Masters of Maple Syrup

About this board game

Masters of Maple Syrup is a two-player board game that takes about 20 minutes, inviting you to develop a maple farm during sugaring season on the Canadian Shield.

Each player builds a personal property tableau by adding trees to harvest sap from and utilities that improve syrup production. Your goal is to create the most valuable property before the season ends.

The game’s distinctive rule is rooted in a code of neighbourly conduct: on your turn, you determine the action that both players will take. You receive a slight advantage, but your opponent benefits from the same choice as well. This makes timing important, as every decision can strengthen both farms.

• Add trees to your property to harvest sap.
• Develop utilities to improve syrup production.
• Choose shared actions that benefit you slightly more than your opponent.
• Build toward valuable cards and additional scoring bonuses.

The game ends at the end of a round when either player has placed 10 cards on their property. Players then total the value of the cards in their tableaux, along with any additional scoring bonuses those cards provide.

In Masters of Maple Syrup, success comes from planning your own acreage while anticipating how your neighbour will use every action you select. With its compact play time, shared decisions, and cozy cabin theme, it offers a focused contest for two players. At the end of the season, the player whose property has the highest value becomes the Master of Maple Syrup.