Apr 9, 20223 min read

Review: Tussie Mussie

A tussie mussie is a small bouquet of flowers that is typically given as a gift. The term tussie mussie came to be during Victorian period, when small bouquets of flowers became popularized. Tussie mussies include symbolism from the language of flowers, a way of communicating by assigning flowers special meaning. Tussie Mussie is a 18 card, game designed by Elizabeth Hargrave and published by Button Shy Games .

Tussie Mussie is a 18 card game that can be played from 2 to 4 players. The main mechanism in the game is something called I split you choose. The game is played over 3 rounds and after three rounds you add up the scores and the player with the highest score wins.

In a two player game the first player draws 2 cards off the deck. This player is known as the offerer and the other player is known as the recipient. The offerer then places once card face down (the keepsake) and the other card face up (the bouquet). The recipient then takes one or the other card laid on the table and then places it on the table in front of them this is your arrangement. If you take the face down card don't look at it. You will go back and forth between the two players until both players have four cards in their arrangements. Each player then moves the keepsakes towards them to form a second row of cards but keep them relative to the position you had them in the row. There are a few cards that have effects that happen before scoring, now is their time to shine. Then you score the cards.

Players like my partner Mary like to grab the face down cards and see what happens at the end.

Scoring is easy, you add up all the hearts on your cards. After you add the hearts then you add up any bonus points for conditions met on the cards. After playing this a few times there are few ways this shakes out. Some players pick a lot of cards that are face up so you know what every card you get is. Players like my partner Mary like to grab the face down cards and see what happens at the end. Either way you are likely to have at least one keepsake or bouquet.

18 makes sense when it comes to printing economics

This game is part of the 18 card offerings by Button Shy Games. There are a lot of interesting games that designers have come up with to use for 18 cards. They all come in a vinyl case that make taking with super easy and convenient. Button Shy has a lot of contests for designers that they use to help spur engagement and gain designers to publish. I know your thinking 18 is an odd number to have for a standard game size. It all has to do with printing. The standard size sheet that you print poker style cards on fits 9 cards so this is 2 sheets. If it was 20 cards there would be 3 sheets that had to be printed and 7 cards that could have been printed for the same price. So 18 makes sense when it comes to printing economics.

Tussie Mussie is a must have for the horticulturist or gardener in your family. Its very easy to learn and plays fast. There are only 18 cards and they are all different. The cards are interesting because they are each a different flower and have a different action. Also available is a 3 expansion pack including orange flowers, greens, and ribbons. There is also a solo expansion with its own expansion (expansion of the expansion?) to add solo play variants to the game. I plan on keeping this game in my backpack at all times just in case the need should arise!

Players: 2-4

Year Published: 2019

Recommended Ages: 8+

Time to Play: 20-30m