I don’t know if I have ever played one quite like Photosynthesis. This starts with the fact that I don’t think I have ever played a game that has so seamlessly matched the theme with the gameplay. This is supported even further by the components which are excellent. The real standout of the game though is the sunlight mechanic. I don’t know if I have ever seen a similar mechanic in a board game before. This mechanic drives the entire game as almost all of your decisions in the game are based around trying to capture the most sunlight. This leads to some cutthroat moments where players can really mess with one another, but you need to work around the shadows. To do well in the game you need to think several turns in advance as many of the mechanics are intertwined. The game has quite a bit of strategy between the different options you have to choose from, and yet the game is still not that hard to play. The game is susceptible to analysis paralysis though as games sometimes take longer than they should.

My recommendation for Photosynthesis is pretty simple. If the game’s premise or theme intrigues you at all I would highly recommend checking out Photosynthesis as it is a great game that you will likely really enjoy.

Be sure to check back next week for the review of Photosynthesis’ first expansion Photosynthesis Under the Moonlight.

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