Carl von Linné
Carl von Linné Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Note on the Yellow Boxes
These yellow boxes contain thematic background throughout the rulebook. Feel free to skip over these boxes when you're first learning to play the game. You won't miss any rules.
Those paragraphs explain the history and science behind the game's mechanisms. They give context and immersion in the natural historian's research.
The whole Appendix section expands upon the game's historical context. Delve deeper into the stories of Linné's followers, and learn about the unknown species discovered and books written. Explore this fascinating historical period yourself!
Game Resources
Containers represent all kinds of boxes, flasks, or bags to carry a sample from the wilderness to your library.
Tools represent any kind of measuring or preserving tool, notebooks, and so on, needed to research the samples.
Coins are used to travel, to perform free actions, or to boost certain actions. Having wealth was always beneficial, and almost necessary for scientific endeavors and progress!
Mounting the Player Board
Before you start playing, assemble the player boards. Place the provided stickers on all indicated spots. Then fold the player boards and apply pressure to fix everything in place.
Player Setup
- Place a player board in front of you.
- Place a character board to the left of your player board with "S" in bottom-right corner. (For an advanced game, see the Advanced Game section.) Note: For the base game, it does not matter which character board you choose.
- Prepare all player components of your chosen color: speech tokens, turn order token, player markers, score token, ship tokens, researcher token, and flower tiles. Place your player markers above your character board (or somewhere nearby).
- Place a player marker on the top space of your character board's taxonomy track.
- Divide your flower tiles into three piles according to the number of blooms on their light front side, and place them on your player board (4×1 bloom, 4×2 blooms, 4×3 blooms).
- Place your turn order token on the microscope.
- Place the wild lens on your work table's crate space.
- Place your remaining basic lenses on the bottom of your player board.
- Place your researcher token in the center of the library on the right side of your player board.
- Take a random starting book card and place it to the left of your character board in the area for unwritten books. Take the starting sample tile which matches the number in the book card's bottom-right corner.
- Place your starting sample tile on one of the positions marked on the left side of the sample (dark squares represent possible spaces in your library). Return the remaining starting book cards and starting sample tiles to the box.
- Take a random starting voyage card and place it to the right of your player board.
- Place your ship tokens above the starting voyage card.
- Place one of your ship tokens on the harbor space (the ship symbol) of the starting voyage card.
- Gain 1 container, 1 tool, and 1 coin as starting resources.
This game takes quite a lot of space on the table. In order to make everything tidy, follow these tips:
- Store your book cards in a vertical column to the left of your character board.
- Store your container, tool, and coin tokens on your character board.
- Place your sent letter cards above your player board.
- Place your fully researched sample tiles above your player board. Sort them by color.
Game Setup
- Place the game board in the center of the play area.
- Place your score tokens on the points track. You begin with 0 points.
- Shuffle the exotic sample tiles and make a stack at the top-left corner of the game board. Draw 3 random tiles and place them face-up next to the stack to form the display.
- Place the wooden rudder in the circular cutout on the lower-left corner of the map. Align the rudder's sections with the board's colored wedges. Put the wooden rudder center through it, securing it to the game board. The starting alignment is random.
- Shuffle the voyage cards and place a face-down deck to the left of the game board. Draw 3 voyage cards and place them face-up next to the deck to form the display.
- Shuffle all 45 sample tiles and place them in one or more face-down decks along the bottom of the game board. The decks can have any number of tiles.
- Draw a random sample tile and place it face-up on each of the map's eight location spaces.
- Shuffle all 36 sketch tiles and form three decks. Place them face-down in the three slots at the top of the map. The decks can have any number of tiles.
- Draw a random sketch tile and place it face-up on each of the four sketch spaces on the map.
- Place your explorer tokens on the map's rightmost location. (The starting space represents the city of Lund.)
- Take one random garden reward tile for each of these shapes (shown on the left side of the tile): T-shape, square shape, L-shape. Place them in the spaces to the left of the garden.
- Shuffle the turn order tiles and make a stack on the rectangular space at the bottom of the game board.
- Place four random upgraded lenses face-up on the four circular spaces at the bottom of the game board. Place the remaining lenses face-down under the game board to form a supply.
- Place a random garden pond tile face-up in the top part of all three ponds to the right of the garden. Return the remaining garden pond tiles to the box.
When this step is complete, return the topmost turn order tile to the box so there are four turn order tokens left in the stack on the board.
Two- or Three-Player Game
In a two- or three-player game, randomly select a setup card. The number in the card's top-left corner indicates which side to use, based on the number of players. Perform the following:
I. Take one set of unused player markers. Place the markers on the top or the bottom spaces of the location according to the arrow's direction). Place one player marker per each of the arrows. For example, Uppsala's two up arrows mean the top two spaces will be occupied.
II. Take the same unused color's flower tiles. Place a random flower tile on each indicated square in the garden scheme. If the square is light, place the flower tile light side-up. If it is dark, place it dark side-up.
Core Concepts
Rounds & Turns
This game is played over 5 rounds, which are split into the action phase and the income phase. During the action phase, players take turns performing an action. When your action is complete, the next player performs their action. The income phase begins after everyone has performed three actions.
Note: Perform one action, then pass to the next player. No one performs two actions in a row during the action phase.
The player with the most victory points at the end of the game wins. The game also has an optional advanced version (see the Advanced Game section).
Lenses & the Work Table
The core of Carl von Linné lies in the use of lenses on your work table. Each player begins with 6 basic lens tokens. During the game, you may gain upgraded lenses with improved effects. Each token's icon depicts an action.
At the start of your turn, select an available lens from the bottom of the work table. Place it on one of the instruments on your work table without a lens token.
Your work table has three instruments, plus a crate space. The instrument you use determines the number of times you perform the lens token's action. Each instrument also gives a bonus when used. The lens token remains on the instrument until the income phase.
- Glasses: Perform the action once. As a bonus, advance three spaces on the taxonomy track.
- Magnifier: Perform the action twice. As a bonus, gain either a tool token or a container token from the supply.
- Microscope: Perform the action three times. As a bonus, place your turn order token on an open space on the next turn order tile. Gain any bonus granted by that space.
Each instrument can be used only once per round. You can't use a lens which is locked in the crate (see the Income Phase section).
The effects of upgraded lenses can be found in the overview guide.
Taxonomy
During the game, players move their marker around the taxonomy track on their character board. Movement is always clockwise. When your taxonomy marker lands on or passes the top space of the taxonomy track, you gain a new lens. Always move your marker the full number of spaces.
Gaining a new lens: Take an upgraded lens token from the display on the bottom-middle of the game board. Place it in your pool of unused lenses (at the bottom of your work table). You may use it on your next turn. Then, draw a new lens from the supply to refill the display. The upgraded lenses are described in the Upgraded Lenses section.
Refreshing the display: You can refresh the display any time during your turn for 1 coin. First, draw 4 new lenses from the supply. Next, return the lenses currently in the display back to the supply and shuffle. You may refresh the display any number of times. Each refresh costs 1 coin.
University Lectures
During game setup, a scoring tile was placed on each of the three university tracks. This tile determines the end-game scoring for that particular track. During the game, you can give lectures and advance your speech token along these tracks. Each university track has its own color corresponding to a key idea of Linné's day. When you give a lecture, move your speech token along the university track of the matching color. For example, if you give three green lectures, move your speech token three spaces forward on the green university track.
