Biomos Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Goal of the Game
• Components
• Setup
• Game Turn
  • 1. Selecting a Terrain
  • 2. Placing a Terrain
  • 3. Completing a Biome
• Forming Your Moon
• End of the Game
• Biome Atlas
• Advanced Mode
• Planetary Events
• Solo Mode
• Credits

Goal of the Game

To be the planet with the most points at the end of the game!

You play as young planets, evolving relatively peacefully in a far-off galaxy. As you reach your first billion years, you all take on the universe's greatest challenge: the creation of life!

Components

• 60 Terrain Tokens: 12 Oceans, 12 Deserts, 12 Forests, 12 Mountains, 12 Glaciers
• 40 Biome Cards: 30 Basic Biomes, 10 Giant Biomes
• 4 Planet Boards, each with a Discovery side and an Advanced side
• 1 Cosmic Pouch
• 1 Black Hole Card

The cosmic pouch is unfathomable; you cannot look inside it when taking tokens!

Setup

The game is played in turns. Before starting, you must:

Recreate the primordial chaos

• Put the 60 Terrain Tokens into the Cosmic Pouch.
• Take 5 Terrain Tokens at random and place them into the center of the table where everyone can see them.

Lay out the Biomes

• Shuffle the 30 Basic Biome cards. Reveal the top 4 cards into the center of the table. Place the remainder of the deck face down within easy reach.
• Shuffle the 10 Giant Biome cards. Reveal the top 4 cards into the center of the table. Place the remaining 6 cards back into the box.

Set up the Planets

• Take a Planet Board each and place it in front of you so you can see the Discovery side (the side with the ocean).
• Determine the order of play. The first player is the person whose mind most often wanders to the stars. Then play in clockwise order.
• To make the game more balanced, the last player takes 1 Terrain Token from the cosmic pouch without looking, and places it into the larger space on their planet board. If there are 4 players, the last 2 players take 1 Terrain Token. This action only takes place once during setup, not during the rest of the game!

Game Turn

On your turn, take the following actions in the order indicated:

1. Select a Terrain Token — mandatory.
2. Place the Terrain Token — mandatory.
3. Complete a Biome Card — optional.

1. Selecting a Terrain

Select 1 Terrain Token from those visible in the center of the table. You must take your Terrain from the Tokens in the center of the table, until there are none left.

When there are no Terrain Tokens left in the center of the table, take 5 new Terrain Tokens at random from the Cosmic Pouch and place them into the center of the table.

2. Placing a Terrain

Place your chosen Terrain Token into any free space on your Planet Board.

Your Planet Board must remain completely visible to everyone at all times.

This empty space allows you to form your Moon (see "Forming your Moon" below).

You can make space for your new Terrain Token by sliding existing Terrain Tokens. But you cannot pick them up! Exception: when you form your Moon (see "Forming your Moon" below). This is the Law of Gravity.

3. Completing a Biome

At the end of your turn, you can select 1 Biome Card from the center of the table, if you have the exact pattern of terrain tokens on your planet board as shown on the card.

• You can only complete one Biome per turn.
• Keep your biome cards next to your planet board until the end of the game. You may keep them face down if you wish.
• The joker symbol (*) symbolizes any Terrain Token.

Replacing the Biome

If you complete a Basic Biome, reveal a new card into the center of the table. If the deck is empty, continue without replacing the card. If you complete a Giant Biome, do not replace it.

Forming Your Moon

During your turn, if you place your terrain token into the smaller space on your Planet Board, you trigger the formation of your moon. This unique action has 2 effects: an immediate effect, and an end-of-game effect.

Immediate effect

Pick up any Terrain Token from your Planet Board and put it back into any free space on your board. This effect is optional but immediate; you cannot keep it to use later.

End-of-game effect (x3)

For each Terrain Token in your planet board that matches your Moon, you gain 3 bonus points. You don't gain a bonus point for the Terrain Token that forms your Moon.

End of the Game

The game ends when the last player to fill their Planet Board—including their Moon—has finished their turn.

Now calculate your points by adding up the values of your Biome Cards and any Moon bonus points.

The Planet with the most points is the winner! In case of a tie, the Planet with the most different types of terrain is the winner.

Don't forget to gaze at your wonderful planet!

Biome Atlas

Boreal forest, savannah, scrubland, etc. Find the names and descriptions of all the biomes at subverti.com.

Advanced Mode

Reserved for the most experienced planets! To play in advanced mode, play the base game as normal, but with the following changes:

Setup

• Place your planet board so you can see the Advanced side.
• After you have determined the order of play, each player chooses their planet board in reverse order.
• Nobody takes a Terrain Token before starting.

Game turn

• You have two additional free spaces on your Planet Board that you need to fill to complete your board. You cannot slide any Terrain Tokens in these recesses. Otherwise, you can use them as normal, e.g., to complete a Biome, to trigger Planetary Events, etc.
• After placing a terrain token, and before completing a Biome, you can trigger a Planetary Event (see "Planetary Events" below).

