Grow Golf

Grow Golf: A Unique Blend of Golf and Gardening

Grow Golf is not your typical golf game; it’s a creative fusion of gardening and golf, where players cultivate golf balls in a plot of land that’s constantly deteriorating. Made by torcado.com in just 48 hours for Ludum Dare 52, this innovative game challenges players to strike a balance between aiming for the hole and preserving their playing field.

Gameplay Overview of Grow Golf

In Grow Golf, players use three types of balls, each with its unique abilities, to manage a crumbling piece of land. The goal is to survive as long as possible by scoring holes while keeping the land healthy and stable. The challenge lies in hitting your shots with precision, as every move affects the land’s condition.

Ball Types and Their Uses

Each type of ball in Grow Golf serves a distinct purpose in helping you survive longer and progress further:

• Regular Ball - When landing, regular ball plants a golf ball seedling on the tile, contributing to future resources for your game. This ball allows you to build a sustainable supply of golf balls, adding a layer of resource management to each round.
• Water Ball - The water ball is crucial for keeping your land hydrated. It moistens every tile it passes over, as well as a 3x3 area around its landing spot. This helps prevent tiles from drying out and disintegrating, making it easier to preserve the course.
• Dirt Ball - The dirt ball has a unique role in filling gaps. When you lose ground to dryness, use a dirt ball to replace missing tiles and maintain a complete playing field. Dirt balls are destroyed upon landing, so use them strategically to cover essential spots.

Balancing the use of these three ball types is vital to preventing your golf balls from falling through gaps in the land and ensuring you stay in play as long as possible.

How to Play Grow Golf

Game controls for Grow Golf

• Switching Ball Types - Use the 1-4 keys and ZXCV to cycle between ball types. Alternatively, right-click or Shift+click materials to set all balls to a specific type.
• Aiming and Shooting - With the club selected, click and drag on the screen to aim and shoot the ball toward the hole. The number of shots you take and the type of ball you use affect your land’s health.
• Changing Ball Types Mid-Game - When a ball is already in play, you can drag over it with a material selected to change its type, allowing you to adapt quickly to the land’s condition.

Tips for Survival

Grow Golf requires strategic thinking and adaptability. Here are some tips to help you maximize your game:

• Balance Your Resources - Regularly alternate between ball types to ensure that you’re planting new seeds, watering land, and filling gaps. Too much focus on one area can lead to a crumbling course or a lack of golf balls.
• Water Management - Keeping land hydrated is crucial. The dirt will disintegrate if not water, so make sure to use water balls regularly, especially if you notice tiles drying out.
• Stay Within Stroke Limits - Like in a traditional golf game, each hole has a stroke limit. If you don’t make it to the hole in the allotted shots or run out of golf balls, the game ends.

Conclusion

Grow Golf is an imaginative and challenging game that combines the precision of golf with the resourcefulness of gardening. With its innovative gameplay and addictive appeal, Grow Golf offers a fresh take on both genres, creating a game that is as strategic as it is fun.