Floristry Board Game Review

Thank goodness for games that use a phone but not an application. I get it, it’s 2025 and people want to get really technologically advanced with their board games. Unlocked! does it, Little Alchemists does it. Why not do it? Floristry has a phone component, but it’s web based as opposed to an application. And that makes me so happy.

Ok, that wasn’t the normal way I start a review, but people are going to instantly love or hate this game simply because of the requirement to use a phone. And that requirement is a pretty big deal, there is no getting around it. In Floristry, two players will have a set amount of cash, and each turn a number of flower tiles will be flipped up in the middle of the table. Using a web application on the phone, players will compete in a Dutch auction to draft tiles.

What is a Dutch auction? It’s an auction where the price of an item goes down as time passes, until ultimately one player decides the price is right, or is worried their opponent will purchase it instead, and decides to lock in the price and buy the tiles. In Floristry, whoever locks in their purchase first gets 3 of the 4 faceup tiles, but also pays the cost.

Players will want specific tiles as they are trying to create large sets of similar tile pieces within their frame to score maximum points at the end of the game. Since your money is limited, how often you purchase tiles and how much you spend on tiles is something you’ll want to keep track of. I’ve had many games where I spent too quickly and had to deal with the one leftover tile for the rest of the game. And I’ve spent too slowly that my opponent got a good number of deals that I opted not to take.

The balance here is exhilarating, and while I wouldn’t think this game could pack much of a punch in the sheer entertainment category, I was very wrong. Even better, you can teach and play a game of Floristry in less than 15 minutes, which means multiple sessions can be played in one night, easily. With great decisions to be made, and a bit of playing off your opponent, each game of Floristry feels pretty entertaining, even if everything you do game-to-game is almost exactly the same.

There isn’t a ton here, but it’s a grand experience in a really small package, something I don’t think we have enough of. If you are looking for that quick to play, 2-Player experience with a pretty small footprint, you cannot go wrong with Floristry. For my wife, the plant theme was enough to get hooked. For you, it might be the auction system, or the tile placement mechanic. Either way, there is a lot more here than meets the eye.

Just remember – it uses a web application. That just might not be for you, so be warned!