So after sitting in my closet for 3 months waiting for my wife to pull this out as a father's day gift, I was finally able to play what I call "Happy Little Tree Chess, inspired by Bob Ross." You need to understand going in, I grew up in a Redwood forest and to this day LOVE trees. I am not exactly an objective observer, but rather a passionate gamer and forest lover. So with that caveat, what's the consensus? Much like its titular chemical reaction, Photosynthesis is an complex, brilliant game. If I had to classify Photosynthesis, I would describe it as an action based, economy driven, area control game. Photosynthesis is all about planting seeds, growing trees, having those trees topple down to give you points, and starting all over again, all while fighting for the limited sunlight of the forest. The rules of Photosynthesis are actually simple. At its core, there is a organic component and a economy game mechanic. First, the organic side of things follows a nice pattern. Seeds are 1, trees are 1-2-3, then four to score. To break down what that means: To plant a seed, it always costs one light point. Next, the trees follow a simple 1-2-3//S-M-L breakdown; light points earned, shadows cast, seed-spread range, and cost are all 1-2-3, based on tree size. If you want to score, its 4 light points. Second, there is the economy game mechanic side of things. For obviously mechanical purposes, you need to purchase trees and seeds off your board, place them into your "available area," and THEN and only then can you use them in the organic process of planting and growing. It's the only un-thematic thing of the whole game, but the necessity is obvious to balance the game against the first player simply running board. Each turn, these two core components are carried out via actions. At the start of a turn, players collect light points from their trees. This is affected by shadows, which move based on the sun's position (it moves each turn). Players then use those points to take actions: grow, plant, harvest (organic), or purchase (economy). Because it's based on nature, I found the rules very easy to pick up; just do what a tree would do, and you'll be fine. It's all relatively simple. Until your eight year old daughter throws a seed over your tree, blocks the sun two turns later, slows your plans down, then your realize you can slow HER down by growing a taller tree, only to have your wife harvest a tree and allow sunlight in where you didn't expect it, which lets the brat-child make a bigger tree ahead of you, and you have to write the whole plot of land off to focus on another part of the forest. Let me tell you, the strategy to this game is NOT simple. This is area control at its finest. Your choices at any particular area hurt your opponents, probably will hurt you, might help you if you didn't hurt yourself too badly, and affect other areas as well. It's brilliant. The potential to harm yourself is especially brilliant. That said, there is an obvious mechanic problem with Photosynthesis that needs to be addressed. This is abstract strategy at its finest, which means of course that you will have analysis paralysis at its slowest. [Example: I just spent 5 minutes contemplating how the payoff from reaching the middle space may be mitigated entirely by the shadow effects that hit your own trees.] In paralysis situations, I find that theme makes or breaks the game for a group. For me, I can stare at trees and plot my forest (pun entirely intended). You may not enjoy that nearly as much. In fact, I doubt my wife will play this a ton with me because she likes high-interaction games. Be forewarned! I don't want to end on a grumpy note, so before I sign off for this review, let me also say that the storage is atrocious. The trees fit in the assigned areas, but not well. You are stacking them, and they are so stinking pretty (see below) that I have concerns about that. On top of that, the player boards and the game mat are smaller than their assigned area, so things constantly shake around in the box. My solution: use another box. Bottom line is that you can make it work, but you'll probably be happier with your own concoction. As a final note, the art to this game needs as much recognition as I can give it. The coloring is phenomenal. There are small birds and foxes on most of the trees. The deciduous trees get the green, orange and yellow, with the conifer having a nice blue hue that rings of northern snows. Each tree type has unique art for its seed. Most importantly, all the trees are 3D. This game is an absolute joy to look at. I will try to bring this out as often as possible on cold wintery days. In Photosynthesis, the forest truly comes to life. May the best forester win....