When your speech token reaches a bonus space, you immediately gain the bonus depicted at the top of the track. If it passes a multiplier, you'll gain bonus points at the end of the game for the corresponding scoring tile.
Tricolor lectures: Some lecture rewards are tricolored. You may choose on which track to advance, or you may split the movement across different tracks.
The player who reaches the final space of a track first places their speech token on the space below the 4× multiplier for end-game scoring. No other player may enter that space afterward.
In 18th-century scientific circles, scholars debated key ideas that shaped modern biology. These are represented by the colored university tracks.
Binomial nomenclature, refined by Linné, offered a stable two-part naming system that brought order to the expanding catalog of species.
At the same time, many naturalists defended the fixity of species. They argued that organisms were created immutable—a view increasingly challenged by new discoveries.
Systematic observation emerged as a vital method of scientific progress. By recording natural phenomena with precision, using standardized tools, and making repeated observations, naturalists moved beyond speculation toward a more empirical understanding of the natural world.
Player Order
Players take turns based on the position of their markers above the turn order tile in the bottom-middle of the game board. Play proceeds from left to right on the row. The markers stay there for the whole round.
After using your microscope, place your turn order token on any open space on the turn order tile. You immediately gain that space's reward (if any). This also determines when you will take your turn in the next round.
At the end of each round, the sequence on the turn order tile will determine player order for the next round (see the Income Phase section).
Action Phase
The action phase is the part of a round during which players take their turns. Once each player has taken all three of their turns—placing a lens on each of their instruments—proceed to the income phase.
You have three actions each action phase, represented by your work table's instruments. To take an action, place one of your lenses on the instrument you wish to use. Gain an instrument's covered reward. The multiplier on the instrument determines how many times you perform the action. Once you've resolved a lens's action, you may publish one book card. After that, check if you have fulfilled an achievement, then your turn is over. The next player then performs their action, and so on taking turns until all players have performed three actions.
Each turn has three steps:
- Action
- Publish
- Achievements
1. Action Step
Explore
In 1732, Carl von Linné undertook his famous journey to Lapland to document its flora, fauna, geology, and the Sámi culture. He hoped to classify Sweden's natural wealth and encourage its economic use. Traveling over 4,600 kilometers—largely on foot—he collected hundreds of species and produced vivid field notes that shaped later botanical works. Similar exploratory journeys were made by other natural scientists of the era. Alexander von Humboldt's expeditions to Central and South America and Joseph Banks's voyage with Captain Cook were driven by Enlightenment ideals. Their goal was to catalog nature and expand scientific knowledge through direct observation and travel.
Note: The map is adjusted slightly for this game. It isn't geographically perfect, but the map does represent real places Linné visited during his expedition.
During this action, your explorer token ventures into the interior of Scandinavia to gather new library sample tiles, draw sketches, and obtain resources and knowledge from local inhabitants. One Explore action consists of one movement (optional) and one investigation.
Move: Move your explorer to an adjacent location. You may move in any direction along your starting location's paths. Multiple players may occupy the same location.
Some paths are difficult terrain, and require payment to cross. You must pay the path's cost before moving your explorer.
When you stop for the first time on a location with a sample tile, immediately take one of your player markers and place it on a free space to the left of the sample tile. You immediately gain the one-time reward covered. You may place your marker on each location only once, even if you return there later.
-
Investigate location with a sample tile:
- Gain the reward beside the location's name OR
- Pay the depicted number of containers to acquire the location's sample tile.
Whenever you gain a new sample tile, place it in your library. You may place the sample tile on any empty space in your library, and in any orientation. After a sample tile is placed, you can't change its orientation. If the new sample tile's corner touches your researcher and that corner shows a reward, immediately gain that reward. Place a player marker on that corner to show you've already gained it.
If your library already contains four sample tiles, you can't take another!
At the end of your turn, draw a new sample tile and place it on each empty location. If no sample tiles remain, the location remains empty.
Location reward: This icon means you can gain a reward from any location with sample tile you have already visited. Explore the map so you have more options from which to choose! This doesn't let you gain a location's one-time reward.
-
Investigate location with a sketch tile: When you investigate a sketch location, you gain a sketch. You also gain that location's reward. If there is any player's explorer (including yours), draw a random sketch tile from the supply. Sketch locations are not marked with the player markers.
If you gain a sketch, place it above your player board and keep it for the rest of the game. You do not receive its reward immediately; you need this symbol to trigger it. You may trigger any sketch you have above your board. Sketches are important because they allow you to repeatedly trigger their reward. The more sketches you have, the more chances you have to gain various bonuses.
Scientific illustration in the 18th century relied on precise, hand-drawn images that captured the structure, color, and texture of plants and animals. Naturalists often sketched while in the field, drawing specimens directly before they wilted, changed color, or escaped. Back in the study, these quick sketches were refined into the detailed plates printed in scientific publications. The combination of immediate observation and careful studio finishing allowed illustrators to preserve subtle features essential for identification and classification.
Remember, movement is optional. If you want to stay on a location and investigate it again, feel free! You can perform the explore action multiple times to gain your location's rewards. However, sample tiles and sketches are only refilled at the end of your turn. If there is an explorer token on the sketch location, do not refill the sketch there.
Research
Naturalists of the 18th century studied their collected samples with patience and meticulous care. Back in their workspaces, they examined plants and animals using magnifying glasses, simple microscopes, and detailed sketches to document structure and form. Specimens were pressed, dried, dissected, or preserved in alcohol so they could be compared over time. Careful notes were taken on color, texture, habitat, and behavior, allowing scientists to sort, classify, and describe their findings. This deliberate, hands-on study transformed raw field collections into lasting scientific knowledge.
Back home, you must research the sample tiles you brought back from your journeys through Scandinavia. During this action, move your researcher token one space in any direction within your library. As they move between sample tiles, you'll gain various rewards. The bonus depends on where your researcher moves:
-
Globes: Each globe on the library's edge depicts a reward. When your researcher moves onto a new space, gain that globe's reward. The globe bonuses can be gained each time your researcher enters their space.
-
Sample tiles: If your researcher is next to a sample tile, gain the adjacent corner's reward, if any. Then, put a player marker on that corner. Once covered, that part of the sample tile is considered researched. You can only gain a sample tile's rewards once. Sample tiles offer two types of rewards:
- Bonus: Gain the depicted reward.
- Knowledge: These eight-sided symbols match those in your notebook below the library. Place a player marker on the matching biological category.
You may take the rewards in any order, but resolve each step separately so you don't forget to take the globe reward and all the sample tile rewards!
Knowledge gained from sample tiles may later be used in the publish step (see the Publish Step section).
Note that each realm (vertebrate, plant, and invertebrate) contains three phyla, and each phylum corresponds to one type of insight. You can have up to 2 knowledge of a phylum at any given time. If you would gain additional knowledge, instead gain 2 points. With clever planning, researching once can earn multiple rewards and increase the efficiency of your researcher's movement.
Knowledge
Each sample tile collected during your travels through Scandinavia provides knowledge when researched in your library. Once you have gained all of a sample tile's rewards and knowledge, the sample is considered fully researched.
