The Gardens Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Your Game Contains
• Getting Ready to Play
• Before You Begin
• Taking a Turn
  • 1) Choose
  • 2) Design
  • 3) Walk
• How to Score Your Visitor's Walk
  • Focal Trees
  • Fountains
  • Benches
  • Other Features
• Ending Your Turn
• Ending a Round
• Ending the Game
  • Focal Trees
  • Streams
  • Pathways
  • Statues
• Variants
  • Playing the Game with the Advanced Scoring Tiles
  • Playing the Game with Varying Starting Positions
  • Playing the Game with the Landmark Cards
• Landmark Cards Reference
• A Brief History of The Gardens
• What You May See on a Day in the Gardens
  • The Landmarks
  • Some of the Birds You May See in The Gardens
  • A Note on the Trees We Chose for the Game

Your Game Contains

• 96 Garden cards (32 in each of 3 decks, labelled A, B & C)
• 12 Landmark cards
• 16 Visitors (4 in each of 4 player colours)
• 8 double-sided Player Mats
• 1 start player token
• 4 Central Boards (these come in two pieces; during the game, each player will need two halves to make their Player Mat; the Player Mats with Landmarks illustrated on them are not used in the Basic Game)
• 17 Scoring Tiles: a mid-game Scoring Tile, an end-game Scoring Tile, and an Advanced Scoring Tile (note the asterisks in the top corners)
• 1 Scoreboard

Scoring Tiles with white borders show how points may be scored during the game, while those with a gold border (and a clock icon at the bottom) show how points may be scored at the end of the game.

Getting Ready to Play

To set up a game of The Gardens, follow the steps below. If you would like to use any of the included variants or the Landmarks, see the relevant sections towards the back of this booklet.

1. Separate the Garden Cards into three decks (A, B and C, as noted on the card backs). Shuffle each deck and place the decks face down in order in the middle of the play area. Leave space to the right of these decks for cards to be placed later.

2. Place the Scoreboard beside the play area. Place the Basic Game scoring tiles face up on the spaces below the score track. (The Basic Game scoring tiles do not have two "*" on their front.) Match the icons on the back of each tile to the icons on the board to place each tile in its correct location.

3. Give each player:

   • 2 player mats for the Basic Game (these have no landmarks depicted on them). Each player should lay these side by side to create their personal section of the Gardens. (On the player mats are arrows to show how to put them side by side. "<<<" designates the left mat, and ">>>" the right.)
   • 1 Central Board which should be placed in the centre column of each player's garden
   • 4 Visitor pawns of one colour.

   Put any unneeded Central Boards, Player Mats and Visitors back in the box.

4. Each player should now stand three of their Visitors on their Central Board, one on each row, and their fourth Visitor on the "0" space of the score track.

5. Give the Start Player Token to the youngest player, (or simply choose the start player randomly).

Before You Begin

Before play can begin, the Start Player should draw cards from each of the 3 Garden Card decks and place them face up in rows to the right of the decks. The number of cards drawn from each deck should be equal to the number of players. Special note: When playing with 2 players, draw TWO cards per player from each deck (so there will be 4 cards drawn from each deck).

These face up cards are known as the "display."

During a game of The Gardens, each player will collect 24 cards to place on their player mats. There will be 8 rounds of play, during which each player will collect 3 cards. Every round, the player with the Start Player Token will go first, selecting one card to place on their mat, etc. Then each other player (taking turns clockwise around the table) will take a turn. After each player has taken and placed 3 cards, a new round is prepared and the Start Player Token will move to the next player sitting to the left of the previous starting player.

Taking a Turn

On your turn, do the following things in this order:

1. Choose a card from the display.
2. Design your garden by adding the card to your player mat.
3. Walk your Visitor through your garden to your new card.

Here is what these steps mean in more detail:

1) Choose

First, you must choose one face up card from the display. On your first turn of a round, you may choose a card from any row (A, B or C). On later turns, you may only choose from a row from which you have not yet taken a card this round. Once the round is over, you will have taken exactly one card from the "A" row, one from the "B" row, and one from the "C" row.

