Tabletop games
Photosynthesis
Blue OrangeHjalmar Hach2017
- players
- 2–4
- minutes
- 45
- years
- 10+
In the box
1 forest board · Cardboard trees to assemble, three sizes, four species · Seeds · Player boards · Score tokens · 1 Sun segment and the round counter
Official rules (PDF, publisher's site)
Box details
- Designer
- Hjalmar Hach
- Artwork
- Sabrina Miramon
- Publisher
- Blue Orange
- Mechanics
- Hexagon GridIncomeAction PointsArea Majority
Where to buy it
Near you and online
In a shop
Within 50 km.
Online
Affiliate link: Marquoir may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
The basics
Each player grows their forest using the light of a sun that moves around the board. Each round, the sun moves and every tree out of the shadow earns light according to its size; everyone then spends it to buy pieces, plant seeds, grow a tree or harvest a large tree, which earns a scoring token based on its space's richness. After three full trips of the sun, add 1 point per 3 light left, and the highest total wins.
The rules, step by step
Setup
2 small trees on edge, Tokens of 1 to 4 leaves, Pieces to buy
- Each player takes the player board and pieces of their species: seeds, small, medium and large trees.
- Some of the pieces go on the player board, to be bought; the rest are available straight away.
- In turn, each player places two small trees on spaces on the outer edge of the board.
- The scoring tokens are sorted into stacks by soil richness (1 to 4 leaves), highest values on top.
How to play
The sun moves, Light 1, 2 or 3, Buy, plant, grow
- At the start of each round, the sun moves one step. Each tree that is not in the shadow of a tree at least as tall earns light points: 1, 2 or 3 depending on its size.
- A shadow reaches as many spaces as the size of the tree casting it.
- Then each player spends their light: buy pieces, plant a seed near one of their trees, grow a tree by one size, or harvest a large tree.
- A given space can only be activated once per round.
- A replaced piece goes back to the player board if there is a free spot, otherwise it leaves the game.
Scoring
Large trees harvested, 3 light = 1 point
- Harvesting a large tree earns the top token of the stack matching the richness of its space; if that stack is empty, take from the next stack down.
- At the end of the game, +1 point per full 3 unspent light points.
End of the game
3 trips of the sun, 4 in expert variant, Highest total
- The game ends after the sun has gone around the board three full times (four in the expert variant).
- The highest total wins.
Going further
Frequently asked questions · In the same family
Frequently asked questions
Does a small tree shade a large one?
No. A tree is only deprived of light by the shadow of a tree of equal or greater size.
Can you plant a seed anywhere?
No. A seed goes within a limited distance of the tree that plants it, and that distance depends on the tree's size.