Immediately remove the sample from your library and return the player markers to your supply. Place the sample above your player board. At the end of the game, each researched sample grants points. Removing it also frees space for new samples.
Collecting and researching samples is your primary way to gain knowledge about the organisms of Scandinavia. Knowledge is then used to write books about your discoveries (see the Publish Step section).
Linné originally grouped living organisms into broad categories that reflected the scientific understanding of his time. Taxonomy has evolved since then, but his simple three-part structure remains useful today. In this game, organisms are sorted into vertebrates, plants, and invertebrates—a practical division that echoes early natural history. Vertebrates cover animals with backbones, from fish to mammals. Plants represent the botanical world Linné studied so extensively. Invertebrates include the vast diversity of creatures without internal skeletons. While modern taxonomy is far more complex, Linné's categories capture the spirit of early classification and keep gameplay clear.
Each sample belongs to one of the three realms. Three symbols in each realm represent knowledge about anatomy, behavior, environment, and so on.
- Vertebrates: anatomy, behavior, environment
- Plants: structure, growth, soil
- Invertebrates: morphology, development, nutrition
Correspond
18th-century naturalists actively corresponded to share discoveries, seek advice, and verify observations. Letters carried descriptions of new species, sketches, preserved samples, and requests for expertise across Europe's scientific world. This game represents correspondence by communication with four key institutions: Uppsala Universitet, Académie des Sciences in Paris, Oxford University, and the Royal Society of London. Through these connections, researchers compared findings, refined classifications, and built a collaborative foundation that greatly accelerated the progress of natural science.
During this action, you correspond with fellow scientists across Europe. The deeper your conversation, the wider your options. The wider the discussion, the more fame you earn!
When you correspond do one of the following:
-
Write a letter: Take a letter card from the display and gain the reward in the arch above it. The display is refilled at the end of your turn. Keep your written letters in your hand, or near your player board. They can't be placed above your player board until they are sent.
-
Send letters: Send up to two of your written letters. Place them above your player board, and gain the depicted reward(s).
Sent letters are stored in columns above your player board. Each column may contain up to three letters of the same color. You may have any number of columns.
When you send a letter, gain the reward depicted on that letter and those depicted on that column's prior letters. If you add two letters to an already sent letter, resolve the cards one by one. For the first added card, you gain rewards from the first and second cards. For the second added card, you gain rewards from all three cards. Set aside completed columns until the end of the game.
Some letters require paying a resource in order to gain their reward. If you can't pay, you only gain rewards from the column's other cards.
You may refresh the letter display for 1 coin. Place all current cards on the bottom of the deck in any order. Then, draw three letter cards from the deck to form the new display. You may refresh the letter display any number of times during your turn paying 1 coin each time.
At the end of your turn, refill the letter display.
Institution icons: Uppsala Universitet, Académie des Sciences, Oxford University, Royal Society.
Grow
Linné devoted significant effort to plant cultivation and experimental gardening, using his plots at Uppsala Universitet as living laboratories. He grew species collected from his travels and by colleagues to test how soil, climate, and breeding affected their growth. He observed flowering times, hybridization, and environmental adaptations to gather evidence for his theories on plant reproduction and classification. These hands-on experiments helped Linné refine botanical categories. His work demonstrated how observation in a controlled garden could deepen understanding of the natural world.
In the botanical garden you study the life cycles of various plants. By doing so, you deepen your understanding of species from the plant kingdom. The garden is shared by all players and is divided into multiple flower beds.
Flower beds are divided by paths and have different shapes. Each flower bed contains flower spaces. T-shaped flower beds have 6 garden spaces, square flower beds have 4 garden spaces and L-shaped flower beds have 3 garden spaces. Players gain rewards based on the flower tiles they contributed to a completed flower bed. You begin the game with 12 tiles. A tile depicts 1, 2, 3, or 4 blooms. Your contributions are measured by the number of blooms you grew in a completed flower bed.
When you grow, do one of the following:
-
Plant: Choose one of your flower tiles and place it on any empty flower space in the botanical garden light side-up. Gain the garden space's depicted reward (if any).
-
Cultivate: Pay 2 tools to cultivate one of your planted flowers, increasing its blooms. Flip the tile over to the dark side. Gain the pond tile's reward and sketch tile (see below). You may cultivate flowers in both uncompleted and completed flower beds.
Completed flower beds: When all of a flower bed's spaces have a tile, that flower bed is completed. Each player immediately gains a reward depicted by the garden reward tiles to the left of the botanical garden. Use the reward tile which matches the completed flower bed's shape.
Each player with at least 1 flower tile in the completed flower bed gains the reward in the upper part of the garden reward tile. Then the player who contributed the most blooms gains the highest points. The second-most gains the second highest points, and so on.
In case of a tie, divide that position's points evenly between each tied player, rounding down.
Ponds: The botanical garden is watered by three pond tiles. Each pond waters a horizontal row of 12 spaces across multiple flower beds.
When you cultivate, you gain the reward from the pond on that flower's row. Immediately gain the reward depicted on the pond tile and take the sketch tile. You may do this in any order.
You may refresh the botanical garden's sketch display for 1 coin. First, draw 3 new sketches from the supply. Next, return the sketches currently in the display back to the supply and shuffle. You may refresh any number of times during your turn, paying 1 coin each time. At the end of your turn, refill the pond sketch display.
A row in the garden consists of all 12 spaces across all flower beds that lie horizontally in line with the sketch and pond reward of that row. The entire garden is divided into three such rows, each one corresponding with one sketch tile and one garden pond tile at the right end of the row.
Note that some flower beds span across multiple rows; however, players always take sketches and pond rewards only from the row in which the cultivated flower is located.
Linné demonstrated his sexual system directly in his gardens, arranging plants by the number and form of their stamens and pistils so followers could see his classification come to life. He used flower beds as visual diagrams, guiding visitors from species with a single stamen to those with complex reproductive structures. Linné encouraged close-up examination to show how plant reproduction demonstrated orderly principles in nature. This hands-on display made his sexual system immediately understandable and turned Linné's garden into a living textbook of botanical anatomy.
Sail
Linné's students and colleagues set out on ambitious transcontinental expeditions to discover and document unknown species. Traveling to Asia, Africa, the Americas, and the Oceania, they faced treacherous seas, extreme climates, unfamiliar diseases, and the constant threat of shipwreck or starvation. Despite these dangers, they collected plants, animals, and minerals, carefully preserving and sending them back to Sweden. Their work refined the Linnaean system with specimens from distant ecosystems.
When you sail, your followers journey overseas to gain new experiences and collect exotic sample tiles.
A follower's journey is tracked by moving your ship token along a voyage card's route. Each time you sail, move one of your ships one space along the card's route. Gain the space's depicted reward(s).
If your ship moves multiple spaces, you gain rewards from each space.
Voyage cards: You begin the game with a starting voyage card, and may gain more voyage cards during play. When you gain a voyage card, immediately place a ship token on the card's harbor space (the ship symbol). You may have any number of voyage cards. If you run out of ships, use a player marker to track that voyage.
Some voyage spaces have a colored rim. You might gain a colored space's reward multiple times! Check the rudder wheel on the bottom-left of the game board. The rudder wheel's sections correspond to the colored arcs under the wheel. Each wheel section has one, two, or three dots. When your ship moves on a colored space, gain that space's reward as many times as the number of dots of that color section on the rudder wheel.
