Card games
Arboretum
Filosofia ÉditionsDan Cassar2015
- players
- 2–4
- minutes
- 30
- years
- 8+
In the box
80 Tree cards: 10 species, numbered 1 to 8
Box details
- Designer
- Dan Cassar
- Artwork
- Philippe Guérin, Chris Quilliams, Beth Sobel
- Publisher
- Filosofia Éditions
- Mechanics
- Hand ManagementPattern BuildingArea MajorityOrderingSet Collection
Where to buy it
Near you and online
In a shop
Within 50 km.
Online
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The basics
Each player plants tree cards in front of them to lay out paths of increasing value, but only whoever keeps the highest total of a species in hand earns the right to score it. On your turn, draw two cards, from the deck or from any discard pile, play one next to a card already in your arboretum, then discard one onto your own discard pile. When the last card of the deck is drawn, paths are scored species by species, and the highest total wins.
The rules, step by step
Setup
6, 8 or 10 species, 7 cards each, Cards from 1 to 8
- Each tree species has eight cards, from 1 to 8.
- Play with 6 species with two players, 8 with three, all 10 with four.
- Each player is dealt 7 cards; the rest forms the deck. Each player has their own discard pile in front of them.
How to play
Draw 2 cards, Play 1 card, Discard 1 card
- On your turn, draw two cards, one at a time, from the deck or from the top of any discard pile.
- Play a card into your arboretum: the first one anywhere, the next ones next to a card already played, orthogonally (not diagonally).
- Discard a card onto your own discard pile, to get back to 7 cards in hand.
Scoring
Highest total in hand, 1 or 2 points per card, 1 path per species
- Species by species, everyone reveals the cards of that species in their hand: the highest total earns the right to score it, and ties give it to all tied players.
- If nobody holds the species in hand, everyone can score it.
- An 8 in hand counts as 0 for this total if an opponent holds the 1 of the same species.
- Having the right is not enough: you need a path in your arboretum, starting from a card of that species and ending on another, through adjacent cards of ever-increasing value.
- A path scores 1 point per card; 2 points per card if it has at least 4 cards, all of that species.
- +1 point if the path starts with a 1, +2 if it ends with an 8.
- For each species, only your best path counts. The right does not pass to another player if its holder has no path.
End of the game
Deck runs out, Highest total
- The game ends when the last card of the deck is drawn; that player finishes their turn.
- Each species is then scored; the highest total wins.
Going further
Frequently asked questions · In the same family
Frequently asked questions
Do the cards in the middle of a path have to be of the same species?
No. Only the first and last cards must be of the species being scored; between them, any species will do, as long as the values go up.
Why keep good cards instead of playing them?
Because without the right to score a species, the finest path is worth nothing. You have to balance your arboretum and your hand.