Herbaceous by Pencil First Games appears to be a pleasant little game. Themed around collecting different herbs for your collection. In order to complete this, you have 4 single-use containers. You fill these up by mixing herbs from your private garden and the community garden.
Herbaceous has an interesting way of building up the gardens. Each turn, you draw a card and then decide to put it in a communal area or your private area. You then draw and place a second card in the one you didn't choose. This gives the game a nice amount of interaction and means you need to watch what everyone else is building up.
This is where the game shows its teeth. You are trying to build up your 4 containers to be large scorers. Each scores differently, however. One rewards multiples, one rewards different pairs, one rewards different, and one just rewards special numbered herbs but is limited to 3 (and you can score bonus points if you get 3 different special herbs). And for all of these, you need to constantly pace yourself with the game timer, other players, and what is available in the communal garden.
Herbaceous doesn't have many rules and is a small footprint. But the communal garden you are constantly forced to gives other players opportunities. It is a game of pacing, timing, and sometimes pushing your luck. It isn't going to light the world on fire, with games playing out similarly game-to-game (but there is a mini expansion that can help with that), but it is always enjoyable.
4.5 out of 5 smelly waffles.
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