If you have multiple voyage cards, you may use each sail action to move a different ship.
Exotic sample tiles: Voyage cards can reward you with an exotic sample tile. These tiles have their own display to the game board's top-left. When you gain an exotic sample tile, take one from the display and place it above the voyage card that provided it. You immediately gain the sample tile's knowledge. At the end of the game, you may score additional points from your exotic sample tiles (see the Tiles Explanation section).
You may refresh the exotic sample tiles display for 1 coin at any time during your turn (even between moving your ship and gaining the tile). Remove all tiles from the display and put them on the bottom of the deck. Draw three new tiles. You may refresh any number of times during your turn, paying 1 coin each time.
Refill the exotic sample tiles display to three tiles at the end of your turn.
When your ship moves to the card's destination, your follower has completed their voyage. You immediately gain the destination's bonus. If you place a published book beneath the voyage card, you gain the destination's reward during the income phase (see the Income Phase section). The ship token stays on its final destination as a reminder that this voyage card was completed.
The apostles of Linné helped spread his ideas far beyond his own publications. As they traveled, taught, and conducted research, they shared lecture notes, herbarium samples, and manuscript excerpts. Their journeys carried his methods to universities and scientific societies across Europe. Through their efforts, Linné's revolutionary ideas—classification principles and botanical insights—inspired many emerging naturalists.
Wild Lens
The wild lens counts as any basic action of your choice. You must spend 1 coin to use it. Just like other lenses, place the wild lens on your work table and perform your chosen action the corresponding number of times. When you play a wild lens, you can't mix and match actions. For example, if you place the wild lens on your microscope, you could explore three times, but you couldn't explore once and then sail twice.
You may never discard the wild lens during the income phase (see the Income Phase section). Keep it on your player board.
The wild lens is locked in the crate space during your first round. It will join your available lenses during the first income phase. Then, the lens you played on the microscope is locked in the crate.
Upgraded Lenses
When you play an upgraded lens, perform its action and also gain the depicted reward or use the ability (some upgraded lens tokens have abilities and some provide you with rewards). Do so in any order. Each of the 25 upgraded lenses has a unique ability, which enhances its action or adds a new reward. You may gain the reward only once during the action, regardless of the instrument used (1×, 2×, 3×). The action is multiplied as usual.
The overview guide lists all of the upgraded lenses' special icons.
Note: When using the wild lens, you may trigger only basic actions. You can't copy an upgraded lens!
In the time of Carl von Linné, naturalists commonly used simple glass magnifying lenses and early microscopes to study plants, insects, and other small specimens. These instruments were usually made with hand-ground glass lenses mounted in brass or wooden frames. While they were much less powerful than modern microscopes, they allowed scientists to observe fine details—such as the structure of flowers or tiny insect parts—which were essential for classifying living organisms.
Free Actions
You can use free actions at any time during your turn. Each can be used any number of times, as long as you can pay the associated costs. Free actions can't be used during another player's turn, or during the income phase.
Purchase: Pay coins for any of the following:
- 6 coins → Perform any basic action once. Purchasing this free action does not use your lenses or your work table's instruments.
- 3 coins → Gain 1 container or 1 tool.
- 2 coins → Transfer a player marker from one type of knowledge to another. You don't gain new knowledge.
- 1 coin → Choose a display, and pay 1 coin. Discard that display's components. Fill the display with new components from the appropriate deck or supply. If necessary, shuffle discarded components to replace an empty deck or supply.
Sell: Discard 1 container or 1 tool. Gain 1 coin.
Recruit: Pay 1 container and 3 coins. Gain any voyage card from the display. You may have any number of voyage cards. Remember to place a ship token on the card's harbor.
Brainstorm: Pay 1 tool. Gain any book card from the display and place it to the left of your character board. You may have any number of book cards.
2. Publish Step
After completing the action step, you may publish one book card. You can gain a book card from the display by paying 1 tool. Gaining a book is a free action (see the Free Actions section). If you choose not to publish, immediately proceed to the achievements step.
To publish a book, pay the requirements in the card's left colored bar (you don't pay the tool token!). Publishing a book requires one or both of the following resources:
-
Knowledge: Your notebook must have all the depicted knowledge. Remove the corresponding player markers, returning them to your supply. Knowledge symbols with a question mark can be paid using any knowledge of that realm.
-
Sketches: Pay this requirement with any sketch. If your sketch tile's color matches the book's requirement, place it face-up on the published book. If it doesn't match, place the sketch face-down.
After you publish a book, you immediately gain the right dark bar's points and rewards.
Published sketches: A published sketch remains on the book card for the rest of the game. It can't be swapped or spent later. It also can't be activated anymore.
If you published the tile face-up, immediately gain the tile's depicted reward. If you published it face-down, you gain no reward.
Appendices: When you publish a book, you may pay an additional resource to write its appendix. The appendix is a light brown insert on the right-hand side of the book card. You can only choose to write an appendix when publishing the book—you can't add an appendix later.
This appendix symbol lets you pay one of your sketch tiles face-down on the published book without activating its effect.
If you gain a reward during publishing (from the sketch or the right bar), you may use it to pay for the appendix when publishing a book.
If you pay for the appendix, gain the bonus points depicted on the card. An appendix never affects a published book's income.
Starting book cards do not have an appendix.
Move published books to the right of your player board. Each published book can be paired with one voyage card (either complete or incomplete). Once the book is published, it is permanently associated with that voyage card! Only one book may be associated with each voyage card. If you publish a book and don't have an open voyage card, attach it to the next voyage card you gain. A pair of a completed voyage card and a published book provides benefits during the income phase.
Note: A published book card can be associated with a complete or incomplete voyage card, but only a pair of a completed voyage card and a published book will give you a reward during the income phase.
Books in Linné's time were valuable, carefully crafted works. Printed in small editions and often illustrated by hand, they were prized resources for scholars. Because new information traveled slowly, printed books served as essential references. Libraries and scientific societies became key places for accessing and sharing them. Each book card represents a real work published by historical naturalists.
3. Achievements Step
Achievements are randomly determined for each game of Carl von Linné. They are depicted on four scoring tiles on the right-hand side of the game board. Use a scoring tile's red side for achievements, and its golden side for university tracks. University scoring tiles are scored at the end of the game, whereas achievements are checked—and possibly scored—at the end of your turn.
After the publish step, check if you have completed an achievement. If you complete an achievement, place your player marker under it on the first available space. Immediately gain the depicted points.
Up to three players can complete each achievement. Each achievement can only be completed once per player. When playing a 2-player game, the first player claims 6 points and the second one 3 points.
In very rare cases, multiple players may complete an achievement during the income phase. If that happens, resolve the achievements in current turn order.
Scoring Tiles
The four achievement/scoring tiles cover pairs of goals, one per side of the tile (achievement side vs. university-track multiplier side):
- Each sample of a single color (realm), including partially researched samples, ×4 — vs. Fully research four samples.
- Each visited location (each player marker on the map), ×6 — vs. Explore six different locations with samples.
- Each discarded lens — vs. Have three upgraded lenses, ×3.
- Each voyage card (complete and incomplete) — vs. Complete two voyage cards.
