Bohnanza

Components

104 bean cards across 8 types, one bean field mat per player, and 2 starting player cards (one is a spare). For 3–5 players, ages 10 and up, about 45 minutes. Whoever has the most gold dollars when the game ends wins.

Setup

1. 1With 3 players, use the side showing three bean fields; with 4–5 players, use the side showing two fields.
2. 2Pick a starting player and give them the starting player card. It stays with them for the whole game.
3. 3Shuffle all 104 cards and deal five to each player. Place the rest as a face-down draw pile.

Your turn — four phases

1. 1① Plant from your hand: you must plant the front card of your hand. You may optionally plant one more (the card now at the front) — at most two cards from your hand per turn.
2. 2② Turn over and trade: reveal two cards from the draw pile. These belong to you — plant them or trade them to other players. Only the active player may trade, for as long as everyone wants to continue.
3. 3③ Plant traded and turned-over cards: plant any cards you received in trade, plus any turned-over cards not traded away, in any order you like.
4. 4④ Draw three cards: draw three cards one at a time from the draw pile and add them to the back of your hand in the order drawn. Play passes to the left.

Planting — one kind of bean per field

Each field can only hold one kind of bean at a time. You may plant the same bean in two different fields, but never two kinds in the same field. If you must plant a bean that doesn't match what's already in a field, you must harvest that field first to make room.

Trading rules

• Only the active player may trade with the other players. Non-active players cannot trade with each other.
• You may trade using cards anywhere in your hand; the active player can also use their two turned-over cards.
• Cards received in a trade cannot be traded again, and cards already planted in a field cannot be traded either.
• Any number of beans may be traded for any number of others (e.g. two for one). Only remove cards from your hand once both sides have agreed.
• Beans received in trade are placed beside your fields horizontally — not into your hand — until you plant them in phase 3.
• You may also simply give beans away, but the recipient must agree to accept them; if they refuse, you cannot give the cards.

Harvesting — any time

You may harvest a field at any time, even when it isn't your turn. Check the exchange chart (see Scoring below) for the number of cards in that field, turn that many cards to their dollar side onto your dollar pile, and put the rest face up on the discard pile. You must harvest the whole field — you cannot harvest only part of it.

When the draw pile runs out, reshuffle the discard pile to form a new draw pile.

Bean exchange chart

Each bean has its own exchange rate — how many cards you need to earn 1 through 4 dollars. Rarer beans (fewer in the deck) pay off sooner but top out lower; common beans need more cards but pay a higher top amount.

End and winning

The game ends the moment the draw pile runs out for the third time. If this happens during phase ② (turning over and trading), finish phases ② and ③ of that turn — even with only one card turned over instead of two — before the game ends.

1. 1Everyone harvests all remaining fields and collects the appropriate bean dollars.
2. 2Count the cards in each player's dollar pile (hand cards do not count).
3. 3The player with the most dollars wins. In a tie, the tied player seated farthest from the starting player, going clockwise, wins.

Strategy tips

• Don't be afraid to lose value in a trade — giving away a bean you don't want for free still protects your fields.
• Remember what was at the front of each opponent's hand; it helps you judge whether to seek or avoid trading for it again.
• Since a field can only hold one kind of bean, harvest a field early if you expect to receive a very different bean soon.
• Rare high-paying beans (Blue Bean, Chili Bean) need more cards to pay off, so it's often better to hold out for a bigger harvest than to cash in too early.

Player count and expansions

The number of fields changes with player count — 3 players use 3 fields each, 4–5 players use 2 fields each. The deck itself is always all 104 cards, regardless of player count.

AMIGO has released over 20 themed expansions (a pirate island, a Western theme, a Mongol invasion, and more), most of which have not been localized into Korean. This guide covers the base game only; expansion rules were not checked.

Frequently asked questions

History and editions

Designed by Uwe Rosenberg, first published by AMIGO in 1997. Numerous themed expansions followed over the years, including La Isla Bohnita and High Bohn, building a lineup of more than 20 expansions today.

Korea Boardgames officially published a Korean edition in 2007. Most expansions have not been localized into Korean.