Magic Garden

Magic Garden is a board game for two to six players. The game comes in many varieties, from cardboard to ivory and silver, but the game mechanism stays the same: The board represents a garden with typical garden elements, and the players have to visits several parts of the garden before they are allowed on the terrace to relax with a tankard of Kez.

Each garden element has a corresponding card. This card says what the name of the element is, its number, and what the player has to do at this spot. The more expensive games have beautiful pictures of the elements as well, the cheapest games don't have any picture at all. All cards have a colour on the back, corresponding with a part of the garden. Some games use a certain kind of flower or tree. It's important to see to which part of the garden a card belongs.

Now each player takes a card. If the neighbours already have a card in that colour, the player should take another card. These cards are put open on the table and represent the starting point of the game. Then, this continues with the first player pulling another card that should be of another colour than his starting card. And so on. The following cards should be played in that order, and by dealing this way, no player has the same garden part at the same time.

From the terrace, the players head for their starting point. They have to throw 5-sided sticks to see how far they can walk, but they can never go past a crossing during a turn. When they reach the place indicated on the card, they have to follow the orders on the card. Once they have done that, they can continue to the place that is mentioned on the next card.
When all cards have been played, the player should return to the terrace.
Who reaches the terrace first, is the winner of the game.

The garden elements and the garden lay-out might vary per game. Common elements are: waterfall, grotto, hut, stairs, labyrinth, bridge, isle, statue, fountain, pond, canal, cascade, hill, gazebo, temple. The middle of the board is usually a large pond, where the players can "take the boat" to the other side or to an isle.
Orders on the cards include: "have 3 extra points to go the next turn", "go first to [name of element] before you continue", "don't travel by boat the next turn". The possibilities have proven to be endless.
Some game-makers provide extra-cards with the same elements, but with different orders to keep the game exciting. Extra-sets sometimes include bizarre orders like "fly to the terrace" or "get the boots from the garden shed, then walk through the pond".

For the eleventh anniversary of Princess Sawkyda of Daleth, a part of the palace gardens had been turned into a real life gaming board, and the guests played the game while walking through the actual garden. The garden still exists and on holy days, citizens can play here for a few assar.