Special note: This is a little different when playing with 2 players. In a 2-player game, you still alternate taking 1 card at a time, but each player must choose exactly 2 cards from each of the three rows during a round.

2) Design

After you choose a card, you must add it to the corresponding row on your player mat (an "A" card must be placed in your top row, a "B" card to your middle row, and a "C" card to your bottom row).

Each card you choose must be placed on your mat in the next available space either to the left or right of your Central Board (you may choose which side to place every card on). There may never be gaps left between your cards.

So, the first card you choose in each row must be placed adjacent to your Central Board, either on its left or right. After this, cards may be placed adjacent to the left-most or right-most card in your row (if you have already placed cards on your mat).

As the game progresses, you will reach a point where you can no longer choose to place each new card on the left or right end of its row, since you may never place cards off the Player Mats!

3) Walk

After you place your chosen card, your Visitor goes for a walk. Move your Visitor standing in the same row that you placed the card, from the position it is currently standing on, to the new card you just placed. The Visitor "visits" this new card, and depending upon what they "see" on the card (and what they saw along the way), you may score points!

If the new card has a Focal Tree, a Fountain or a Bench it will earn you points immediately (explained below and on the Scoring Tiles).

Remember that during each walk, the Visitor experiences the card they started on, the card they end on (which is always the card you added to the row this turn), and all of the cards in-between.

Record your points by moving your Visitor on the score track.

How to Score Your Visitor's Walk

Focal Trees

If your Visitor stops on a card with a Focal Tree, count the number of matching trees that the Visitor has experienced on their walk. Count the tree (or trees) on the card they visited, and all trees of the same type on the cards they passed on the walk. Score 1/3/6/10 points for 1/2/3/4 matching trees.

Note: You only score for matching trees that the Visitor saw. Do not simply count all the matching trees in the row, regardless of the direction in which the Visitor walked.

The four different Focal Trees you can score are the Wattle Tree, Bottlebrush, Jacaranda, and Canary Palm. Any other trees on cards are simply to add beauty to your garden. Don't forget that some cards have TWO trees on them!

Fountains

If your Visitor stops on a card with a Fountain, count the number of individual Streams on all the cards they saw on their walk. Score 1 point for each Stream.

Note: You only score for Streams that the Visitor saw. Do not simply count all the Streams in the row, regardless of the direction in which the Visitor walked.

Benches

If your Visitor stops on a card with a Bench, count the number of Garden Cards that are adjacent to the card, either orthogonally or diagonally. Score 1 point for each card adjacent to the bench.

Note: During the game, consider the Central Board to be equivalent to 3 separate Garden Cards. (In other words, the Starting Strip helps a player to score points for their Benches, as well as their Pathways, etc., which are explained later.)

Other Features

If the new card has either a Statue or a Stream without a Fountain, you do not score points this turn. These features will be worth points at the end of the game. Your network of connected Pathways will also score at the end of the game.

Ending Your Turn

After you have moved your Visitor on their walk and scored any appropriate points, lay the Visitor down to show that they have taken their walk for this round.

Special note: When playing with 2 players, you will choose 2 cards from each row in the display during a round, and so your Visitor will go on two walks. After the first walk in a row, lie the Visitor down and place it vertically on the card. After you make the second walk with this Visitor, keep the Visitor lying down but rotate the piece 90 degrees, so that it is horizontal. This is simply so that players do not forget what cards they may take from the display on their turn. Players with good memories may not feel the need to do this.

The player to the left of the current player will now take their turn, choosing a card, designing their garden and walking their Visitor.

Ending a Round

The round ends when all of the cards in the display have been claimed and the players have completed their turns. To prepare for the next round, each player should stand up all of their Visitors (keeping each one on the Garden Card that they walked to during the round).

Then pass the Start Player Token to the next player clockwise.

Now begin the next round by dealing out a new display of Garden Cards.

Ending the Game

The game ends after the 8th round (when playing with 2 players it will be at the end of the 4th round), when the players' gardens are complete and each row is filled with cards. All players can now score additional points as explained below.

Focal Trees

Look at each row of cards in your garden, and count the number of different Focal Tree types that appear anywhere in it. For each row, and for each type of Focal Tree: score 1/3/6/10 points for 1/2/3/4 different types of trees.