- Each pair of planted flowers (any number of blooms), ×3 — vs. Cultivate three flowers.
- Each published book, ×3 — vs. Publish three books.
- Each sketch (including face-down sketches and published sketches), ×4 — vs. Have four sketches (including published sketches).
Remember to check the scoring and achievement tiles at the start of the game. Make sure everyone knows about these competitive goals!
Income Phase
Once the last player completes their third turn, the action phase ends. During the income phase, you'll prepare for the next round—and potentially gain rewards, too! The brown bar above your lenses is a handy reminder for this phase's steps.
The income phase has five steps:
- Sort lenses
- Turn order
- Discard current turn order tile
- Gain income
- Turn the rudder
Sort Lenses
Move your locked lens down from the crate space to an available slot. Then, lock your microscope's lens in the crate. It can't be used next round. Move your glasses and magnifier lenses down to any empty slot.
If you have more lenses than available slots (for example, due to acquiring an upgraded lens), discard all excess lenses. You can't discard the wild lens or the lens token in the crate. Place discarded lenses on your character board in the middle of the taxonomy track. You immediately gain 2 points and 1 coin for each discarded lens.
Turn Order
First, rearrange the player markers to match the turn order tokens' sequence. Next, each player removes their turn order token from the turn order tile and places it on their microscope.
Discard Current Turn Order Tile
Always resolve this step so each game lasts exactly five rounds.
Note: The turn order tile stack always contains one fewer token than the number of rounds remaining. The first turn order tile is discarded during setup, and the last token is discarded at the end of the fourth round. After the income phase in the fourth round, return your turn order tokens to the box, you won't need them anymore.
Gain Income
Gain income for each completed voyage card you've associated with a published book. If you have multiple pairs, you choose in which order to gain your income. Some incomes are an opportunity to spend resources for a bonus reward. If you lack the necessary resources, you can't gain that card's reward. Resolve this step in the newly set player order.
Turn the Rudder
Rotate the rudder wheel one segment clockwise. This changes the alignment of colors and dots for voyaging during the next round.
End of the Game
After five rounds, the game ends. Complete the last income phase, but skip the turn order step. Then follow the steps below to count up your final score:
-
Exotic samples: Gain 5 points for each fulfilled condition on your exotic samples. You only score once per exotic sample.
-
Fully researched samples: You gain points for each fully researched sample. The number of points depends on how many corners with the knowledge or a reward the sample has:
- Two corners: 2 points
- Three corners: 4 points
- Four corners: 6 points
-
Incomplete flower beds: If an incomplete flower bed has at least one flower tile, participating players gain points from the corresponding garden reward tile as if it were complete (see the Grow section). You only gain points this way. You don't gain the tile's other reward.
-
Sent Letters: Gain points per each set of your sent letters of different colors. Each letter may be part of only one set. You may score any number of sets and each set can be scored only once. The columns formed during the game no longer have any significance. Letters are counted based on different colors.
-
University lecture tracks: Gain points from each track. Multiply your speech token's position by the number of times you completed the scoring tile's goal to the maximum of five, as depicted above each scoring token.
-
Leftovers: Spend your remaining coins to purchase container or tool tokens (3 coins per token). Score 1 point per unused tool, container, unsent letter card, or knowledge marked on your player board.
The player with the most victory points wins the game. If there is a tie, the tied player with more remaining coins is the winner.
Example: At the end of the game, Blue has two sets of letters. The first set has three different letters and gives 4 points. The second set has two different letters and gives 2 more points. Blue can't score for their two remaining red letters, because they can't use them to form a set. They score 6 total points at the end of the game.
Advanced Game
Each character in the game has a special ability. Turn over your character boards to use abilities in the advanced game. Collect the components needed and try to beat your rivals! There is a change in the game setup. Each player starts with 3 coins and no tools or container tokens.
Carl von Linné (1707–1778)
Carl von Linné—widely known as Linnaeus—was a Swedish naturalist whose passion for order shaped modern biology. Linné created the binomial system of naming species, bringing clarity to the natural world with his meticulous classifications. His travels through Sweden fueled his curiosity and sharpened his ability to observe, describe, and categorize life. Today he is remembered as the "father of taxonomy," a scholar whose careful structure still underpins modern biology.
Ability: Develop taxonomy
Setup: Place your 9 green sample markers next to your character board.
Rules: Each time you gain any new sample tile (basic or exotic), place a green marker on any of the four spaces with the corresponding realm symbol. Note that three spaces allow you to place either of two colors.
Adjacent sample markers are connected. Whenever you connect markers, gain the reward depicted in the space between. If you make multiple connections, gain all the rewards in any order.
If you complete a row, immediately gain 2 points.
Jeanne Baret (1740–1807)
A courageous explorer and the first woman known to circumnavigate the globe. Baret disguised herself as a man in 1763 to join the Comte de Bougainville's scientific expedition. During this voyage, she served as assistant to botanist Philibert Commerson, collecting and cataloging plants across the world. Her resilience, botanical knowledge, and quiet determination left a lasting mark on natural history—most famously honored by the naming of the flower Solanum baretiae in 2012.
Ability: Circumnavigate the world
Setup: Randomly place your destination tokens on your character board's blank spaces. There are different rewards on each side of Baret's tokens. Shuffle them each time to have different reward combinations. Place her ship token on the top space of the track, which represents the way around the globe.
Rules: Whenever you sail, you may choose to move Baret's ship instead of advancing on a voyage card. Alternatively, as a free action you may pay 2 coins to move Baret's ship. Gain the space's depicted reward.
You may move Baret's ship only once per turn, by one step!
If you finish the circumnavigation, gain 7 points. You have completed her journey, and can't move Baret's ship anymore.
Maria Sibylla Merian (1647–1717)
A pioneering artist-naturalist whose curiosity transcended the conventions of her time. Merian traveled from Europe to the jungles of Suriname to study insects in their natural environment—an extraordinary journey for a woman of the 17th century. Her vivid illustrations of metamorphosis combined scientific precision with striking beauty. She is celebrated as one of the earliest entomologists and a trailblazer in scientific illustration.
Ability: The perfect illustration
Setup: Place your square canvas tokens randomly bonus side-up on the 12 spaces of the butterfly illustration on your character board. Shuffle your circular metamorphosis tokens and place five of them face-down above your available lenses. Then flip them face-up. Place one remaining unused metamorphosis token on your character board.
Rules: Each time you use a lens, check if the metamorphosis token above this lens token matches your chosen instrument's multiplier. For example, if Merian uses a lens which is below a 1× metamorphosis token on her glasses, the token and the instrument's multipliers match.
Each time you match a metamorphosis token with an instrument, remove one of your canvas tokens from your character board and gain its reward. Start from any corner. Remove only the canvas tokens orthogonally adjacent to your starting corner. You can't remove diagonal tokens, and you can't start a new corner.
At the end of each income phase, shuffle and place a random metamorphosis token above each lens token on your work table. All six metamorphosis tokens will be used once you have six lenses.
Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (1707–1788)
A French polymath and one of the Enlightenment's most influential naturalists. Buffon's monumental Histoire Naturelle sought to describe the entirety of nature—from animals and minerals to the origins of the Earth. He believed in the dynamism of life and laid early foundations for evolutionary thinking. His elegant prose and grand vision made him a leading intellectual voice of the era.
