Best Video Games for Gardeners

Winter is the one season that is so difficult for us as gardeners. The colder conditions potentially affect our plants, trees, and shrubbery. It’s also a time when we can’t really get outside and do much about it either.

Whether it’s frosty, snowing, or cold and raining, being confined to the house means partaking in our favorite pastime isn’t always possible, so on occasion, we have to seek solace elsewhere.

For some, the best thing to do is watch a show like a Backyard Takeover on HGTV, whereas others prefer to stay hands-on, albeit with a difference. There are many ways that the green-fingered can still tend to plants and cultivate our gardens via digital means.

The latest video game technology is a great place to enjoy the hobby without braving outside conditions.

Many games center around gardening across all platforms meaning that it’s easy to find at least one of them to cultivate your natural creations. Terrarium: Garden Idle, while not having the most alluring of titles, is a good choice for those who want a mobile experience.

By tapping on the plants, you can increase their oxygen production, and you can choose where to place them around your fictional flat. There’s also a horticulture-themed online slot on Gala Bingo, namely Secret Garden, which uses garden imagery to create an experience for horticulturists.

Tile Garden: Match 3 Puzzle is another option for the gamer who likes to keep things in their pocket, where players have to match three plants to score points and clear their garden.

These are just three titles, all in different genres of games, but they use gardening as their central theme.

However, we’ve got a few more for you that certainly concentrate on you getting your virtual hands dirty.

The Botanist

This game certainly satisfies anyone interested in horticulture and is a little aspirational at the same time. You play a character who has lost his job and decides to start his own business selling plants.

He has to plant the seeds, choose the correct pots, and then catalog them to sell to customers. All budding gardeners would love to turn it into a business.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Animal Crossing is billed more as a life simulator as you create your tiny island and forage to survive. But as a significant part of that, harvesting fruits, planting flowers and trees, and tending to them is vital to the thriving little digital world.

It’s a game that many consider the best on the Nintendo Switch, which is quite the statement regarding the catalog of games includes their iconic Super Mario.

Viridi

Simply put, Viridi allows you to cultivate your digital houseplants called succulents. These succulents grow in real-time and need to be cared for similarly to what you’d recognize.

So, overuse that watering can and don’t expect them to survive, don’t give them a drink, and they’ll die too.

It’s a game you can play on PC, but the experience is better on mobile; if you keep your phone close by, you’re more likely to remember to water them than turn on the PC!

Stardew Valley

This cartoony-looking game, not too dissimilar to Animal Crossing, is a real hit but the farming element of Stardew Valley takes farming to a new level. As you develop your property, you can sell your goods to make a profit; the changing of the seasons is also something to factor in, as it affects your crop.

But this time, you don’t have to worry about getting cold outside to deal with it!