Botanicus Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• About This Rulebook
• Components
• Game Setup
• Personal Setup
• Aim of the Game
• Your Garden Tableau
• Tasks
• Your Turn
  • 1. Move your Gardener and / or play 1 Garden card (in either order)
  • 2. Place your Flower and perform the depicted action
• Turn Order
  • Changes for 2 players
• Gameplay
  • 1. Getting Ready and Round One
  • 2. Round Two
  • 3. Last action and final scoring
• Actions
  • Tracks
  • Coins
  • Planting actions
  • Watering actions
  • Moving your Gardener
  • Drawing a Garden card
  • Animals
  • Victory Points and Prize Tokens
  • Pole Position
• The Expert Variant
• Credits

About This Rulebook

We recommend that you take your time to read this rulebook, then set up the game, and only then start explaining the game to your fellow players. The rules are written as you would explain them to others.

Examples and special cases are written in italics. You can ignore special cases for now; they are only intended to answer specific questions.

We use the word Important to indicate particularly important rules. If in doubt, check these first!

Botanicus includes a base game and an Expert variant. Once you've played the base game a few times, you can consult the Expert Rules sheet for an extra challenge.

Enjoy your garden!

Components

• 1 Game board
• 4 Garden tableaus
• 18 Garden cards
• 12 Final Scoring cards
• 20 Special tasks
• 120 Plants
• 69 Coin tokens
• 16 Flower tiles
• 12 Prize tokens
• 1 Expert Rules sheet
• 4 Flowers (in 4 colors)
• 12 Gardeners (in 4 colors)
• 4 Money Bags (in 4 colors)
• 4 Wheelbarrows (in 4 colors)
• 4 Shovels (in 4 colors)
• 20 Animals (in 4 colors)
• 5 Tuck boxes

After your first game, you can store the components in the respective tuck boxes.

Note: There are more Plants and Coins than you'll need (after all, you can never have too many plants!). If you can't fit all of one component into its box, simply put the rest into another box.

Game Setup

Here we describe the general setup for the base game with 4 players. The following section describes your personal setup. Changes for playing with 2 or 3 players are indicated in italics. Changes for the Expert variant are described in the Expert Rules sheet.

1. Place the game board in the center of the table, with the setup symbol in the upper right corner.

2. Each player takes a Garden tableau and places it in front of them, with the matching symbol in the lower right corner.

3. Each player chooses a color and takes all the wooden pieces of that color.

   • Place your 5 Animals in a general supply next to the game board.
   • Keep your remaining wooden pieces close at hand for now. (More information in Personal Setup.)

4. Sort the 16 Flower tiles by pattern. There are 8 spotted and 8 striped Flower tiles.

   • Make sure all Flower tiles have the light side facing up.
   • Now place the Flower tiles randomly on the matching spaces on the game board (spotted tiles in rows 1 and 2; striped tiles in rows 3 and 4). There should be no tiles left over.

5. Sort the Prize tokens by shape. The round ones are for the upper track on the game board, and the square ones are for the lower track.

   • Sort the Prize tokens into 2 stacks from highest to lowest value (highest on top) and place them next to the space on the right of their respective track.
     • 3-player game: Return the highest value tile of each stack to the tuck box.
     • 2-player game: Return the 2 highest value tiles of each stack to the tuck box.
   • Then take the top Prize token of each stack and place it on the space to its left.

6. Shuffle the 18 Garden cards and place them in a face-down pile next to the game board. You won't need the 12 Final Scoring cards for the base game, so return them to their tuck box.

7. Sort the Plants by level (from I to IV) and place them next to the game board within easy reach of everyone. Note: You can identify a Plant's level by the tile's color and shape. The illustration on the Plant tile has no impact on the game.

8. Place the Coins in a pile next to the game board to form the Bank. Hint: We recommend putting approximately half of the Plants and half of the Coins on either side of the game board, to ensure that everyone can easily reach them.

Personal Setup

1. Shuffle the 20 Special tasks face down, then give 5 at random to each player. Reveal the tasks and place them to the right of your Garden so that there is 1 Special task next to each row. Don't worry about the order of the tasks; you can still change it later (see Getting Ready).

2. Take Coins with a total value of 6 from the Bank.

3. Place your wooden pieces as follows:

   • Place 1 Gardener on the fountain in your garden. That is their starting position.
   • Place your Money Bag on the starting space of the Money track on the game board.
   • Place the Wheelbarrow on the starting space of the Wheelbarrow track.
   • Place the Shovel on the starting space of the Shovel track.
   • Place 1 Gardener on the "0" space on the Victory Points track.
   • You don't need the third Gardener for the base game, so put it back in the tuck box.

