How to play Bohnanza: each turn, plant the first card in your hand (and optionally the second), flip two cards and trade with other players, plant everything you traded for, then draw three cards. Never rearrange your hand. Harvest bean fields for gold coins. Most coins after the deck runs out three times wins.
These rules come from the official US rulebook for the current box, the one sold at Walmart with the Cocoa, Wax and Coffee beans included.
Some links below are Amazon affiliate links — as an Amazon Associate, King Panda Games earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Full disclosure.
Setup
- Give each player a bean field mat. With three players, use the side with three fields. With four or more, use the two-field side.
- Shuffle the cards and deal five to each player.
- Hold your cards in the order you got them. The first card dealt goes at the front, and every new card goes at the back. You can never sort or rearrange your hand. (The two-player duel adds one exception: you may discard one card from anywhere in your hand each turn.)
- Put the rest of the deck in the middle as the draw pile.
Check Bohnanza price at Walmart →
The Four Phases of a Turn
- Plant from your hand. You must plant the front card. You may then plant the next one. You can’t plant a third.
- Flip and trade. Flip the top two cards of the draw pile face up. They’re yours to plant or trade. Now you can trade with anyone, using those two cards and any cards in your hand. Other players can only trade with you, not with each other.
- Plant traded cards. Everyone plants the beans they got in trades, and you plant any flipped cards you kept.
- Draw. Draw three cards one at a time and add them to the back of your hand.
Two trading rules matter most. You can’t trade a card you just received in a trade, and you can’t trade beans already planted in your fields. You can also give beans away, as long as the other player agrees to take them.
Planting and Harvesting
Each field holds one kind of bean at a time. If you have to plant a bean that doesn’t match any field, you must harvest a field first to make room.
To harvest, count the cards in the field and check the “beanometer” on the bean card. It tells you how many coins that many beans are worth. Flip that many cards over to their gold-coin side and keep them, then discard the rest. Some harvests pay nothing.
You can harvest at any time, even on someone else’s turn. But you can’t harvest a field with one card if you have another field with more than one.
Setup by Player Count
The current US box plays 2 to 7, using three extra bean types for some counts:
| Players | Beans used | Fields each | Draw at end of turn | Game ends when the deck runs out |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 (base game) | The 104 base cards | 3 | Active player draws 3 | The 3rd time |
| 4–5 (base game) | The 104 base cards | 2 | Active player draws 3 | The 3rd time |
| 3 (extra-bean variant) | Base + Wax + Coffee (no Cocoa) | 3 | Every player draws 1 | The 2nd time |
| 4–5 (extra-bean variant) | Base + Cocoa + Wax (no Coffee) | 2 | Every player draws 1 | The 3rd time |
| 6–7 | Base minus Garden, + Wax + Coffee | 2 | Every player draws 1 | The 3rd time |
| 2 (the duel) | Base minus Garden, + Wax + Coffee | 3 | Active player draws 2 | The 1st time |
When the draw pile runs out, shuffle the discard pile to make a new one. At the end, everyone harvests all their fields. Cards in your hand don’t count. If two players tie, the one sitting farthest clockwise from the starting player wins.
The Two-Player Duel
The duel changes the turn. On your turn:
- Plant or discard any beans your opponent left for you.
- Plant one or two cards from your hand as usual, then you may discard one card from anywhere in your hand.
- Flip the top three cards face up. If the top of the discard pile matches any of them, add it, and keep going until it doesn’t match. Plant what you want and leave the rest as an offer for your opponent.
- Draw two cards to the back of your hand.
You can only sell beans on your own turn, and the game ends the first time the deck runs out.
Can You Buy a Third Bean Field?
“How do you get a third bean field in Bohnanza?” In the current US rules, you don’t buy one. Three-player games give everyone three fields from the start, and games with four or more players use two. Older editions included a rule for buying a third field with gold coins, so if your rulebook mentions it, you have an older printing.
Still deciding whether to buy the game? Read our full Bohnanza review, or learn which beans pay best in our Bohnanza strategy guide. It’s also available on Amazon.
Check Bohnanza price at Walmart →
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you rearrange your cards in Bohnanza?
No. You must keep your hand in the order you received the cards, adding new cards to the back. It’s the most important rule in the game, because it forces you to trade away beans you don’t want.
How many cards do you draw in Bohnanza?
In the base game, the active player draws three cards at the end of their turn. In the extra-bean variant for 3 to 7 players, every player draws one card instead, and in the two-player duel, the active player draws two.
Can other players trade with each other in Bohnanza?
No. Only the active player can trade. Everyone else can trade with the active player, but not with each other.
When does Bohnanza end?
Usually when the draw pile runs out for the third time. In the three-player extra-bean variant it ends after the second time, and in the two-player duel after the first.
How do you play Bohnanza with 7 players?
Remove the Garden Beans, add the Wax and Coffee Beans, and give everyone two bean fields. At the end of each turn, every player draws one card instead of the active player drawing three.
Can you harvest beans on someone else’s turn?
Yes. You can harvest at any time. You just can’t harvest a field with only one card while you have another field with more than one.