THREE SISTERS

Designer: Ben Pinchback & Matt Riddle | Publisher: Motor City Gameworks

Three Sisters is an agricultural technique where three crops – pumpkin, corn and beans – are planted together to help each other grow. Each crop brings their own quality to the trio that help the others prosper and blossom, and thus all benefit from this cosy cohabitation.

In the roll-and-write game Three Sisters, this technique is featured as part of the game’s theme of growing crops, plants, honey and trees on the backyard farm. And how busy that backyard is – most roll-and-write games are confined to one player sheet or board, but Three Sisters needed space to spread out. Its first sheet only covers the six areas of the garden (for the aforementioned pumpkins, corn and beans) and a perennial zone. The second sheet houses an apiary, goods storage, shed and a fruit garden. Each sheet is filled tightly with squares to hatch in and various bonuses and special effects.

At the first glance, it is easy to feel overwhelmed with choice. However, using an action rondel, Three Sisters manages to create a structured and easy to follow gameplay loop that helps you get your bearings quickly. The game also starts slow, with combos from different tracks kicking in after a couple of rounds by which time players are already familiar with the farm layout.

Although, in terms of gameplay Three Sisters doesn’t add anything different to roll-and-write genre, its combos, the splendour of choice and strategies make it a completely engaging experience. There is something very satisfying in watching the white empty spaces on the sheets disappear as the squares get coloured in through the course of the game. Perhaps, it is somewhat like the joy of watching your garden grow?