Streams

A Stream is made up of vertically adjacent cards. For each Stream in your garden: score 2 points if it has 2 adjacent Stream sections, or 5 points if it has 3 adjacent Stream sections (i.e. it goes from top to bottom in a column).

If a column has 2 Streams, one at the top and one at the bottom, that are not connected by a Stream in the middle, these are worth 0 points.

Pathways

Count the number of Pathway cards in your single largest connected network of pathways. If you have two or more separate networks, you only score points for the largest one. Score 1 point for each Pathway card in your largest network.

Statues

Count up how many Statues you have anywhere in your garden, and compare this to the number in each other player's garden. Score 10 points for each other player who has fewer Statues in their garden than you.

For example: In a 3-player game, Player A has 6 Statues and Players B and C have 3 Statues each. Player A receives 20 points - since they have more Statues than two other players - and Players B and C each receive zero points, since neither has more Statues than any other individual player.

Picnic Spots and Fountains are not worth any additional points at the end of the game.

The player with the most points is the winner! In the case of a tie, the winner is the tied player who went later in turn order during the final round.

Variants

Once players are comfortable with the Basic rules of The Gardens, you may decide to add in some variety and complexity when you play. To do so, select one or more of the following variants to try out!

Playing the Game with the Advanced Scoring Tiles

Once players are familiar with the Basic Scoring Tiles, the Advanced tiles may be used to change the way players score during and after each game. You can choose these randomly, or select the tiles you prefer - even mixing up Basic and Advanced tiles together in the one game. The only rule when selecting the tiles is: each selected Scoring Tile must have a place to go on the Scoreboard (match the icons on the back of the tile to the spaces for them beneath the score track).

Advanced Focal Tree tiles:

• After a Visitor stops on a card with a Focal Tree, the player scores 1 point for every Stream the Visitor saw on their walk.
• After a Visitor stops on a card with a Focal Tree, the player scores 1 point for every Pathway the Visitor walked on or crossed over on their walk.
• At the end of the game, players score 3 points per Focal Tree in their largest orthogonally (diagonally adjacent does not count) connected group of Focal Trees. All types of Focal Trees are considered.
• At the end of the game, players score 5 points for each row in their garden with the same number of Focal Trees on each side of their Central Boards.

Advanced Fountain tiles:

• After a Visitor stops on a card with a Fountain, the player scores 1 point for every different scoring feature the Visitor saw on their walk (Streams, Focal Trees, Pathways, Benches, Statues, or other Fountains).
• After a Visitor stops on a card with a Fountain, the player scores 1/3/6 points if there are 1/2/3 Fountains in the column the Visitor stopped in (including the Fountain the Visitor is standing on).
• At the end of the game, players score 3 points for each of their Streams that have a top and a bottom but no middle.
• At the end of the game, players score 2 points for every row and column in their gardens with at least one Statue.

Advanced Bench tiles:

• After a Visitor stops on a card with a Bench, the player scores 2 points for each pathway that directly leads to this bench. (An adjacent Pathway is not enough - it must have a section of path leading to the Bench.)
• After a Visitor stops on a card with a Bench, the player scores 3 points for each different type of Focal Tree orthogonally adjacent to the Bench (Wattle, Bottlebrush, Jacaranda, Canary Palm). Focal Trees on the Bench card itself do not count. Diagonally adjacent Trees do not score.
• At the end of the game, players score 4 points for each Statue that is not orthogonally adjacent to another Statue. (Diagonally adjacent is okay.)

Playing the Game with Varying Starting Positions

When setting up the game, players may want to try playing with the Central Board in a different column. Having different numbers of card locations on each side of the Central Board makes the game feel very different.

ALL players must have their Starting Strips in the same columns on their player mats. This variant works best when the Starting Strips begin in one of the outer or near-central columns of the player mats.

Playing the Game with the Landmark Cards

To play a game of The Gardens with full flavour, please consider including the Landmarks. These add more strategy to the game and give players something more to aim for as they design their gardens.