Ability: The Historie Naturelle
Setup: Shuffle your Histoire Naturelle tokens, then place them face-down near your character board. Flip three tokens face-up to form your display.
Rules: Each token—thematically, a volume—of the Histoire Naturelle has a condition to complete. The condition is shown on the token's beige space. Once per turn, as a free action you may complete a Histoire Naturelle token and place it on your character board. Place it horizontally, with the beige space in your board's left or right column. You can't rotate it 90°.
After placing the Histoire Naturelle token, gain the reward depicted on the token, but not any covered rewards. You also gain rewards directly above or below the reward on the placed token. These neighboring rewards may be on another Histoire Naturelle token or on the character board itself. Place the tokens in any available space, leaving less space on the character board for the ones placed in the future.
At the end of each of your turns, refill your display up to three Histoire Naturelle tokens. This display cannot be refreshed.
You can't place more than 10 Histoire Naturelle tokens per game.
Buffon's conditions include: gain a new lens token, visit any new location, complete a voyage card, cultivate a flower, gain a new sketch, publish a book, fully research a vertebrate sample, fully research a plant sample, fully research an invertebrate sample, send a letter, gain a new voyage card, and plant a flower.
Tiles Explanation
Exotic Samples
Exotic samples have a variety of scoring conditions. If you complete your tile's condition, you gain 5 points at the end of the game. The conditions that appear on exotic sample tiles are:
- Explore a named location.
- Send a letter of a particular color.
- Cultivate at least two flowers anywhere in the garden.
- Acquire two basic sample tiles of a particular realm (color). They don't need to be fully researched.
- Acquire two sketches (published or above your player board) of a particular realm (color). Face-down sketches don't count.
- Plant two or more flower tiles in a flower bed of the depicted shape (the flowers do not need to be placed in a single flower bed).
Start Tiles
If you want to add variety to the start of the game, try playing with asymmetric resources. This mode can be played only with the basic game—it isn't suited for use with the advanced characters!
At the start of the game, shuffle the asymmetric start tiles. Each player draws two random tiles, then gains one tile's resources instead of the standard set of 1 container, 1 tool and 1 coin. You choose which tile's resources. After gaining your starting resources, return the tiles to the box.
If you start with knowledge, place a player marker anywhere you wish in your notebook.
All letters or sketches are taken randomly from the face-down decks.
Solo Game
In the solo game, you compete against one of the game's scientists. Your opponent draws a solo card each turn which determines their action, instead of playing lens tokens. They also have green solo lenses which upgrade their cards' actions. After five rounds, the game ends as usual.
Solo Game Setup
Set up the game for 2 players as usual.
- Place a player board with the solo side face-up.
- Place any character board to the left of the solo board.
- Take the player components of any color and place them nearby.
- Shuffle all 20 solo cards. Place the deck to the left of the character board.
- Put the solo supply token in the middle of the taxonomy track on the opponent's character board.
- Randomly select 6 green solo lenses. Shuffle them, then place them face-down on the character board in the middle of the taxonomy track (atop the solo supply token).
- Place a player marker on the top space of the taxonomy track.
- Give the opponent one random starting book card and place the corresponding sample in their library.
- Divide the opponent's flower tiles, and place them in three piles on the solo board.
- Place 3 coins in the leftmost slots at the bottom-right of the solo board as starting resources.
- Take a random starting voyage card and place it to the right of the solo board. Place a ship token on its harbor space.
- Place the opponent's player marker in the last (rightmost) position in turn order. They gain that position's reward. Then, place your marker in any other position and gain its reward. In the solo game, you always go first.
Solo Game Concepts
Solo cards: On each of the opponent's turns, draw a card from the solo deck and place it on the glasses, the magnifier or the microscope. If there is a left arrow, place the card on the leftmost empty space, if there is a right arrow, place the card on the rightmost empty space. According to the instrument used, the opponent resolves 1, 2, or 3 rows. Each card has three rows that resolve separately. For example, if you play a card on the microscope, resolve all three rows. The placement is determined by the arrow in the top-right corner of the card.
A. Resolving rewards: The opponent replaces some rewards with 1 point. These rewards are research a sample, garden pond reward, trigger a sketch, location reward, and a letter effects which require payment.
B. Samples: The opponent's library has one space for samples. Whenever they gain a new sample, place it atop any already present. There is no limit on how many samples the opponent may have.
C. Knowledge: The opponent gains all knowledge as any type. Their notebook has six slots. If they gain knowledge and they already have markers on all slots, they instead gain 2 points. If they publish a book, they pay the necessary amount of knowledge.
D. Letters: Each time the opponent gains a letter, they put it face-down on top of their correspondence space. Each time they send a letter, take their topmost card and play it.
E. Resources: The opponent has two slots for tool tokens and two slots for container tokens. If they would gain more, they immediately gain 1 coin instead.
F. Sketches: The opponent has three slots for sketches. If they gain a sketch from any source, place it face-down on the leftmost open sketch slot. They gain the covered reward. The last space with 2 points can have any number of sketches. If they publish a book, the opponent places the requisite sketch(es) on the book face-down without triggering their reward. They first take sketches from their rightmost sketch slots. Then the slots are available again to be covered with new sketches.
G. Coins: The opponent has six coin slots. Always place newly gained coins in the slots first. Place excess coins in the bar above the slots. The opponent spends coins from above their slots before spending from the slots.
H. Free action: Each time the opponent must pay a container or a tool and they don't have any, purchase the necessary resource for 3 coins.
I. University lectures: Each time the opponent gives a lecture, they move on the track depicted first on the most recent solo card. If it is impossible to move further on that track, the opponent moves on the second track. If they can't move on either of the two tracks, they don't move at all.
J. Taking cards or exotic samples: If the opponent gains a book card, a voyage card, or an exotic sample, they choose according to the scheme at the bottom of their most recent solo card. The dark rectangle indicates which card or tile the opponent takes from the display.
K. Taxonomy: Any time the opponent finishes the taxonomy track, place their topmost green lens on the lowest-numbered open slot of their solo board. Then, refresh the game board's upgraded lenses display. The placed green lens stays in its slot for the rest of the game. Any time a card is placed above it, the opponent gains that lens' reward. If there are two green lens tokens, the opponent gains rewards from both of them.
If the opponent finished the taxonomy track due to playing a card on their glasses and the new lens token is placed under that card, immediately trigger the new lens.
If the opponent has placed all 6 green lenses, they instead gain 4 points for each time they finish the taxonomy track.
Turn Structure
See the top of the solo board for reminder icons. Each turn, the opponent performs the following in this order:
- Flip the topmost solo card from the deck. Following the card's arrow, play it on the work table's first empty slot. A left arrow checks left-to-right, and a right arrow checks right-to-left. The opponent gains the covered instrument reward. When using their microscope, the opponent also follows the card's arrow to place their turn order token on the leftmost or rightmost spot.
- Gain rewards from the green lens token(s) beneath the placed card, if any.
- Trigger the card's effects depending on the instrument used. On the glasses, trigger the top row. On the magnifier, trigger the top two rows. On the microscope, trigger all three rows. If it is not possible to resolve a row, the opponent gains 3 coins per unresolvable row.
- Buy a voyage card from the display if they don't have any. If they don't have enough resources, skip this step.
