North Star Games - Paint The Roses Board Game - Alice in Wonderland Strategy Puzzle Board Game - 2 to 5 Players - Average Playtime 60 Minutes

Product Information

If you are a fan of deduction games, routinely play with 3-4 players, and don’t mind having to really struggle with the first couple plays, I highly recommend Paint the Roses. Obviously, the added benefit of the depth is that you really benefit from additional plays as time goes on. And I highly recommend going for the deluxe edition as the expansion modules provide new wrinkles that give the game even more legs.

It also doesn’t hurt that the deluxe edition also has some nice minis and acrylic tiles that give everything a nicer presentation. If a correct guess is made, and the group chooses to stop, the queen moves at single speed which is equal to the number of flower tokens she holds (starts with 1, but gains an extra each time the team token passes a rabbit space).

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The Deluxe Edition includes upgraded components like acrylic tiles, a custom GameTrayz insert and the Escape the Castle expansion all in one box.

I’ve found that Paint the Roses is a difficult game to win, but it rarely feels unwinnable. I have lost the game with each of the groups I played with. Those games were often close, with The Red Queen lopping our collective heads off with only three or four tiles left to complete the board. What’s most telling, though, is that despite losing, everyone I’ve played it with has been eager to play it again. And again.But Paint the Roses isn’t quite so straightforward. It’s not necessarily hard, although that is certainly a complaint a lot of people have. As complex as the rules above look, the game really comes down to (1) place a tile and (2) put cubes on it if it matches your whim. Obviously, if you can place a tile in a way that only your whim is the possible answer, that’s great. But the garden fills up fast and you only have four tiles in the greenhouse to choose from. It’s rarely that easy. Every turn, together as a team you must guess at least one of these secret whim cards. You can't say what your card shows, but by carefully placing a new shrub tile into the garden (taken from those available in the Greenhouse) you are able to reveal clues, tokens that will show any matches between the arrangement in the garden and the secret whims each player holds in their hands. The other players look at the two cubes and determine this could mean the card could be a match between diamond and diamond; diamond and heart; purple and purple; purple and pink; diamond and pink; diamond and purple; purple and heart. In the box sits another organizer for all the Escape the Castle cards, as well as the other items used in the game. The first impact of opening the box is amazing: the box is nicely done, sturdy, and with a great aesthetic. I especially love the rendering of the characters and the overall art by Jacqui Davis.

Mix all the other tiles in the bag and draw four at random to be placed in the Greenhouse. Four random tiles make up the Greenhouse.Everyone draws a new Whim card if they need one. Don’t forget, only ONE player can have an Easy Whim card at any one time. The card shows a diamond-shaped hedge and a heart-shaped hedge. This player has chosen a tile with a diamond-shaped hedge with a yellow rose. Since the diamond hedge on the tile matches their card and is adjacent to two tiles that have heart-shaped hedges, they place two of their cubes on the tile. Not At All,” Said Alice: “She’s So Extremely—” Just Then She Noticed That the Queen Was Close Behind Her, Listening: So She Went On “—Likely to Win, That It’s Hardly Worth While Finishing the Game.” The Red Queen, axe held aloft. In this example, the player has drawn a Hard card that features a heart-shaped hedge and purple roses. Placing a diamond-shaped hedge with a purple rose on the board next to two heart-shaped hedges, they also place two cubes on the tile.

Here’s a Medium card with a tile placed in the same position on the board. Remember, medium cards can either be color to color or shape to shape. Medium card example. Final Score: 4.5 Stars – Beautifully produced deduction game that has some more depth than what you see on the surface. Paint the Roses is very likely my favorite of all deduction games I’ve ever played. Which is intended as high praise, though I don’t always love deduction games. Generally, the problem is that much of the joy I get in board gaming is when I do something that feels clever. Deduction games just too often feel like the decisions make themselves. You might as well be doing a math problem. Three variety of whim difficulties increase the number of options.The review copy NorthStar Games sent me is the deluxe edition which comes with the Escape the Castle expansion. Just take a look at the artwork: The six expansions (plus the Queen of Hearts cards) of the Deluxe Edition. Paint the Roses comes in either a standard version or the deluxe edition. The standard (retail) edition comes with a flat board and cardboard tiles. The deluxe edition comes with a two-layer board and bakelite tiles that sit easily in the recessed areas in the garden. Oh, and along with those six additional modules, it comes with this impressive and highly functional organizer. At the start of the game, all players will draw a card and examine it, keeping it a secret from their teammates.