SOW Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• The Object
• Components
• Setup
• Playing the Game
  • Player Turn Sequence
  • 1) Last Card Placed
  • 2) Garden Cards Placed in the Same Row During Redistribution
  • Turn Examples
• Game End
• Scoring

The Object

Players plant seeds and grow flowers in the garden in order to pick the prettiest bouquet and score the most points.

Components

30 cards:

• 24 Seeds/Flowers
• 4 Wheelbarrow/Favorite Colors
• 2 Garden Cards: 1 Windmill (showing Clockwise direction) and 1 Gopher/Watering Can

Setup

1. Choose a Dealer to perform these SETUP steps.
2. Shuffle and place the 4 Wheelbarrows to create a square, Wheelbarrow side up. (See EXAMPLE SETUP.) Each player chooses a Wheelbarrow that is nearest their seated position. Sit opposite each other in a 2-player game.
3. Shuffle the Seeds Cards. Place 2 cards, Seeds side up, under each of the 2 dirt sides of the Wheelbarrows. Place them so both Seeds are visible in each row and be careful not to expose the Flowers underneath. Next, place 2 Cards diagonally between each Wheelbarrow.
4. Place the Windmill (green/clockwise side up) on one of the diagonal (non-Wheelbarrow) rows and place the Gopher/Watering Can (Gopher side up) on the opposite row to finish setting up the "Garden".
5. Each player SECRETLY looks at the Favorite Color on the back side of their Wheelbarrow Card, then places it back to its position in the garden.
6. The player to the left of the Dealer is the Start Player. In a 3-player game, the player sitting across from neither player is the Start Player.

Example setup notes: there are 12 Rows: 2 rows at each dirt side under Wheelbarrows, and 1 row in between each Wheelbarrow. TIP: Seeds match the outer portion of its corresponding Flower.

Playing the Game

SOW is a gardening game in which players redistribute seeds and flowers in the Garden in order to pick the bouquet that will reward the most points at the end of the game. Players take turns in clockwise order, redistributing a row, then taking any applicable actions. Seeds must be flipped over to become Flowers. Flowers reward points when collected from a player's Wheelbarrow.

Player Turn Sequence

A. Take a row of 2 OR MORE cards (NEVER just 1) into your hand. (Be careful not to expose the flowers underneath.)

B. Redistribute all the Cards (in the order of your choice) in the direction shown on the Windmill (Clockwise or Counter-clockwise), starting on the immediate left or right of taken row. A player must place exactly one card in each row (including empty rows) continuing until the last card is placed. All cards must be placed with the same side up in which they were taken (except for the last Seeds card, explained later).

1 or 2 actions may result from a card redistribution:

1. The last card placed is Seeds or a Flower. AND/OR
2. Garden Cards are placed in the same row during redistribution.

1) Last Card Placed

Seeds: If Seeds is the last card placed, it is flipped to its Flower side. Additionally, all other Seeds of the same color in that row must flip to their Flower side. Flowers never flip back to Seeds.

Flower: If the last card placed is a Flower AND in 1 of the 2 rows under ANY Wheelbarrow, the Active Player chooses 1 of the 2 colors on the Flower. Then, all Flowers in that row with the chosen color are placed face up to create (or add to) the bouquet belonging to the Controller of that Wheelbarrow.

• 4 players: Each player is the Controller of a single Wheelbarrow.
• 3 players: Each player is the Controller of a single Wheelbarrow and controls the non-player Wheelbarrow when they are the Active Player.
• 2 players: Each player is the Controller of the Wheelbarrow in front of them and the one to their immediate right.

In a 2 or 3 player game, only the Favorite Color on the Wheelbarrow in front of them is used for scoring.

2) Garden Cards Placed in the Same Row During Redistribution

The Active Player may perform a Garden Action IN ADDITION to the previously described Seeds/Flower Actions if a Garden Card is placed in the SAME ROW as the other Garden Card (not necessarily the last card placed). He may choose 1 of the 2 FACE UP Garden Actions. Then, the chosen Garden Card is flipped. If a Garden Card is the last card placed but does not pair up with the other, no action occurs. The order of the cards in a row has no effect in the game.

• Windmill: Change the direction in which all Cards must be redistributed during each player's turn: Clockwise or Counter-Clockwise.
• Gopher: Choose ANY row. Remove ALL Flowers in that row from the game.
• Watering Can: Pick 1 Flower in any row and add it to your bouquet.

Players continue taking turns in clockwise direction for the entire game, though card redistribution may change direction throughout.

Turn Examples

Player A (GREEN) picks up all 3 cards from row A and redistributes them in the direction of the windmill (clockwise). The last card she places is Red Seeds. She flips over ALL Red Seeds in that row.

Player B (BLUE) picks up all 3 cards from row B and redistributes them in the direction of the windmill (clockwise). The last card he places is a Red/Yellow Flower, and it's in a player's Wheelbarrow. Player B chooses RED (or could have chosen YELLOW). Then, the controller of that Wheelbarrow (which does not have to be the Active Player) picks ALL RED Flowers in that row and places them face up in front of him.

During his turn, he also placed a Garden Card in a row that contained the other Garden Card. He chooses 1 of the 2 face up Garden Actions (WINDMILL) then flips that Garden Card over. Now, all players will redistribute cards in Counter-clockwise direction (now face up on the Windmill Card.)

(Diagram caption: Both Garden Actions ended up in the same row this turn. At the end of his turn he will also perform the 'Windmill' Action, then flip the Windmill Card over. Last card placed: All Flowers that contain "RED" are taken by that Wheelbarrow's Controller.)

All Seeds of the same color as the Seeds Card lastly placed during redistribution (RED) are flipped to the Flower side.

TIP: Play defensively! It's often worth ending your turn with a Flower in an opponent's Wheelbarrow in order to choose a color that would allow them to take fewer Flowers into their bouquet.

Game End

The game ends when each row contains just 0 or 1 card.

Scoring

Each player calculates their score as follows:

• 3 points for each flower with his Favorite Color in the center portion.
• 2 points for each flower with his Favorite Color on the outer portion.
• 1 point for each flower that does not contain his Favorite Color.

The player with the most points is the winner. If tied, the winner is the player with the most points from flowers that contain his Favorite Color.

Player A scoring example (Favorite Color: BLUE): 3 points for flowers with blue center: 6; 2 points for flowers with blue outer: 6; 1 point for flowers without blue: 2. Total: 14 points.