- Buy a book card from the display if they don't have any. If they don't have enough resources, skip this step.
- Buy one random sketch if they don't have any. This costs the opponent 4 coins. The opponent buys sketches from the face-down decks. They may use even their slot coins. If the opponent buys a sketch when they have zero sketches, the purchased sketch can only be placed on the first/leftmost slot (the two lectures).
- Pay 6 coins to purchase research/deliver free action. If they have a sample in their library, they fully research it and place it above their player board. If they don't have a sample, they check whether they have enough resources to buy a sample from their most recent solo card's location. If none of the options are applicable, they don't pay for this free action. The opponent never spends their slot coins for this action.
- Publish a book, if able. The opponent must pay all the knowledge and sketches required, and they gain the book's reward. They always pay for the appendix, if able. Remember to place a sketch face-down without activating its effect.
- Check if the opponent completed an achievement. If they did, place their player marker beneath it. They immediately gain the depicted points.
Solo Actions
The opponent has all five actions. Their correspondence, grow, and sail actions each have 4 cards. Their explore and research actions are a single card type, with 8 cards.
Grow
The first symbol of the row defines if the opponent plants (either 1 or 2 flower tiles), or if they plant and then cultivate for 2 tools.
They choose which flower tile(s) to plant or cultivate by assessing the dots column, from top to bottom, based on the number of blooms. The opponent places their flower tile on the flower bed diagram's lowest possible number, and they gain the reward covered. If there is any reward they would have to pay for, the opponent gains 2 points instead.
Note that the square spaces show the square above or below it to define exactly which square is chosen.
Explore / Research
Explore/research cards' rows typically feature a slash. The left side shows either explore or research. The right side shows a sketch location. Always move the opponent's explorer directly to a location without paying travel costs.
First, evaluate if the opponent can perform the row's left side. If they can't, move the opponent's explorer to the depicted sketch location.
Explore: The card's explore rows name a location. If the opponent can afford that location's sample, move their explorer to the location and purchase it. The opponent also gains that location's reward, following the usual rules. On their first visit, they select the topmost one-time reward. If the opponent can't afford the sample, they instead go to the sketch location.
Research: The opponent researches their library stack's top sample. Add all of that sample's knowledge to their notebook. The opponent also gains any sample's rewards other than knowledge. Then, remove the sample and place it face-up above the opponent's library. If the opponent has no samples, they instead go to the sketch location.
Sketch: A sketch location is indicated by its unique location reward. Move the opponent's explorer to the depicted location. The opponent gains the location's reward and takes its sketch. Place the sketch face-down in the opponent's leftmost sketch slot. They also gain the covered reward.
In Carl von Linné's time, European scientists relied on networks of students, doctors, merchants, and nobles who mailed dried plants, seeds, insects, and shells between cities and universities. Specimens were carefully pressed, packed in paper, and transported by horse coaches or trading ships, allowing naturalists across Europe to study and compare species without traveling themselves.
Correspond
Each time the opponent gains a letter from any source, they put it face-down on top of their correspondence slot.
When resolving a row with a slash, first evaluate if the opponent can send a letter. If they can't, they draw a random letter card instead. Apply this twice if it is marked with 2× on the start of the row.
Each time they send a letter card, they take their topmost card and play it. They gain the shown reward. If the reward requires payment, they gain 2 points instead.
If the opponent plays more letters of the same color, they trigger columns as usual and gain rewards from up to 3 letters.
This symbol defines which card the opponent takes from the display. They also gain the arch's reward.
If they move on the university track, the opponent moves on the track indicated in the most recent solo card's bottom-right corner.
Sail
During this action, the opponent always chooses the shortest possible route to the end of the voyage card. Instead of the voyage card's rewards (including the destination), the opponent gains the reward depicted on their solo card.
If they gain an exotic sample, they choose from the display as indicated at the bottom of the solo card. After gaining an exotic sample, the opponent immediately gains one knowledge and places the sample above their player board.
Income Phase (Solo)
During this phase, discard the three solo cards on the opponent's work table. The opponent does not gain any income from completed voyage and published book cards.
End of the Game (Solo)
At the end of the game, go through the scoring steps one by one and resolve them as usual. The opponent automatically scores for all of their exotic samples. They don't need to satisfy an exotic sample's condition.
The opponent converts their coins into resources, then scores as usual.
Solo Difficulty Levels
The opponent has 4 difficulty levels, based on the number of green lenses they have available from the start of the game.
- Level I: Student – All six lenses are on their character board.
- Level II: Journeyman – Place the topmost lens token on slot 1.
- Level III: Master – Place the two topmost lens tokens on slots 1 and 2.
- Level IV: Genius – Place the top three topmost lens tokens on slots 1, 2, and 3.
By beginning with lens tokens on the slots, the opponent may quickly deplete their character board's lenses. They still score 4 points per additional taxonomy circle as usual.
During an advanced game, the opponent always starts at Level II or higher. The opponent does not use their character's advanced abilities.
Appendix: Publications
The following historical notes accompany the book cards in the game.
Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière avec la description du Cabinet du Roi (1749–1804) – Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon. Significance: An ambitious 36-volume work and the most influential natural history of the 18th century. Story: Buffon strove for decades to describe all of nature. The publication sparked controversies, and his theories on species development were criticized by the Church. The work was expensive and luxurious, becoming a status symbol of European salons.
Voyage autour du monde (1777) – Louis Antoine de Bougainville. Significance: This famous travel account documented the first French circumnavigation. Story: Jeanne Baret secretly joined the expedition disguised as a man, and became the first woman to sail around the world. She collected hundreds of botanical specimens and became a legend of scientific adventure.
Species Plantarum (1753) – Carl von Linné. Significance: A foundational work that introduced the binomial nomenclature still used today. Story: Linnaeus essentially "reset" botany with one relatively thin volume. After its publication, botanical names finally became standardized worldwide.
A Curious Herbal (1737–1739) – Elizabeth Blackwell. Significance: A practical herbal guide with precise illustrations, one of the most remarkable botanical projects of the 18th century. Story: Blackwell created the book to raise money and free her husband from prison. She drew plants directly in the Chelsea Physic Garden and published the book herself. One of the strongest personal stories in botanical history.
Voyage aux Indes Orientales et à la Chine (1782) – Pierre Sonnerat. Significance: A botanical-travel account focused on oriental spices. Story: Sonnerat, an adventurer, smuggled prohibited spices out of Dutch colonies. He then cultivated spice gardens—a blend of botany, espionage, and economic revolution.
Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium (1705) – Maria Sibylla Merian. Significance: A groundbreaking work on insect metamorphosis with stunning illustrations. Story: As a woman in the 17th century, Merian traveled alone to Suriname to study tropical insects—unheard-of in her time. Her iconic drawings transformed entomology and became artistic icons.
Systema Entomologiae (1775) – Johan Christian Fabricius. Significance: The first systematic arrangement of insects, the foundation of entomological classification. Story: Fabricius expanded the Linnean taxonomic system to thousands of species. The work developed during his travels to European courts, where he studied royal insect collections.
Systema Naturae (1735) – Carl von Linné. Significance: One of the most important scientific books ever written. Story: Originally only a few pages long, it grew into a monumental classification of all living and non-living nature. It is here that Homo sapiens appears for the first time.
