Forest Shuffle

Object of the Game

Life is bustling in the local forest: Animals scurry around the clearings looking for edible plants and insects. Some enjoy the dense treetops, while others prefer the lush undergrowth and only feel comfortable in the shelter of the trees.

In Forest Shuffle, you create an ecologically balanced habitat for flora and fauna. By planting trees, you can provide homes for different animals, plants, and mushrooms to flourish. But to score the most points, you need to honor their preferences: some creatures require the presence of their fellow species; others prefer certain habitats or food sources.

In the end, the player with the most points wins.

Components

A card game by Kosch for 2-5 players, ages 10 and up
Playing time: 60 minutes

180 cards:

• 66 trees
• 48 cards split top and bottom
• 44 cards split left and right
• 3 winter cards
• 5 caves
• 14 reference cards
• 1 game board (the clearing)
• 1 scorepad

Setup

1. Place the clearing (i.e., the game board) in the center of the play area, within reach of all players. Place the 14 reference cards next to it.
2. Everyone: take a cave card and place it in front of yourself.
3. Set the 3 winter cards aside. Shuffle the remaining cards and return a certain number of them to the game box, unseen, based on the player count:
   • with 2 players → 30 cards
   • with 3 players → 20 cards
   • with 4 players → 10 cards
   • with 5 players → none—you play with all cards
4. Divide the remaining cards into three face-down piles of similar size.
5. Shuffle two winter cards into one of the piles and put the third winter card on top of that pile.
6. Place the other two piles on top of the one containing the winter cards to form a deck, and place it on the left side of the clearing.
7. Everyone: draw 6 cards into your hand. If none of these cards is a tree, you may take a mulligan: discard all six cards to the box, and draw six replacement cards from the deck. Each player may mulligan at most once.
8. The player who last took a walk in the forest starts the game.

Game Flow

Beginning with the start player, everyone takes turns in clockwise order. On your turn, you must carry out exactly one of two possible actions:

• A) Draw Two Cards: For each card, you may choose to take it from the deck or the clearing.
• OR
• B) Play a Card and Check the Clearing: Pay the card’s cost, place it in your forest, and perform its effect and bonus, if any. Then check if the clearing needs to be emptied.

Action A: Draw Two Cards

When taking this action, draw two cards, one at a time, and add them to your hand. For each card you draw with this action, you have the choice of either taking a face-down card from the top of the deck or a face-up card from the clearing (which is empty at the start of the game).

Important: You are limited to 10 cards in hand. If you have 9 cards in your hand, you may only draw one card.

Winter Cards

The lower third of the deck contains 3 winter cards. When you draw a winter card, you must place it face up next to the clearing and immediately draw a replacement card from the deck. When the third winter card is drawn, the game ends immediately.

Action B: Play a Card and Check the Clearing

To perform this action, pay the card’s cost, place it in your forest, resolve its effect and bonus, and then check whether the clearing needs to be emptied.

Checking the Clearing

At the end of your turn, if there are 10 or more cards in the clearing, the clearing must be emptied. Remove all cards from the clearing and return them to the game box.

Then your turn ends, and the next player clockwise takes their turn unless an effect or bonus allows you to take another turn.

Card Anatomy

Each card has either one tree or two forest dwellers:

• Each tree card features exactly one type of tree, around which you can place animals, plants, and mushrooms. Trees are the basis of your forest.
• All other cards are split in two: either horizontally, featuring one forest dweller on the top and another on the bottom, or vertically, featuring one each on the left and right.

All cards are laid out as follows:

Playing a Card

To play a card from your hand, you must first pay its cost by placing that many (other) cards from your hand face up into the clearing. When playing a split card, choose one half to play and pay only its cost.

Normally, it does not matter which cards you discard as payment. Some species, however, provide a bonus if you pay with specific cards (see “Bonus” below).

Then, place the card face up in front of yourself. Your collection of played cards is called your forest.

Note: split cards must always be placed next to a tree (see below).

The total of your played cards constitutes your forest.

Trees

Trees provide card slots for split cards on each of their four sides: top, bottom, left, and right. As long as there is no card played to a card slot, it is considered empty; a tree is considered fully occupied if there is at least one card on each of its four sides.

Whenever you play a tree, you must also draw the top card from the deck and place it face up in the clearing. A symbol on the clearing reminds you of this rule during the game.

Note: This may cause a winter card to be revealed. If it does, proceed as described on page 3.

Tree Sapling

Instead of playing a tree, you may play any card from your hand face down as a universal tree sapling. Like a tree, a tree sapling provides a card slot on each of its four sides. However, it does not belong to any of the eight tree species and is not considered a tree species of its own.

Animals, Plants, and Mushrooms

The split cards feature varying inhabitants of the forest: animals, plants, or mushrooms.

