Pergola is a 1 to 4 player game that lasts around an hour. It is perfect for friends, families or solo players who want to sit down with a cup of tea, soak in the artwork and enjoy the calming atmosphere of this visually stunning game.
Preparing The Plot
Pergola is a 1 to 4 player game that lasts around an hour. It is perfect for friends, families or solo players who want to sit down with a cup of tea, soak in the artwork and enjoy the calming atmosphere of this visually stunning game.
Preparing The Plot
After organising over 200 pieces into the excellent GameTrayz insert, Pergola is a breeze to set up. Simply lift out the insert and place it on the centre of the table. Each player selects a garden board, and a plant pot filled with a frog, water droplets, birdhouse and honey pots. Place the honey pots on the uncoloured side beneath your pergola, position the water droplets at the top of your waterfall, set your frog on the pond board and pop your birdhouse onto your main garden board.
Each player board features a different garden, from rolling hills to lavender bushes. If you visited UKGE 2025 you may even have the custom greenhouse board, which is a personal favourite of mine. You then add three additional modules to this board. These have seamless borders so you can mix and match however you like. The modules include the pergola, the waterfall and the scoring conditions.
The only shared areas are the pond, where players place their frogs, and the action board where tools are selected and replenished each turn.
With that, you’re ready to turn your blank canvas into a masterpiece. Alan Titchmarsh, stand down because I’ve got this.
Ground Force
Players have 15 rounds to build their gardens. On each turn, you choose a tool from the action board, collect the resources shown and complete the corresponding action. Once finished, you place the tool in your plant pot to track how many turns you’ve taken.
Resources include flowers such as buttercups, hollyhocks, magnolias and lavender. You can also attract bees, ladybirds, butterflies and dragonflies. Lanterns offer a bonus action you can take immediately or save for later. With these, you will shape your garden in whatever style you wish while earning points along the way. Certain insects only live on particular plants, shown by helpful outlines on each tile. Other than that, your garden design is entirely up to you.
There are four possible actions each turn.
● Insect Flutter lets you place insects onto flowers. You might leave insects flying around and land them when scoring conditions suit you. For example, the higher butterflies are on hollyhocks, the more points they bring.
● Bird Flight allows you to take a leaf from one of the stacks in the shared area. These leaves show insects you can add to your garden and may offer an additional flutter action. Each leaf of a different colour scores at the end of the game.
● Frog Jump moves your frog to an adjacent lily pad where you can collect insects or grab a dragonfly for bonus points. The pond holds two types of dragonflies, worth either five or three points. When you complete a set of four matching plants, you can claim one. There is only one five pointer per category, so it pays to get there first.
● Water Drip moves your water droplet down the waterfall. This lets you pick up insects as you go. If you reach the bottom, you gain extra points at the end for your insects, dragonflies or honey pots.
Turns move along quickly, but planning ahead can be tricky. Every tool taken changes the display, so a tool and action pairing you had in mind might not be available by the time it’s your turn. This keeps you on your toes.
Although you have freedom in designing your garden, there is one key limitation. Buttercups must go on your pergola board. They attract bees, and if you manage to gather four in this area you flip one of your honey pots for an endgame bonus, such as an extra point per butterfly. You can only flip three honey pots, so choosing the right ones matters. You’ll also find yourself balancing bees between buttercups and the greedy lavender, which needs three to even start scoring. With just 15 rounds, you won’t have time to do everything, so this encourages replayability and experimentation with different strategies.
Garden in Bloom
You could describe Pergola as a point salad game. Nearly everything earns you points, so no turn feels wasted. As the game reaches its final stages, the pace slows a little as players try to squeeze out every point, whether by filling lavender, finishing the waterfall or grabbing that final five-point dragonfly.
Scoring is enjoyable as you admire what you have created. It can seem daunting at first, but after one game it all clicks. Most scoring is simple set collection, where you match plants or insects in rows, columns or groups, with each type rewarding different patterns. Magnolias reward height, while ladybirds score for lining up in rows. Most plant and insect scoring contrasts like this, so choices feel meaningful. You might have to sacrifice a towering magnolia to maximise your ladybirds.
In addition to plants and insects, points come from flipped honey pots, the waterfall and collected leaves. These bonus points can make all the difference, so I recommend making them a priority where you can. What I appreciate most is how easy it is to see your score without needing the rulebook or a calculator, unlike some other point salad games.
Pergola with a View
When I first saw Pergola, I worried it would be style over substance. I’m happy to say it offers more than just pretty pictures. The theme enhances the gameplay and makes it easy to learn. The lovely components, from the wooden insects to the detailed boards, make each turn satisfying. The GameTrayz storage also speeds up set up and pack down, making this a game you can bring to the table with minimal fuss. The iconography is clear and intuitive, helping you know what to do without needing to check the rulebook constantly.
I’m glad Rebel Studios went for such high production value. The plant pots aren’t essential, but they add a tactile element that helps create the cosy, welcoming charm of the game. Karolina Kijak’s artwork is stunning, with soft watercolour designs that brighten even the dullest table. I’ve played with friends who were just as proud of their finished gardens as they were of winning. It’s rare to find a game that makes players feel good about what they built regardless of the score.
Final Thoughts
Pergola is beautiful. The artwork and production create a peaceful experience that makes it a joy to play with family, friends or solo. Even better with a cup of tea and a biscuit. Beneath this gorgeous appearance is a fun game with thoughtful set collection, quick actions and meaningful turns as you figure out how to make the most of your garden.
That said, some players might find it a little light or lacking interaction. With everyone focused on their own board there is little opportunity for sabotage or deep forward planning. It’s more of a solitaire experience where you build your tableau and occasionally glance at what others are doing.
After a few plays, you might feel you have explored most of what Pergola offers in terms of strategy. It seems ideal for expansions, as there’s so much potential for adding variety. But I think the real strength of Pergola lies not in complex mechanics but in the atmosphere it creates. Sometimes you want a game that is not cutthroat, where you can simply enjoy placing plants and insects and create something beautiful one turn at a time.
* Sophie is a gamer, blogger, podcaster, and book lover with a passion for solo narrative video games. When she’s not immersed in games or writing, she’s probably out hiking. Her favourite board games feature worker placement, nature themes, and smart tableau-building mechanics.
Zatu Review Summary
Zatu Score
85%
