.png)
Fungus board games: bringing mycology to your table
By Jassy Drakulic
With fungi gaining broader cultural attention, a flurry of fungus-themed board games has emerged. Many games incorporate fungi for visual or narrative flair, but these three titles go further—creating immersive gameplay rooted in actual mycological processes.
Fungi (Pegasus Spiele, 2012) is a whimsically illustrated card game which has been around for many years now. In this short (20 mins) and straightforward game, two players are invited to forage and cook wild mushrooms. Players draw cards to collect mushrooms, baskets, pans and cooking ingredients. They then win points for each mushroom dish cooked, and the game ends when all the cards have been drawn. The gameplay involves decisions based on timing and resource allocation, with each player focussing on their own creations without much power to interfere with their opponent’s strategy. Overall, this light-hearted and low conflict game is great for a casual gaming session to get you in the mood for dinner.
Confusingly, there are multiple games out there called Mycelia, but the one I want to discuss is by Split Stone Games (2024). Players oversee the life cycles of multiple fungi as they produce mushrooms which release spores before they decay. The game board has strong visual appeal with ornate decorations and a star-shaped configuration. Players simulate fungal growth by spreading wooden pieces across the board in a connected network, making abstract biological processes tangible. Each mushroom card is a detailed portrait of a fungal species, and each has different needs, powers and potential once they have decayed. The flux of mushrooms that are in play or in a state of decay, and the everchanging battle for territory between the mycelia does well to represent the unseen dynamics of fungi in nature, and the sumptuous design will make it a pleasure to spend the 40-90 minute running time.
The final game I want to mention is Under Grove (Alderac Entertainment Group) which was released last year by the creator of Wingspan, Elizabeth Hargraves. It emulates how trees and fungi are connected underground, challenging players to play as a Douglas Fir tree trying to support the establishment of the next generation of seedlings in a forest. The fungi make up the game board, being laid down as tiles as the game develops, while seedlings tokens are planted inbetween, extending roots towards any fungi they want to interact with. To develop into a tree, seedlings need to cooperate and compete for resources and space, relying on the fungi to help them obtain essential nutrients. The possible actions for each turn mirror real ecological processes and trade-offs between growth, defence, and resource allocation, and the currency tokens represent the actual biological currencies of the plant-fungal symbiosis: carbon, nitrogen, potassium and phosphate. This is the most complex game of the three, and with a runtime of 60-75 minutes, plus the added time for up to four players to ponder their moves, it will require more commitment from participants. But it will be time well spent as the enchanting and biologically accurate artwork by Beth Sobel transports players into a shadowy forest floor, playing out the activities beneath the ground that we cannot see for ourselves.
What impresses me most about these games is how they make fungi concepts accessible to everyone. You don't need to be a scientist to enjoy them, but you'll definitely learn something about how fungi work. They explore network building, species diversity, life cycles and environmental factors in ways that stick with you.
These games prove that educational content and entertainment value aren't mutually exclusive. Most of all, players get a chance to think about what life is like for such mysterious and marvellous organisms, fostering connection with the fungi that enrich our world.