To set up the game with the Landmark Cards, simply give each player two player mats that show Landmarks pictured on them. There are four different ways to set up the boards so that different Landmarks are available in each game. Each player MUST have the same layout of player mats. All players are competing to "see" the same Landmarks.

Finally, place the 6 Landmark Cards that will be in use this game face up beside the Scoreboard. To determine which Landmark Cards will be available, simply look at what Landmarks are pictured on the Player Mats for this game.

There are 3 ways to place these cards face up:

• All Landmark Cards have their point values face up, or,
• All Landmark Cards have their text face up, or,
• A mix of the above (players could decide how they want the cards, or simply place half upside down randomly).

During the game, when a player places a Garden Card that covers up one of the Landmarks on their Player Mat, they claim the matching Landmark card - but only if they were the first to do so! These cards either give extra points, or in some cases, give a special ability to the player that earns it. Once a player earns a Landmark Card, they keep it for the entire game. Do not flip Landmark Cards over during the game.

Please note that when using the Landmark Cards, it is not recommended to use the Variable Starting Positions variant (above).

Landmark Cards Reference

• Sydney Opera House — Gain 10 points. Or: at the end of the game, score 10 points for every complete loop in your Pathways.
• Sydney Harbour Bridge — Gain 10 points. Or: at the end of the game, you score 3 points per Bench in your garden.
• Fort Denison — Gain 6 points. Or: from now on, at the start of each round, choose a Garden Card to claim on a future turn this round. No other player may choose it.
• Mrs Macquarie's Chair — Gain 3 points. Or: from now on, you score 1 extra point whenever you score Focal Trees during the game.
• Moreton Bay Fig — Gain 10 points. Or: at the end of the game, choose one type of Focal Tree and score 2 points for every tree of this type in your garden.
• Sydney Conservatorium of Music — Gain 6 points. Or: all pathways that are adjacent to each other in your garden are considered to be connected to each other for scoring.
• The Lion Gate — Gain 3 points. Or: from now on, score 1 point whenever one of your Visitors walks past or stops on a card with a Statue on it.
• The Duck Pond — Gain 3 points. Or: from now on, you score 1 extra point whenever you score Fountains during the game.
• Art Gallery of New South Wales — Gain 10 points. Or: at the end of the game, score an extra 5 points for each of your completed (3 cards tall) Streams.
• Governor Phillip Fountain — Gain 6 points. Or: at the end of the game, you score 3 points for each of your Streams that have a top and a bottom but no middle.
• State Library of New South Wales — Gain 6 points. Or: from now on, once per round you may return a Visitor to the Central Board. This must be done on one of your turns, before you place a card.
• Sydney Tower — Gain 3 points. Or: from now on, you score 1 extra point whenever you score Benches during the game.

A Brief History of The Gardens

Sydney's Royal Botanic Garden is a heritage-listed 30-hectare oasis (64-hectares if one counts the adjacent Domain parkland) on Farm Cove on the north-eastern edge of Sydney's CBD. The parkland is in fact a collection of smaller gardens and precincts, which is why locals simply call it "The Gardens."

For at least 30,000 years the Gadigal people of the Eora nation have lived on and around the southern shore of what is now known as Sydney Harbour. The Eora culture and lifestyle was dramatically interfered with - practically destroyed - once Captain Arthur Phillip sailed the ships of The First Fleet into Sydney Cove (Warrane) in 1788, landing hundreds of convicts and soldiers onto Gadigal land, immediately west of where the Gardens now stand.

Within a few months, Governor Phillip set aside the land adjacent to Farm Cove as a place to grow the colony's crops from seeds brought on the ships. The crops failed, and instead of generally considering how thousands of generations of Eora people had survived in the area, the colony suffered famine and came close to failure. It was not until farmland was established further inland at Rose Bay (Parramatta) that the young colony of Sydney found some stability. The farmland back at Farm Cove was used for different attempts at farming until 1816, when the then Governor, Lachlan Macquarie, officially established The Gardens on the land, declaring the area an extension of the Governor's Domain.

Now, the Royal Botanic Garden is not just a place of history, beauty and relaxation, but a place of research. Indeed, it is often called Australia's first scientific institution. It is home to a variety of plants, wildlife and stunning harbour views.

