Forest Shuffle: Exploration
Forest Shuffle: Exploration Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
55 cards:
- 20 Automa cards
- 3 dividers
- 15 new and rare cards
- 12 challenges
- 5 caves
1. Alone in the Forest
Forest Shuffle: Exploration takes you on three different adventures in the forest.
Setup
You can play this solo variant with the base game, the Alpine expansion, or with both expansions (Alpine and Woodland Edge). In this variant, you play against Anna whose actions are controlled by a deck of Automa cards.
Set up the game as normal, with the following changes:
- Return cards from the draw pile to the game box as you would in a 2-player game:
- Base Game: 30 cards
- Alpine: 55 cards
- Alpine + Woodland Edge: 90 cards
- You need only one winter card, which you shuffle with the last 10 cards of the draw pile.
- Draw 6 cards into your hand and place another 5 cards face up into the clearing.
- Shuffle the 20 Automa cards and place them in a face-down Automa deck.
- Choose a challenge and decide which level you want to aim for in this game: bronze (one star), silver (two stars), or gold (three stars). This sets your goal and minimum score.
- You always take the first turn.
! Special case: When playing the Reforestation challenge with both expansions, put a random Water Vole into your starting hand before you remove cards from the draw pile. Then, when drawing your starting hand, draw only 5 additional cards, for a total of 6 cards in hand.
Course of Play
Carry out your turns as normal. On each of Anna's turns, reveal the top card of the Automa deck and carry out the action for Anna:
- Put the indicated number of cards from the draw pile into the clearing. Always add cards to the right of any cards in the clearing.
- Return the indicated number of cards from the clearing to the game box. The arrow ← / → indicates from which direction you must remove those cards. If there are fewer cards in the clearing than Anna needs to remove, remove as many cards as possible.
- Two cards with the arrow ← (pointing left): remove them from the right side of the clearing.
- Two cards with the arrow → (pointing right): remove them from the left side of the clearing.
- Look at the top card of the draw pile and return it to the game box.
At the end of Anna's turn, place the Automa card in an Automa discard pile. If the Automa deck is empty at that point, shuffle the Automa discard pile to form a new Automa deck.
Note: Regardless of whose turn it is, always close any gaps in the clearing by moving the cards together, without changing their order.
Challenges
You can play the challenges in any order. To complete a challenge, you must meet both the goal and the previously set minimum score (bronze, silver, gold) at the end of the game.
Example: To achieve bronze in the Bat Forest challenge, there must be 4 or more bats in your forest at the end of the game, and you must score at least 200 points in total.
End of Game
When the winter card is drawn, the game ends immediately and you proceed to scoring. Total the points in your forest. Anna does not collect any points! If you pass the challenge, you can place it behind the corresponding divider card. This allows you to save your progress for later games.
Example: You have fulfilled all the requirements for bronze in the Bat Forest challenge, so you place it behind the bronze divider card.
Note the following adjustments for Lindens and Great Spotted Woodpeckers when scoring:
- To score 3 points per Linden, you need to have at least 3 Lindens in your forest.
- To score 10 points for the Great Spotted Woodpecker, you need to have at least 10 trees in your forest.
2. Special Caves
In this variant, replace the base game caves with the special caves from this expansion.
After you deal 6 cards to everyone, place the 5 cave cards in the center of the table. In reverse playing order, choose one cave each and place it in front of you. If caves remain after every player has chosen one, return the rest to the game box.
Each special cave still scores 1 point for each card that is in that cave at the end of the game. In addition, they either give you more points or a permanent effect that lasts for the duration of the game.
The impact of the special caves is not represented in the point values of the solo mode challenges. Using a cave in solo mode is not forbidden, but will lead to higher scores.
Collectors' Cave: Each card in your cave scores 2 points instead of 1.
Bat Cave: Each bat in your forest scores an additional 3 points, even if you do not have 3 different bats.
Lonely Cave: If there is no card in your cave at game end, you score 5 points. Otherwise, score the normal 1 point per card in your cave.
Storage Cave: Once per turn, when you place at least one card in this cave, immediately draw a card from the draw pile.
Smugglers' Cave: Each time you trigger a bonus, place one of the paid cards in this cave.
3. Around the Globe
Setup
You can use any or all new and rare cards in any combination of the base game and its expansions. When preparing the game, shuffle the new and rare cards you would like to include with the other cards. Then return the required number of cards to the game box (based on player count) plus one card per new and rare card used.
For an even distribution, instead deal 2 random new and rare cards to everyone at the start of the game. Consequently, you start with 8 cards in your hands.
Clarifications
Play the game according to the base game rules. Note the following clarifications:
- Brimstone: Only if you play with all three expansions, you will have the chance to see 8 different butterflies in play.
- Fire Salamander: Even with 4 Fire Salamanders in your forest, you still get only 25 points in total.
- Marsh Cinquefoil: The terrain symbol and the round blue symbol have no effect.
- Mistletoe: When the Mistletoe is placed on a tree, this tree is turned face down (on the tree sapling side). It counts as a tree sapling for the rest of the game. If it is played on a sapling, the sapling remains a sapling.
- Moor Birch, Turkey Oak, and O Christmas Tree: These are not considered new tree species but a Birch, Oak, and Silver Fir, respectively. They may, however, score differently from their respective counterparts.
- Palm Tree: This is a new tree species with its own tree symbol.
- Red Panda: Bamboo is not a tree, so the tree symbol shown on the card has no effect.
- Say's Firefly: Counts as a firefly. Even with 5 fireflies in the forest, you still get only 20 points in total.