4. Place your Action Flower (or "Flower", for short) on the starting space of the Actions area on the game board. Form a stack of all the players' Flowers. The icon in the lower right of your Garden indicates your Flower's position in the stack.

   • 3-player game: Ignore the Flower position of the 1 Garden not in play.
   • 2-player game: Ignore the Flower positions of the 2 Gardens not in play. Then take 1 of the spare Flowers and place it on top of the stack, regardless of the order indicated. See also Turn Order.

Aim of the Game

Botanicus is a competitive game in which you take turns one after another, but not in clockwise order. Your goal is to achieve more Victory Points than your opponents by completing tasks, advancing along the tracks, and cultivating a beautiful garden for final scoring.

Structure of the rulebook: First, we'll explain all the things you can do in your Garden (Your Garden Tableau & Tasks). Next, we'll explain the turn structure (Your Turn and Turn Order & Gameplay), and finally, how to get all the wonderful things you need during the game (Actions).

Your Garden Tableau

Your Garden consists of rows and columns of Flower beds. This is where you grow your Plants.

• Planting actions allow you to place a Plant token onto one of your Flower beds. We'll explain this in more detail later (Planting Actions).
• You can only ever work on the Flower beds around your Gardener. They can only ever reach the Flower beds that are diagonally adjacent. This applies to all actions that involve Plants.
• You can move your Gardener at the start of your turn, or via special actions. Your Gardener moves from one footprint to the next between the Flower beds. More on this in Your Turn and Actions.

Your Gardener is standing on a footprint. This means you can perform Plant related actions on the 4 Flower beds diagonally adjacent to it.

Tasks

The tasks represent the visitors coming to your botanical garden. They have very specific expectations of what they want to see, and they are only happy if you fulfill their wishes. But if you do, they'll shower you with praise (and with Victory Points).

Each task shows the combination and number of specific Plants required to complete that task. Each task is assigned to a row of Flower Beds. To complete a task, that row must contain exactly the Plants shown. The position of the Plants within the row doesn't matter.

As soon as the requirements are met, you immediately score the Victory Points depicted. You can only complete each task once.

Every row of Flower beds is assigned 1 Basic task and 1 Special task. For each row, you first have to complete the Basic task shown on your Garden tableau. As soon as you do, cover it with the Special task next to it. From now on, that Special task is considered active and can be completed.

You can complete your active tasks in any order. You can choose yourself which Special task is assigned to which row at the start of the game (Getting Ready). When you complete a Special task, flip it over. Well done! Your work is done here. Now you can jump to another task!

Special case: Sometimes, you will complete a task in between actions. In that case, first resolve the task before proceeding with the remaining actions. It is possible to complete multiple tasks during a single turn this way.

Example: You place a level II Plant. This completes the Basic task in this row. Score 7 Victory Points and cover the task with the Special task next to it. On a later turn, you place a level III Plant in this row, completing the Special task. Score the 15 Victory Points and flip it over.

Your Turn

So how do you go about planting, watering, and all the other great stuff? Your turn always consists of 2 phases. There is a short overview of these phases on the upper left corner of your Garden.

1. Move your Gardener and / or play 1 Garden card (in either order)

At the start of your turn, you can move your Gardener in your Garden. Your Gardener always moves from one footprint to the next. They can only move along the paths, not diagonally. (No hopping over the Flower beds!) You can move your Gardener any number of spaces, but each step costs 1 Coin. If you have no Coins, you can't move your Gardener.

You can also play exactly 1 Garden card from your hand. When doing so, you always have 2 options:

• If you want to use the card's action (in the center of the card), you have to pay 2 Coins. Then you immediately perform the action.
• Instead, you can choose to "sell" the card. In that case, you do not perform the action and instead gain 3 Coins.

After you play a Garden card, place it face up on a discard pile.

You can perform the Move and Play a Garden card actions in either order. You can also perform only one action, or neither. However, you must always complete one action before starting the other.

Then move on to Phase 2.

2. Place your Flower and perform the depicted action

You must always place your Flower on a Flower space in the next column. Then you immediately perform the depicted action (more on that in Actions).

Every second row has Flower tiles on the Flower spaces. When you place your Flower there, perform both the action on the tile (which your Flower is covering) and the action depicted next to it. You can choose the order in which to perform the actions. Note: The Flower tile stays in place. You simply place your Flower on top of it.

If a Flower space already contains one or more Flowers, you can still place your Flower there and perform the action depicted next to it. However, you must pay 3 Coins into the bank per Flower already in that space. Then place your Flower on top of the Flower(s) already there. (There is a reminder on the left side of the game board.)

Important: When you place your Flower onto an occupied space in a column with Flower tiles, you only perform the action that is next to the tile. Only the first player to place their Flower on a tile gets to perform the action that is on the tile.

