Veggie Patch (Mark Tuck, 2025)
Print and Play nanogame. Review
Written by
Máté Lencse
Educator, game designer,
founder of PlayWise
Why listen to him?
Máté has been regularly playing modern board games and classic abstract board games since 2013. He plays because he loves to. He plays because as an educator, it is his most important motivational and developmental tool. He plays because as a father, it is one of the highest quality times spent with his daughter. He plays because it adds to his marriage. He plays to get to know games and as a game designer, to be able to create new ones. Thus, it's not surprising that he often plays through 15-20 games weekly. Learn more about him and his background on his author page or follow him on social media:
Designer Mark Tuck sums up his game on BGG like this:
“Veggie Patch is a quick solitaire, dice-rolling, tile-laying, dice-placement game.”
I always mention—half as a curiosity—that Hungarians look at me oddly whenever I bring up solitaire board games. In Hungarian we call them “social” games, not board games, so the idea of playing alone feels like a contradiction in terms. Meanwhile the market keeps expanding: fully solo titles are thriving, and designers and publishers are eager to add a solo mode to almost everything. That’s just how life is now.
Of Mark Tuck’s solitaire designs, I’ve logged dozens of plays of his 2021 title Grove, and even then I was already toying with print-and-play possibilities. So I was delighted to see the line continue—this time squarely in that category. A further fun fact: Veggie Patch was created for the 2025 9-Card Nanogame Print and Play Design Contest. Nanogame and print-and-play? For me that’s the best possible combo!
Components
During the Game
Illustrations
Overall Impression
This game delivers exactly what it promises. You can slip it in your pocket, it’s perfect for relaxing at the beach, but also great to pull out anytime you’re waiting somewhere alone. It’s so much better than staring at your phone.
And of course, the teacher in me comes out too. This game would’ve fit perfectly in my “how to enjoy math during summer break” recommendation—too bad I’ve already finished that one.
My daughter is 8 years old, going into third grade, and she needs to do the math for this game within the appropriate number range. And what’s lovely is that it’s all done in a gentle, subtle way. The math is very much present, but never pushy.
Games like this are a great way to show how even simple structures can do wonders for developing mathematical motivation. It’s such a joy when she figures out on her own why she has to subtract the number of seeds at the beginning, and how that relates to her mistakes. When she discovers the breakdowns of 4-5-6, starts halving and rounding effortlessly, all while having fun solving a puzzle—these are the moments that bring her closer to seeing that math is beautiful, you just need to look at it the right way.
And for that, the world of board games is excellent—and so is Veggie Patch.