Floristry Board Game Review – Where Peaceful Gardening Meets Auction Excitement
Review by Lincoln Hoppe: The Game Bard
First Impressions 🌸
Floristry is a tile placement game that innovates in a way that’s both surprising and satisfying as heck.
With two players in about 20 minutes, it blooms into a game that combines excitement and decision in the most delightful way.
“Floristry alternates between cozy and adrenaline in a way that feels magical.”
How Floristry Blooms to Life 🎲
It’s such a surprising combination of flower shop cozy and clock-ticking tension of a Dutch auction.
Each round has three simple steps: Prepare by drawing four tiles from the bag, Auction using the app to buy flower tiles, and Decorate by placing your tiles into your frame.
This elegant simplicity masks a depth of strategic decisions that unfolds like petals.
Dutch Auctions: The Heart-Racing Core ⏰
The Dutch auction mechanics create this wonderful moment of tension. Do you grab those perfect roses now, or do you wait for the price to drop? But wait too long and your opponent might snatch them up.
A simple app is used to tap in when you’re ready to buy, with prices dropping by a dollar every three seconds. The winner picks three tiles, while the other player takes the remaining tile for free.
Your unspent money figures into scoring too, so a player who chooses to dominate the auction may find themselves gaining set collection points at the expense of losing money points. The game balances this perfectly.
Tile Placement & Scoring: Creating Beauty 🏆
For placing tiles, at least one edge of the new tile must fully touch the edge of an existing tile. But the tile placement system isn’t just about making things fit – it’s about creating gorgeous displays. Each arrangement feels like a mini work of art in each player’s frame that doubles as a score tracker.
You’ll experience many flower arranging decisions because you score points for your largest patch of each flower type. What makes this game truly special is how these elements dance together in perfect harmony.
The auction phase creates the perfect amount of pressure, while the decorate phase lets you catch your breath and exercise your creative muscles.
Components & Mental Health Benefits 🧘♂️
It’s not just a game – it’s like a mini meditation session peppered with an auction rush. The gentle puzzle of arranging flowers in your display window has this amazing way of pulling you into the present moment. And let’s be honest, who couldn’t use a mental vacation these days?
The components are awesome too. Your score markers are adorable cats, the scoring aid is a sidewalk sandwich board, and the rule book is a single double-sided sheet. The production is gorgeous, with art that evokes calm and whimsy.
Final Verdict: Should You Play Floristry? 🎯
Floristry proves you don’t need complicated rules or a massive table to deliver a beautiful and fulfilling gaming experience. The way it alternates between cozy and adrenaline is magical – it really does feel like it’s pulling off a magic trick. I can explain it over and over, but you have to try it to see how it feels.
If you like beautiful, cozy games and want some peaceful flower decorating with a dash of heart-racing auction, you must try Floristry.
It’s a game that somehow manages to be both satisfying and light enough that you’ll want to play it again and again. I love this game.
by Lincoln Hoppe
Original Music by Lincoln Hoppe: The Game Bard
Review copy provided by UP Games
Publisher: UP Games
Designed by: David Gordon & TAM
Board Game Geek Page: Floristry (2025)
My Board Game Geek Page: Lincoln Hoppe
Lincoln Hoppe
Lincoln a professional film & Television actor based in Los Angeles, California.
He has a family with 5 kids, and one of his joys in life is playing games together as a family.
He's on a mission to spread the love and mental health benefits of play and board gaming to the world.
Email Me
games@lincolnhoppe.com
The Game Bard Socials
Lincoln Hoppe Website
lincolnhoppe.com