Turn Order

When is it your turn? In Botanicus, you don't take your turns in clockwise order. The order of play is determined by the order of your Flowers on the game board. Whichever Flower is at the top of the last played column indicates which player's turn it is. We call this the "at-the-top rule".

What does "at the top" mean? The position of the Flower space and the order the Flowers are stacked determines whose turn it is.

1. Position of the Flower spaces. Each column has 4 Flower spaces. The player whose Flower is in the topmost Flower space takes their turn next. Only consider the column for which all players have already taken a turn. The next player to take their turn is the one whose Flower is now in the topmost Flower space, and so on.

2. Order within the stack. It is possible for more than one Flower to be stacked on top of each other (like at the start of the game). The turn order among these players is determined by whose Flower is higher up in the stack.

Important: The turn order is determined by the position of the Flower space first, and only then by the order they are stacked.

Proceed like this until everyone has taken one turn, i.e. until all Flowers are in the next column. Only then do you begin again with the player whose Flower is at the top. Note: This can lead to a player taking two turns in a row.

Changes for 2 players

In a 2-player game, you play with an additional Flower. It is neutral and always occupies 1 Flower space. The player who is first to take their turn starts by placing the neutral Flower on a Flower space of their choice. Then they take their own turn. You treat the space with the neutral Flower as occupied, as if there were a third player.

Gameplay

A game of Botanicus has 3 stages. There is a reminder in the bottom left of the game board.

1. Getting Ready and Round One

First, assign the 5 Special tasks you received during game setup to your Basic tasks. Place the Special tasks next to your Garden so that each Special task is clearly matched with 1 Basic task. Reminder: You can only complete a Special task once you have completed the Basic task for that row. Try looking for similarities when assigning your Special tasks. Note: Some tasks require 4 Plants in a single row. That won't be possible in some rows.

Then you begin Round One by taking your turns as described above. Once all your Flowers have reached the final column, Round One ends. Then stack all the Flowers (maintaining their current order) and return them to the starting space.

2. Round Two

Before you start Round Two, flip over all the Flower tiles. All the tiles stay in the same place but now the dark side is facing up. This changes the actions available. Then continue playing as in Round One, until all Flowers have reached the final column again. After Round Two, just like after Round One, return all flowers to the starting space, again maintaining their current order.

3. Last action and final scoring

Now all players (in order) take 1 final turn, taking 1 action on 1 of the 3 tracks. Important: This is a normal turn. You can still start your turn by moving your Gardener and/or playing 1 Garden card. You can also spend Coins to move more than 1 step on the track.

Now you've reached the end of the game and it's time for final scoring. Starting with the player with the fewest Victory Points, each player scores the columns of their Garden.

You score points for each column that is completely filled with Plants. Only count columns in which every Flower bed contains a Plant. In those columns, look for the highest level Plant and score it. Your Garden tableau will tell you how many points you score for it. You only score each column once, no matter how many Plants of the highest level you have there. Example: A column filled entirely with level III plants scores the same amount as a column with 1 level III Plant and the rest at level I.

Finally, score 1 Victory Point for every 3 Coins you have.

After final scoring, whoever has the most Victory Points is the winner. In the case of a tie, victory is awarded to the player whose Flower is higher up in the stack (or whoever is first to name 4 plants by their Latin name). Congratulations!

Actions

Many actions in this game will allow you to perform more actions. We call that "gaining actions". When you gain more than 1 action, you can choose in which order to resolve them. You must completely resolve one action before beginning the next. You can always forfeit actions, i.e. take less or take nothing. Special case: Instead of 2 of an action, you can choose to take only 1. You cannot, however, mix and take 1 of one action and 1 of another.

Tracks

The game board has 3 tracks: Money, Wheelbarrow, and Shovel. Those are the main actions. These symbols always have a number on them. When you gain one of these actions, the number indicates how many steps (maximum) you can take along the track shown.

• You always move your piece to the right along the track indicated. Sometimes you can choose between different paths, but you can never move backward.
• You always gain all the actions of the space where you end your movement, never those on the spaces in between. It doesn't matter whether the space is also occupied by another player's piece.
• If the space shows more than 1 action, you can choose the order in which you resolve them.
• You must always move your piece at least 1 space in order to gain an action.

The Shovel track contains some paths that cost Coins. To use these tracks, you have to pay the cost. If you can't, then you cannot move there.

If you want to move further than indicated by the action, you can buy additional steps. Each additional step will cost you 3 Coins. A reminder is printed on the game board. Note: Costs printed on the paths obviously still apply in addition to the cost for additional steps.

