Bohnanza is a popular game which a fair number of people have reviewed. My contribution in posting this review is to highlight some differences in our feelings compared to conventional wisdom about it.

To start off, this is a great game. In the week since I gave this to my girlfriend (also a gamer) for the holidays, she and I have played eleven times, mostly with ourselves but a few rounds with others as well. It has been an unexpected success: I picked it up largely on a whim upon seeing it in a local store, knowing only that it is generally well regarded. Afterward, having researched it a bit online, I was slightly concerned that most people seemed to feel it didn't work as well for two players, our primary mode of play.

For those unfamiliar with the game, I'll simply state that Bohnanza is a totally different beast as a two player game compared to the original rules for three and more players. Many of the the basic concepts remain, such as not being able to re-order your hand and always playing from the top, but it's otherwise very changed.

In particular, the trading mechanic disappears. Normally, part of each player's turn is a trading phase, wherein the other players may exchange beans from their hand for beans in the current player's hand or two cards they reveal from the deck. This is essentially how you manage your hand (since you can't reorder it), ensure you get cards you need, and discard those you don't. It generally involves a lot of discussion, negotiating, and cajoling. Deals range far and wide, from the very straightforward "You need a Chili Bean, I need a Blue Bean, let's swap," to the less tangible "Well, if you give me a Green Bean now, I'll help you out in the future," to the positively out-of-game "Annie, I'm your brother, if you don't give me that Cocoa Bean I know you have, I won't pick you up when you call for a ride anymore..." This trading is a hoot and is the guts of the main game.

However, all of that disappears in the two player game. Instead, the current player essentially flips over three cards from the card, matching beans from the discard pile are lumped in, they take what they want, and then the remainder is passed to the other player to take or discard as they please. It's very different. Whereas the majority of the game with more players is spent haggling over bean swaps, the two-player version has little direct interaction. My girlfriend and I play nearly silently the whole game.

Most reviewers and opinion givers seem to feel that dropping the trading mechanic is a big loss to Bohnanza and that the two-player version is not as good. In our opinion, however, it's as good---just a completely different game. The original, multi-player version is a lot about talking and competing with other players to get the deal you want out of the currently active player. The two player game is about watching your cards, doing a little qualitative mental calculating (e.g., which Bean is roughly more likely to come up again of the current options), and indirect interaction such as preventing the other player from easily picking up beans they need. Again, my girlfriend and I play nearly silently, focused almost entirely on our own hands and working out our plans. That may not work for many people, but if it does the two-player variant of Bohnanza is just as good as the more traditional version and a great 20--30 minute game.

On the other end of the spectrum, Bohnanza is frequently billed as a party game. Toward that claim, it does indeed support a large number of players (seven by the core rules, maybe more with other variants). Based on our experiences with four player games, however, we have trouble seeing that. We're willing to give it a try, but it seems the game would be very slow, with large amounts of time spent trading. The sheer number of options and competing bids with more players would seem to slow that phase down significantly. Many players may also have notable downtime as they sit out trade sessions for which they don't have the cards in hand to offer much, or simply don't have the need or wish to participate at that moment. It also seems that negotiating in larger groups could easily devolve to who can be loudest and most aggressively talkative. That's fine, but it's a different game that we would not be as interested in, and presumably others would feel the same as well.

The mechanics also, although incredibly simple and quite elegant, are somewhat subtle. Simple rules such as not reordering cards in hand are critical to play and slightly more tricky than they sound on paper. Despite the seeming simplicity, it definitely does not come across as a "beer & pretzels" game, at least not with any significant amounts of hydrating going on. It also sounds difficult in a large game setting to properly indoctrinate and oversee that new players, especially non-gamers, follow these rules.

On that note, however, the game is very simple. The rules, though incorporating several elements that will be unfamiliar to gamers and non-gamers alike, may be explained very quickly. Most people will also rapidly pick up the patterns and get on with the game. For that reason we believe it will work well in smaller settings (2--5 players) for introducing to non-gamers, and we've had success doing so. The friendly theme and great, simple and funny, bright artwork also help with that along with nice design touches such as having each bean's worth and availability printed on every card.

To sum up, this is a great game for any number of players. Despite some popular perception as not being as strong for two players, we believe it is just as strong in that variant, though possibly mostly for quieter, more strategic players. On the flip side, it's not obvious that this is a great party game, so players are forewarned to carefully consider purchasing it for this purpose. However, you can't really go wrong with Bohnanza---it's a great game---so it's definitely worth checking out and trying your hand at a little bean farming.