Seed Packet Scratch Card

Every spring somebody tips a shoebox of seed packets onto the potting bench and we try to remember what went where. This card is one of those packets: nine squares under brown kraft foil and, somewhere underneath, perhaps three of a kind.

How to play

Choose a card price of 5, 10, 25 or 50 Fig Coins and press New card. A fresh packet appears with all nine squares covered. Drag a finger or your mouse across the foil to scratch it away; once you have cleared most of it, the rest lifts off by itself. If you would rather not scratch, Reveal all uncovers the whole card in one go.

You need to finish one card before opening the next, and the price can only be changed between cards, never halfway through one.

Reading the key

The key under the card lists the six symbols you might uncover, from the most common to the rarest. Three of the same collects the card price multiplied by the figure beside it:

Ripe Fig 1×. Your Fig Coins back.
Orangery Lemon 2×, Olive Sprig 3×.
Terracotta Pot 5×, Garden Bee 10×.
Watering Can 50×. The one that makes the whole bench look up.

A card holds at most one set of three, so there is never any doubt about what it shows. Plenty of cards hold none at all. Pairs turn up often, and a pair collects nothing, which is half the suspense.

Rounds and Fig Coins

The price comes out of your balance when the card is dealt, before you scratch, and the result is fixed at that moment. Scratching only reveals it. When the foil clears, any matching squares light up and the message under the card tells you what you collected.

If your balance runs low, the refill button above the card resets it to 5,000. Fig Coins cannot be bought, sold or swapped, and they have no value outside this garden.

From the garden notebook

We drew the packet the way the old ones looked: a pale wrapper with a pinked edge, a little picture in the corner, a dotted line where you are meant to tear, and planting notes nobody ever reads.

The six symbols are the six things you would find on any good afternoon here: fruit, leaves, a pot, a bee, and the watering can that someone always leaves out on the lawn overnight.

Questions about the Seed Packet Scratch Card

Does scratching a particular square first change anything?

No. The symbols are chosen when you press New card. Scratching is simply the pleasant part of finding out.

Why can’t I start a new card?

The current card has to be finished first. Scratch the rest of it or press Reveal all, and the New card button comes back.

What do two matching symbols get me?

Nothing, sadly. Only three of the same symbol collects. Pairs appear on most cards, so do not be surprised by them.