You can also move fewer steps than indicated. For each step "wasted" like this, you immediately score 1 Victory Point.

If you reach the last space of a track, you have to stop there. You still score 1 Victory Point per "wasted" step, as usual. After gaining the actions depicted on the space (i.e. after finishing your action), move your piece back to the starting space of the respective track. The next time you move along this track, you'll be starting from the beginning again. Note: The last space of the Money and Shovel tracks give you a Prize token as a reward (see Victory Points and Prize Tokens).

Now we'll explain each action in detail.

Coins

You gain that amount of Coins. Add them to your personal supply. Where a negative amount is shown, you have to pay that amount of Coins. Coins are always gained from and paid into the bank. The values on the Coin tokens show how many Coins that token is worth.

Planting actions

There are 4 levels of Plant: I, II, III, and IV.

• Level I Plants are plant seeds.
• Level II Plants are seedlings.
• Level III Plants are maturing plants.
• Level IV Plants are in full bloom.

You take the Plant depicted and immediately place it on one of the Flower beds in your Garden. Reminder: You can only plant them in Flower beds within range of your Gardener (Your Garden Tableau).

• You cannot move or remove Plants once you've planted them.
• You can still Water them (see below) or replace them with other Plants.

Special case: If there are no Plants of the depicted level available, take a different Plant and rotate it by 90 degrees. As soon as the level of Plant you need becomes available again, you can substitute it in.

Watering actions

You water 1 Plant of your choice, limited to those within range of your Gardener, as usual. Return the Plant token to the general supply and replace it with a Plant of the next level up. The Plant stays in the same Flower bed.

If you gain multiple Watering actions, you can split them between multiple Plants, or water the same Plant more than once. You cannot water level IV Plants.

Moving your Gardener

This action allows you to move your Gardener for free. You can move them by as many spaces as indicated in the lower left corner. This movement costs no Coins. Reminder: Normally (in the base game), moving your Gardener costs 1 Coin per step (see Your Turn).

You can also move your Gardener fewer spaces, but you do not get a reward for wasted movements.

Important: You can never take other actions in the middle of movement. The Gardener's move action must be completely resolved before you start your next action.

Drawing a Garden card

You gain 1 Garden card. Draw the top card of the pile and put it in your hand without revealing it to the other players. There is no maximum hand size. Reminder: You can only play 1 Garden card at the start of your turn (see Your Turn). This means you can never play a Garden card on the same turn you draw it.

Special case: If you cannot draw a Garden card because the pile is empty, shuffle the discard pile to form a new draw pile.

Animals

This action allows you to pick 1 Animal of your color from the supply and place it in your Garden. In the base game, it doesn't matter which Animal you pick. Place it on the first empty points space on your Garden tableau and immediately score the Points you covered. Score 3 Points for the first Animal, 6 Points for the second, 10 for the third, etc.

Victory Points and Prize Tokens

You immediately score the number of Victory Points depicted. Advance your Gardener by that many spaces on the Victory Points track. If you reach 100 Points, tip your Gardener on to its side and simply keep counting from there.

When you reach the end of a track, score the Victory Points depicted on the Prize token and place the token itself in front of you. It is now no longer available for other players to claim. Then put the next Prize token on that stack in its place. You can receive multiple Prize tokens from the same track. Once the stack is empty, you can no longer receive Prize tokens from that track.

Pole Position

If you're the first player to place your Flower on this space, you gain 3 Coins. As usual, if the space is already occupied, you can still place your Flower here, but you don't get the 3 Coins. The action next to it means you never have to pay to place your Flower here, regardless of whether there are already any Flowers in this space.

Hint: You can use this space if you're out of Coins and can't (or don't want to) perform any of the other actions, or if you want to increase your chance of going first in the next column.

The Expert Variant

Botanicus includes an Expert variant for players who want a greater challenge. We recommend playing it only after you and the other players have already played a few games of the base game. The Expert Rules sheet explains only the changes from the base game; all rules not explicitly mentioned there remain in effect. Among the changes, the Expert variant introduces individual, unique Gardens (each player can choose one or distribute them randomly), 3 possible starting positions for your Gardener (chosen randomly, and a 2nd Gardener is kept ready beside your tableau), Animals placed directly on marked beds in your Garden rather than in a general supply, the shuffled Garden card deck used as a face-down pile, new action types, and the 12 Final Scoring cards.

Credits

Designers: Vieri Masseini & Samuele Tabellini. Artwork: Marcel Gröber. Graphics: Franz-Georg Stämmele & Hans im Glück. Translation & copy editing: Translation Circus (Richi Anna Haarhoff, Harriet Cooper).

© 2024 Hans im Glück Verlags-GmbH, Birnauer Str. 15 / 80809 München, Germany.