Picture our domain at Cottarton, fields, winding pathways, gardens of Canterbury bells,vegetable rows, and then some
special features such as the house, cabin, greenhouse, labyrinth, beehives. Not to forget special residents such as our three cats and the bees. How clearly can you see
it all? Now transfer your vision to cardboard tiles, arrange them in ways that
suit you. You’re not the only player in this game. There are others and they
may not agree with you on how to build the gardens, where to put paths or the position of the greenhouse. All players place their tokens
on pathways, gardens, special features and even fields. Points are awarded for
completed gardens and paths. Special tiles that contain a bee win you extra
points because bees increase the value of a garden.
Now you’re playing Bees and Trees, the
table top game that Lois left for us under the tree. When I opened the box and
saw the handcrafted tiles, for a moment I thought that with the assistance of a
magic spell she'd encapsulated features of our domain on small cards. That if
I stared for long enough at the log hive I’d see bees flying. Or that the cats
would start dancing. We sat around the table, picked our token --- each player
has six; pebbles and shells that Lois had gathered at the foot of Mount Olympus
in Greece. And so the players each picked a card when their turn came. Like
Woofers, they built pathways, gardens, planted trees and laid claim to the
special features. Perhaps the one aspect not true to life was the competition
for lucrative gardens and the fields that contain them. People who visit us don’t
jockey to possess anything.
Gardens -- bee included
But
after all, it’s a game, not a bad place to let your competitive instincts
express themselves. Or to explore how to take the cards that you’re dealt,
apparently at random, and build something beautiful.