When playing a split card, you must place it in an empty slot on the corresponding side of a tree in your forest. If you wish to play an inhabitant on the left side of a card, it must be placed on the left side of a tree; to do so, slide the unused right half of the card under the tree. The same rules apply to inhabitants on the right, top, or bottom halves of cards.

Note: Only the inhabitant that is still visible after the card has been placed counts as being in your forest. The hidden half is not relevant for the remainder of the game or for scoring.

Note: Split cards can only be played if one of your trees has an empty card slot available on the corresponding side.

Effects and Bonuses

If the card you just played has an effect or bonus (or both), you may now use them. If you wish to use both, you must use the effect before using the bonus. Using an effect or bonus is optional.

Card effects and bonuses are explained with either icons or short descriptions. You can find an overview of all symbols on the last page of this rulebook. If you would like a more detailed explanation, consult the reference cards or the digital appendix.

Effects

There are two types of effects:

• Most cards provide an instant effect that can be used once immediately after playing it.
• Mushrooms, however, provide a permanent effect, which you can use for the rest of the game, beginning on your next turn.

Mushrooms

Mushrooms have an effect when certain cards are placed in your forest (e.g., below a tree). Each time you place such a card in your forest, you may use the mushroom’s effect immediately.

Example: You have just played a Parasol Mushroom. Starting on your next turn, whenever you place a card in a card slot below a tree, you may draw the top card from the deck.

Bonuses

Some species have a colored arrow featuring the symbol, providing a bonus if you pay for the card with matching cards: To activate the bonus, all cards that you discard as payment must have the same card color (i. e., show the same tree symbol) as the card being played. When paying with split cards, it does not matter which half of the card shows the matching tree symbol.

Example: You play a Roe Deer into your forest.

1. To activate the bonus, you pay with an Eurasian Jay and a Birch tree. Both cards have the same color (and show a Birch symbol) as the Roe Deer.
2. If you paid with a Linden tree instead of a Birch tree, you would not activate the bonus.

End of Game

When the 3rd winter card is revealed, the game ends immediately and you proceed to scoring. You may not finish your turn.

Scoring

Total the points of all visible cards in your forest, and add the number of cards under your cave, if any. This is your score.

If you are unsure how a specific card scores, consult the reference cards or the digital appendix.

The player with the highest score wins. In case of a tie, enjoy a shared victory.

Scoring Example

This display of cards scores a total of 85 points:

Trees

• Oak: 0 (only 5 tree species)
• Sycamore: 5 (5 )
• Douglas Fir: 5
• Birch: 1
• Silver Fir: 12 (6 attached cards)

Top/Bottom

• Large Tortoiseshell, Purple Emperor, Silver-Washed Fritillary: 6 (3 different )
• Tawny Owl: 5
• Goshawk: 6 (2 cards showing )
• Wood Ant: 6 (3 cards below a tree)
• Fly Agaric: 0
• Stag Beetle: 3 (3 cards showing )

Left/Right

• Gnat: 3 (3 cards showing )
• Roe Deer: 9 (3 cards showing )
• Brown Long-Eared Bat: 5 (3 different )
• Bechstein‘s Bat: 5 (3 different )
• Barbastelle Bat: 5 (3 different )
• European Hare: 9 (3 European Hares)

Cave (empty)

• 0

Overview

Type symbol

• Amphibian
• Tree
• Bat
• Deer
• Insect
• Cloven-hoofed animal
• Plant
• Pawed animal
• Mushroom
• Butterfly
• Bird

Effect and Bonus

• Draw the indicated number of cards from the top of the deck.*
• Draw a number of cards from the top of the deck equal to the number of cards in your forest showing the indicated symbol (e. g. ).* (Observe the hand size limit.)
• Draw a number of cards from the top of the deck equal to the number of European Hares in your forest.* (Observe the hand size limit.)
• Place a creature with the indicated type symbol (e. g. ) from your hand into your forest without paying its cost; you may use neither its effect nor its bonus.
• Take another full turn after this one, choosing between actions A and B, as normal.

* Note: This may cause you to reveal a winter card. If it does, proceed as described on page 3.

Tree symbols

• Sycamore
• Birch
• Beech
• Douglas Fir
• Oak
• Horse Chestnut
• Linden
• Silver Fir

Credits

Designer: Kosch
Illustrations: Toni Llobet, Judit Piella
Graphik design: Klemens Franz | atelier198
R&D: Maren Holderbaum
Translation: Sonja Hüttinger
Forestry consultant: Felix Behnke

Kosch says: Caro, without your inspiration this game would not have been invented. You always find the best in life, and I‘m so thankful for that. Thank you also to my sister Tanja, who always has a sympathetic ear and a good heart. Thanks to Leder, Lars, Max, Corinna, Gitte, and Kai, who are not only good friends but also a family to me! And a special thanks to my monday playgroup at the Klex in Greifswald. You are the best and thanks for your patience and support!