Codex Naturalis FAQ
34 questions players ask · Updated Nov 12, 2026 · Full rulebook
Components
Game Setup
- Where are the starting resource and gold cards drawn from during setup?
- Can the player token be placed on the central symbol of the starting card?
- What is the second player-colour token placed on the starting card for?
- Does the black starting-player marker move between turns, and what is it for?
- How many players can play Codex Naturalis?
Playing the Game
- When a card is played facedown, does its central resource count as permanently possessed?
- Can you place a card upside down, rotated 180 degrees?
- Can a new card be placed underneath cards already in your play area?
- Can a card cover a hidden corner if it also covers a visible corner?
- Can a card be placed over a card whose four corners are already covered?
- Can a corner with a symbol be covered by a corner with a different symbol or by a blank corner?
- Can you cover an outlined corner that shows no resource or object?
- What happens if a player has no legal corner left to place any card on?
- What can you do if every card in hand is a gold card you cannot place?
- Must the required resources be visible when placing a gold card facedown?
- Can you look through the face-down draw piles to see upcoming cards?
- Can other players see the cards in your hand?
End of Game
- Do secret and common objective points count toward the 20-point end-game trigger?
- After a player reaches 20 points, how many more turns does each player get?
- Which objective cards are scored at the end of the game?
- Do objective cards score only the exact icons printed on them?
- Can you keep adding cards to an objective pattern after you have already completed it?
- Can one card count toward more than one objective card?
- Can the same common objective be scored more than once in a game?
Card Details
Solo Variant
- In the official solo mode, what does Tybor do when he can afford a gold card?
- In the official solo setup, are the resource cards placed face up or face down?
- Does Tybor score the points printed on resource cards he takes in solo mode?
- Is there a solo mode for Codex Naturalis?
- Are the solo rules included in the latest prints?