What You May See on a Day in the Gardens

Everything in this game is also visible in or from the Gardens in Sydney. Here is a brief overview of some of the landmarks, features and birds you may discover.

The Landmarks

• Sydney Opera House: One of the most famous buildings in the world. The Opera House stands on Bennelong Point, reaching into the Harbour. One of the main entries into the Gardens is located beside the Opera House. It opened in 1973.
• Sydney Harbour Bridge: Nicknamed "The Coathanger" by locals, this single-span steel bridge connects both sides of the harbour, and was opened in 1932. One of the biggest bridges in the world, it dominates the skyline.
• Fort Denison: A former penal site and defensive fort located in Sydney Harbour and visible from Farm Cove. It was built on a small island known as Mat-te-wan-ye by the Eora, or Pinchgut Island by the convicts. Now a museum, a cannon is still fired from the fort daily at 1pm.
• Mrs Macquarie's Chair: Lachlan Macquarie was governor of NSW from 1810-1821. He had a road built for his wife Elizabeth to walk along to reach the harbour. Here she used to sit and admire the views. Convicts were tasked to carve her a chair from a sandstone block on the point. An inscription is also carved above the chair.
• Moreton Bay Fig Trees: These enormous trees dominate The Gardens, and many areas of Sydney. Native to the area, they can grow up to 60m high.
• Conservatorium of Music: One of the oldest and most prestigious music schools in Australia and located within the Gardens. The main building was commissioned by Governor Macquarie in 1816 as the stables for Government House.
• The Lion Gate: Located on part of the remaining convict-built Macquarie Wall that ran through the Gardens. The statues on either side of the gate depict a male and female lion.
• The Duck Pond: Famously full of both ducks and eels, the Gardens' Duck Pond is one of its most visited sites.
• Art Gallery of NSW: Located a short walk from the Gardens in Sydney's Domain, it is one of the biggest and most important art galleries in Australia, most notably home to the annual Archibald Prize for portraiture painting. It was opened to the public in 1874.
• Governor Phillip Fountain: Found on the edge of the Gardens near the Palace Gate and built in 1897, this huge fountain is covered in statues and commemorates Sydney's first governor.
• State Library of NSW: The oldest library in Australia, it was opened in 1826 and is adjacent to the Gardens.
• Sydney Tower: Sydney's tallest structure (at 305m high) is visible from many parts of the Gardens. Also known as Centrepoint Tower, it was opened in 1981 and houses an observation deck, restaurant and other attractions.
• And on the Central Boards you can see Government House - the residence of the Governor of New South Wales, which is located within the Gardens - and the Palace Garden Gate - a beautiful entry way to the Gardens which also once led the way to the Garden Palace building of the 1879 International Exhibition. A tremendous structure, it burned down in 1882.

Not only the landmarks, but all of the statues, benches, bridges, fountains, etc. pictured in this game are styled on actual features of Sydney's Royal Botanic Garden.

Some of the Birds You May See in The Gardens

• Australian Magpie: An omnivorous bird found across Australia and New Guinea, it is an accomplished singer.
• Kookaburra: A kingfisher, its name is derived from the Wiradjuri language and is onomatopoeic of its call.
• Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo: One of 21 cockatoo species of parrots, known for its crest, curved beak, and habit of destroying the facades of buildings.
• Rainbow Lorikeet: A beautiful parrot that mostly eats fruit, pollen and nectar.
• White Ibis: Common throughout Australia, including the city of Sydney, where they are often known as "bin chickens."

A Note on the Trees We Chose for the Game

• Wattle Tree: There are almost 1000 species of Acacia in Australia. The Golden Wattle is Australia's national flower, and also gave birth to the national colours of green and gold.
• Bottlebrush: A common tree in Sydney, the nectar in its bright flowers attract lorikeets and other native birds.
• Jacaranda: Native to South America, this tree is common in Sydney, apparently because it was once given as a gift to young mothers to plant in their yards.
• Canary Palm: Originally from the Canary Islands, these trees are widespread throughout Sydney and its parks.