Granny Hortensia, owner of the lands of an eccentric farmer’s family, dies one day without leaving a will. One night, the moon turns reddish and the grandmother reappears as a ghost to put her four grandchildren to the test. She will visit them three times, always coinciding with the red moon. After her three appearances, whoever has become the most experienced farmer will inherit all her land.

Money, water and fertilizer management is the key of this light eurogame. The aim of "The Hort Family" is to have the highest number of experience points after Granny Hortensia’s three visits. The game is played in rounds and each round has 5 steps determined by the active round card:

1. Market: crop, utensil and animal tiles are drawn from the pile of the indicated type.
2. Purchase: each player will be able to successively buy one tile from the market.
3. Fertilizer: each player receives a fertilizer counter from the bank to place it on their own crops or on the rivals' crops, depending on which round they are playing.
4. Watering: players place one water counter per crop or animal tile. Available water varies depending on the weather of each round.
5. Sale: products are sold in exchange for coins and experience points. Crops that have been completely watered must be sold. The fertilizer is used to get the highest sales value in this step.

The game goes on through rounds until the third red moon round card appears, and consequently, Granny Hortensia makes her third visit.