Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Harder to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Deep strategy
How it plays
How does it play?
In Haru Ichiban, or "The Wind of Spring", two apprentice gardeners compete to use this wind to their advantage to create harmonious patterns of their blossoms upon the lilypads.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Grid Movement
Move pieces between adjacent spaces on a regular grid.
Hand Management
Time and sequence a limited hand of cards to preserve future options.
Pattern Building
Place elements to create arrangements that satisfy scoring or action patterns.
Simultaneous Action Selection
Choose actions secretly or concurrently before revealing them together.
Memory
Remember previously revealed information, positions, or sequences.
Read the full game description
In Haru Ichiban, or "The Wind of Spring", two apprentice gardeners compete to use this wind to their advantage to create harmonious patterns of their blossoms upon the lilypads. Each gardener has eight flower buds numbered 1-8, with three of those buds being in hand at the start of a round. Sixteen lilypads are placed in the 5x5 pond, with one of them turned to its dark side. Each gardener simultaneously chooses a reveals a bud, with the player with the lower number becoming the Little Gardener and the other becoming the Grand Gardener. In order: The Little Gardener places one of his colored blossoms on the dark lilypad. The Grand Gardener places one of his colored blossoms on the lilypad of his choice. The Little Gardener moves one lilypad to an adjacent space, possibly moving other lilypads at the same time. The Grand Gardener flips one unoccupied lilypad to its dark side. Each gardener takes a new bud. As soon as a gardener creates a specific pattern with blossoms of his color, he scores points: 1 point for a 2x2 square, 2 points for a horizontal or vertical row of four blossoms, 3 points for a diagonal row of four blossoms, and 5 points for a row of five blossoms. If the gardener has fewer than five points, the gardeners reset the board and start a new round with three buds of their eight; if the gardener has five or more points, the game ends and he wins!