End of the game

In addition to points from your Biome Cards and your Moon, add:

• The Forest bonus (x1): 1 bonus point for each Forest Token in your Planet Board (except your Moon).
• The Planet bonus (x1): 1 bonus point for each Terrain Token of your planet type (except your Moon).

Planetary Events

Each turn, immediately after placing your Terrain Token you may trigger one (and only one) of the following Planetary Events on your planet:

• Irrigation — If you have a Desert Token adjacent to any Ocean Token, you can replace the Desert Token with a Forest Token!
• Glaciation — If you have an Ocean Token adjacent to any Mountain Token, you can replace the Ocean Token with a Glacier Token!
• Desertification — If you have a Terrain Token of any type adjacent to any Desert Token, you can replace the Terrain Token with a Desert Token!
• Melting ice — If you have a Glacier Token, you can replace it with a new Terrain Token taken at random in the Cosmic Pouch. Take first the new Terrain Token that you require from the Cosmic Pouch. Then put the token you have replaced back into the Cosmic Pouch. If the Terrain Token you require is not available in the Cosmic Pouch, you cannot trigger this event.
• Form your Moon (see "Forming Your Moon" above) — The formation of your Moon automatically triggers an immediate effect, which is considered the same as a Planetary Event. Therefore, you cannot trigger another Event during the same turn that you form your Moon!

Solo Mode

Playing solo? Take on the terrifying Black Hole!

Select a Planet Board and place it in front of you, selecting either Discovery or Advanced mode. Place the Black Hole card next to your planet to match your chosen mode:

• Discovery mode, Black Hole Card on its blue 20-point side.
• Advanced mode, Black Hole Card on its yellow 40-point side.

Lay out the Biomes as normal (see "Setup" above). Each turn, carry out the following actions in the order indicated below:

1. Take 3 Terrain Tokens at random from the Cosmic Pouch.
2. Select 1 of the 3 Tokens and place it into your planet board.
3. Place the other 2 Tokens onto the Black Hole card.
4. If you can, complete a Biome card.
5. The Black Hole now establishes a Biome, if it can.
6. Replace any Basic Biome cards that were taken. Perform this step very last, after the Black Hole turn!

The Black Hole Singularity

The Black Hole is a powerful cosmic entity, and it cannot be constrained by the same rules that apply to a simple planet.

To establish a biome, the Black Hole only has to discard the Terrain Tokens that match the pattern on the Biome Card. The Black Hole ignores joker symbols and the order of the tokens.

When the Black Hole uses Terrain Tokens to establish a Biome, it absorbs them and can no longer use them. Place the Tokens onto the Biome that has been established.

Just like you, the Black Hole can only establish 1 Biome per turn. If there is a choice between several biomes, the Black Hole establishes the one that gives it the most points. If there is still a choice, you decide for it.

End of the game

When your Planet Board is full, finish the entire game turn, then calculate your points.

Count your points as normal, not forgetting your bonus points! Then calculate the Black Hole's points by adding the points from its Biome cards to the number shown on the black hole card itself.

To win, you must have more points than the Black Hole!

Good luck!

Credits

• Author: Gricha German
• Illustrator: Baptiste Perez
• Soundtrack Composer: Zirio
• Creative Director: Yoann Brogol
• BGA Developer: Mathieu Chatrain
• English Translator: Alexander Caves
• English Proofreader: Elizabeth Sexton

A word from the author:

Dear Planets, It is with great pride that I wish you all the best on your cosmic journey across the galaxy. May your biomes be balanced and your fauna flourish! I would like to thank Yoann, who has worked tirelessly to bring this game to life, Baptiste, who has made it look magnificent, and all the players who have helped to improve it with their feedback and suggestions.

— Gricha German, Author of Biomos, Lyon (France, Earth)

A word from the illustrator:

Biomosians, You are planets packed with possibility! I would like to thank Yoann wholeheartedly for giving me the opportunity to illustrate Biomos, and hope that this artwork does Gricha's work justice. Happy gaming! May your planets be full of life.

— Baptiste Perez, Illustrator of Biomos, Toulouse (France, Earth)

Thank you to Lucie, Adèle, Marion, Théo, Maxime, Aurore, Jérémy, Mélodye, and to the numerous others on Ulule and elsewhere, for making this adventure possible. Thank you to all the irreplaceable local game-design groups, including CAL, FAM, and MALT.

Thanks to the typographers for their creations: Baltasar (Bartek Nowak), EB Garamond (Georg Duffner).

Above all, the biggest thanks go to you, dear player! The freedom to work on and commit ourselves to our passion would not be possible without your vital and invaluable support.

Change the world while having fun. Join the Subverti community by following us on social media, sharing photos of your games, and most importantly letting others know about Biomos!

Additional resources (how-to-play video, FAQ, Biome Atlas, soundtrack) are available at subverti.com/en/biomos/.