Tableau physique des Andes (1807) – Alexander von Humboldt. Significance: An iconic visualization of nature and altitude—one of the first "infographic" scientific diagrams. Story: Created during Humboldt's dangerous Andean expedition, it introduced modern ecological thinking about climate, altitude, and vegetation.
Voyage aux régions équinoxiales (1807–1834) – Humboldt & Bonpland. Significance: The foundation of modern biogeography, describing South America as an interconnected ecological system. Story: Reflects a five-year expedition full of dramatic events—climbing Mt. Chimborazo, volcanic eruptions, and crossings through unexplored regions.
Note: Some scientific names of plants and animals (e.g. Luscinia svecica and Limulus polyphemus) have been intentionally retained in their historical form, even though their currently accepted scientific names differ under modern taxonomic nomenclature.
Appendix: Samples
The following historical notes accompany select sample tiles in the game.
Rangifer tarandus (Reindeer). The reindeer was one of the most important animals of northern Europe and central to the livelihood of the Sámi people. Linné observed it during his famous Lapland expedition in 1732 and used it as an example of how mammals adapt to harsh arctic environments.
Lemur catta (Ring-tailed Lemur). Lemurs from Madagascar were exotic primates rarely seen in Europe. Linné boldly grouped lemurs, monkeys, and apes—including humans—into the Primates order of mammals.
Lemmus lemmus (Lemming). Lemmings fascinated early naturalists because of their mysterious population explosions and mass migrations. In Linné's time many people believed they fell from the sky. Scientific study helped replace such myths with natural explanations.
Rhinoceros unicornis (Indian Rhinoceros). The Indian rhinoceros was one of the most spectacular animals known from distant lands. Reports and specimens brought from Asia expanded European knowledge of global biodiversity.
Tantalus aethiopicus. Mummified sacred ibises from ancient Egypt became the subject of one of the first scientific debates about evolution. Some naturalists saw no change over millennia, while others argued that species transform too slowly to observe.
Papilio machaon. This large and colorful butterfly was one of the best-known European insects. It became an important example for studying insect metamorphosis and classification.
Anguilla anguilla (European Eel). The European eel was one of the greatest biological mysteries of the time. Its method of reproduction was unknown. Some scholars still believed Aristotle's hypothesis that eels arose spontaneously from mud or water.
Lucanus cervus (Stag Beetle). The stag beetle impressed early naturalists with the males' huge antler-like jaws. It illustrated dramatic differences between sexes and the remarkable diversity of insect forms.
Apis mellifera (Honey Bee). The honey bee was extremely important for agriculture and honey production. Its complex social organization fascinated scientists and helped inspire early studies of insect behavior and pollination.
Musa paradisiaca (Banana). Exotic banana plants fascinated European botanists. Carl von Linné studied one of the first specimens successfully cultivated in a European greenhouse and even considered it the biblical "fruit of paradise."
Limulus polyphemus. This strange marine animal looked unlike most known creatures. In Linné's time it was classified with crustaceans, showing how naturalists struggled to place unusual organisms within early taxonomic systems.
Linnaea borealis (Twinflower). This delicate northern forest plant was Linné's favorite species and was named after him. It became a symbolic plant representing his work and his connection to the northern landscapes he studied.
Appendix: Followers
The following historical notes accompany the follower/voyage material in the game.
Carl Peter Thunberg (1743–1828) – Fields: Botany, medicine. Significance: Thunberg was the most successful "apostle" of Linné. He undertook a dramatic journey to Japan, then closed to the world. Thunberg learned Japanese, acted as a physician, secretly collected plants, and then wrote a systematic treatise, Flora Japonica. Story: Risked smuggling plants under shogunate supervision to expand scientific knowledge.
Pehr Löfling (1729–1756) – Fields: Botany. Significance: Invited by the Spanish to join an expedition to Amazonia and the Orinoco, becoming the first Swede to serve as an official Spanish naturalist. Story: He died during the tropical expedition at just 27. Linné published Löfling's Iter Hispanicum in 1758. It remains both moving and scientifically valuable.
Michel Adanson (1727–1806) – Fields: Botany, zoology. Significance: Adanson pioneered botanical classification in his Familles des plantes (1763). Story: He spent six years in Senegal collecting plants and studying their traits, surviving extreme conditions. His notes later influenced Darwin.
Georg Forster (1754–1794) – Fields: Natural history, ethnography. Significance: Forster, only 18, accompanied James Cook on his second voyage. Story: His book is considered the best literary work on Cook's expeditions. Precise, vivid, and empathetic, Forster's work later inspired Humboldt.
Philibert Commerson (1727–1773) – Fields: Botany. Significance: Chief naturalist on Bougainville's expedition, he collected thousands of exotic plants. Story: His assistant was Jeanne Baret, disguised as a man. Together they collected plants on Tahiti and Madagascar. Commerson named the bougainvillea in his honor.
John Latham (1740–1837) – Fields: Ornithology. Significance: Known as the "grandfather of Australian ornithology," this Englishman described many iconic birds before they were formally named. Story: Unfortunately, he described many species too early—and without Latin names—so priority went to later authors.
Pehr Kalm (1716–1779) – Fields: Botany, economics. Significance: Traveled to North America and brought extensive scientific knowledge of Canadian and American flora back to Linné. Story: His journals inspired Benjamin Franklin. He also brought to Europe apple seeds that helped develop modern cultivars.
Félix de Azara y Perera (1742–1821) – Fields: Zoology. Significance: Extensively documented the Rio de la Plata region during his 20-year military career. Story: His observations were so precise that Darwin later praised them as exceptionally reliable.
Anders Sparrman (1748–1820) – Fields: Medicine, natural history. Significance: A student of Linné and participant in Cook's second voyage. Story: After returning, he wrote a travel account of the Cape, the Pacific, and Polynesia—unusually empathetic to Indigenous cultures for the colonial era.
Pehr Forsskål (1732–1763) – Fields: Botany, zoology. Significance: A student of Linné who joined the Danish Royal Expedition to Arabia. Story: He died in Yemen; his Flora Aegyptiaco-Arabica was published posthumously and remains a crucial source on Middle Eastern nature.
Icons
The rulebook closes with an icon legend covering: actions (explore, research, correspond, grow, sail, wild action, one sail action), sketches (vertebrate, plant, invertebrate, any sketch, trigger an unpublished sketch, publish a sketch face-down without triggering its effect), sample tiles (vertebrate, plant, invertebrate, any, fully researched, exotic), timing (income phase, end of the game), miscellaneous (gain point(s), taxonomy step(s), lens token, plant a flower, cultivate a flower, plant a cultivated flower, draw a letter, letter from display, send one of your written letters, location reward (not one-time reward), research one sample tile's corner without your researcher token, immediately buy any visited location's sample tile, book card, voyage card, turn order token, refresh the offer, tick – have something done or fulfilled, achievement section), knowledge (red knowledge: anatomy/behavior/environment/any; green knowledge: structure/growth/soil/any; blue knowledge: morphology/development/nutrition/any; gain any knowledge; exchange knowledge; pay any specified knowledge), lecture tracks (green track – Binomial nomenclature; orange track – Comparison; purple track – Fixity of species; any track), and resources (gain coin(s), pay coin(s), container, pay container(s), tools).