Grove: 9 card solitaire game (2021)

About this game

Grove is the citrusy sequel to the award winning Orchard 9 card solitaire game. Its 18 cards feature orange, lemon and lime trees and a new 'wild card' element, glades. These open spaces without trees, combined with a new scoring mechanic, offer more ways and opportunities to increase your harvest and create a greater variety of gameplay and strategies compared to Orchard. You'll also find a cheeky squirrrel, who can either help or hinder your fruit picking, as well as a wheelbarrow - useful if you manage to get an extra large haul. The card backs feature recipe challenges with various scoring conditions and target scores. These provide a win/lose condition (as an alternative to the standard game's ‘beat your score’) for those that prefer it - and add even more variety to the game.

Does it fit your group?

• Group size. Strictly 1 player — no more, no fewer.
• Rules load. At 1.3/5 this is a light game — explain it in a few minutes, good for a table that has not played much.
• Age. The publisher suggests 8 and up. That rates the rules rather than the artwork, so judge the box yourself for younger players.