- BGG rating
- 7.3
Vicious Gardens: Chaos Critters & Fancy Plants
- 2–6 players
- 2025
- BGG rank
- BGG #7,015
- BGG rating
- 7.3
Vicious Gardens
2025
Rules assistance for Vicious Gardens
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 1–6 players
- 20–45 min
- 10+
- Complexity 2.1/5
For 1 player
Rules assistant for Vicious Gardens
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Vicious Gardens is a board game released in 2025 for 1–6 players, 20–45 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. It was designed by Ross Bruggink and its main mechanics are Hand Management, Take That, and Set Collection.
Expansions
- BGG rating
- 7.5
Vicious Gardens: Cruel Summers & Noxious Weeds
- 2–6 players
- 2025
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About the game
Vicious Gardens is a card game that combines the joy of gardening with the thrill of being a total jerk. Strategically cultivate your garden, harvest plants, and sabotage others in a competition to become the Official Master Gardener. In Vicious Gardens you grow a garden of mischief by placing plant cards in front of you into different plots. While these plants are worth points, you must decide the opportune time to harvest them for Victory Cards and gain more abilities to help your garden. Of course, there is the option to sabotage your opponents by using Specialists. These take up space in your hand and often come at a price, so you'll need to balance your hand accordingly. Vicious Gardens is quick to learn, easy to play, and has a satisfying balance of strategy and luck. The last round can be filled with dramatic point swings as gardeners contend for victory. Gameplay is kept fresh through varying abilities each play through and the team-play option for 4 or 6 players. —description from the publisher
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- Atlas Games
- Pops & Bejou Games
Questions and answers
Vicious Gardens supports 1–6 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Vicious Gardens is 20–45 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Vicious Gardens for ages 10 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Vicious Gardens has a complexity rating of 2.1 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Vicious Gardens belongs to these categories: Humor and Farming. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Take That, and Set Collection. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Vicious Gardens are: Ross Bruggink. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Vicious Gardens as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.