Can Bohemians keep you hooked for longer? Game Review

For some, the term bohemia meant a bunch of idlers; for others, it was the soul and heart of the cultural world. The newest title from Portal Games lets us step into the shoes of a 19th-century Parisian artist struggling to make ends meet. Welcome to my review of Bohemians.

In this article, you'll find photographs by Łukasz Bialik. I encourage you to visit his Instagram profile @boardgamelook.

Bohemians – A Beautiful Game with an Intriguing Theme

Let’s start with the obvious: Bohemians is stunning. I won’t even pretend to be objective here — I adore every single detail. Each illustration feels like a miniature painting, perfectly capturing the essence of 19th-century Paris and the bittersweet life of artists. On some cards you’ll find tranquil moments in nature or romantic scenes; on others, the grim reality of poverty and despair.

The art direction fits the theme perfectly. Players even have starting decks themed around their artistic disciplines, and the composer’s card literally includes musical notes you can play as an actual melody (yes, I tried — it works). The attention to detail is remarkable.

During the game, players arrange their “daily plans” on personal boards, aligning inspiration symbols across cards. Each piece feels like an extension of the previous one — not just mechanically, but visually. Bohemians enchants both through play and presentation.

Importantly, this is not a romanticized view of art life. The game includes Anguish cards, depicting the hardships and tragedies that could befall any artist. I heard someone say Bohemians features “controversial” cards. I checked — there’s nothing offensive here, though some themes may not be ideal for children.

Simple Rules, Elegant Flow

Mechanically, Bohemians is a deck-building game. Each player starts with a small deck and can buy new cards from two central decks: Habits and Muses. Then there are Anguish cards with negative effects, and Achievements — your main source of points.

The game ends once someone earns their fifth Achievement card. That round is finished, and whoever has the most Achievements wins.

Each round has three phases:

- Wake-Up Phase – Draw cards and plan your day.

- Day Phase – In turn order, each player narrates their daily plan, counts inspiration symbols, spends them to buy cards, and may draw an Anguish if they skipped work.

- Night Phase – Clean up the table and pass the first player token.

That’s it. The system is clean, intuitive, and easy to teach. The 14+ age rating is mostly due to thematic content and artwork. There are also solo and cooperative modes, though I didn’t test them — I don’t play solo, and the co-op is based on that system.

So, how does it play? Is it a soulful artistic evening — or a bucket of paint thrown in your face?

Bohemians – Toss a Coin to Your Writer… or Something Like That

Bohemians makes a spectacular first impression. Then, like many straightforward deck builders, it gradually shows its limitations. After several plays, you may start to feel you’ve seen everything. Mechanically, it’s a race for Achievements, and the loop doesn’t change much.

Funny enough, my previous review was about Dirt & Dust — a rally game that wasn’t really about racing. Now I’m reviewing a game about artists’ lives that… kind of is a race.

Still, there are things that make Bohemians feel refreshingly different.

One is the storytelling phase. At the start of the Day phase, the active player must “describe their daily plan.” Many groups will skip this entirely, but I strongly encourage you not to. It fits the theme beautifully and invites a bit of playful role-playing. In my group, it turned every session into a mix of poetry reading and cringe comedy. We loved it.

Deck-Building Done with Style

Playing cards in Bohemians represents planning your day. You place four cards (or three and a work tile) on your board so that neighboring cards form complete inspiration symbols. Each full symbol gives you a point of inspiration to spend on the market.

You can buy new Habit, Muse, or Achievement cards. Your hand refills to five cards, but Muses and Anguish don’t count toward that limit. Muses are helpful — they can be played beyond your hand size — while Anguish cards are mandatory and always harmful.

This creates a constant tension between risk and reward: play four cards and risk gaining another Anguish, or skip some inspiration points by going to work and keeping your deck clean.

Interestingly, there are no typical “trash” cards to remove weak ones. Instead, unused inspiration points go to your Studio board, where they can later be spent on special actions — refreshing the market, ignoring an Anguish effect, drawing cards, or permanently removing a card from your deck. Managing this balance is key.

It’s all very satisfying. Lining up the cards for maximum efficiency feels like solving a visual puzzle. But over time, the game’s rhythm stabilizes, and you may start to feel the repetition typical of deck builders.

Eventually, everything becomes about the race for Achievements. Their cost increases as players buy them, pushing you to grab them as fast as possible — sometimes at the expense of building your deck further. I wish there were an additional scoring system to encourage deeper play.

Competition… or Collaboration?

For the most part, Bohemians is a non-confrontational game. In two-player mode, there’s almost no negative interaction except for a few Anguish effects. Artists in the bohemian circles stuck together, after all — though they might occasionally pass each other a disease.

With three or four players, white cards come into play, some of which can negatively affect others. It adds a touch of spice, but don’t expect fiery rivalry — more like mild paprika than Mexican chili.

Should You Join the Bohemia?

Bohemians is as good as you let it be. It’s a beautifully executed card game where theme, mechanics, and aesthetics blend seamlessly. I can’t say I had a bad time with it. The deck-building mechanic is cleverly integrated, and connecting symbols physically across cards feels intuitive and rewarding.

Each player board (and character) offers slight asymmetry, promoting certain card colors. Muse cards let you enhance your combos, while Anguish cards test your resilience. The Studio board adds tactical depth, helping you recover from tough situations. And then there’s the storytelling — a delightful, often-ignored feature that can turn a session into something special.

At first, Bohemians feels fresh and inspiring — a light yet thoughtful experience proving that simple mechanics can still feel creative. Over time, though, the novelty fades, and it falls into the same rhythm as most deck builders.

Veteran gamers may tire of it quickly, but mid-weight players who appreciate unique themes and beautiful design will likely stay with it longer. As for newcomers to the hobby, Bohemians is a wonderful introduction to what modern board games can offer. With a mentor at the table, they’ll pick it up easily — and maybe fall in love with it.

Thanks to Portal Games for providing a review copy of Bohemians.