The Maiden in the Forest

About this board game

The Maiden in the Forest is an 18-card solitaire game for one player, designed to take about 15 minutes. Trapped inside an enchanted forest ring, a maiden mage must use her cunning and four magic objects to escape her fate.

Your goal is to rotate and then turn over all twelve tree cards, changing them from their blooming side to their dormant side. You must complete this task before the end of twelve cycles of day and night.

Each day, shuffle the four object cards and place them face down in a pile. Draw and reveal the top card to identify the object that cannot be used during the current cycle. Every tree card showing that object may not be touched, while the remaining three object cards provide actions for movement.

• 18 cards: the complete game, including the rules.
• Four magic objects: shuffle them each day to determine the current restriction and available actions.
• Twelve tree cards: rotate and turn each one from blooming to dormant.
• A maiden card: move it one position clockwise around the ring after each cycle.

During each night, you may rotate blossoming tree cards with matching colors or matching objects, provided they are allowed to be touched that night. Then move the maiden card clockwise to mark the end of the cycle and begin the next turn.

Turn every tree card to its dormant side before twelve day-and-night cycles pass, and the maiden wins her freedom. With its self-contained rules and compact card count, The Maiden in the Forest presents a focused solo puzzle built around timing, restrictions, and careful movement.