The Last Garden Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Objective
• Setup
• Rules of Play
• Step 1: Build the Garden
  • 1st Action: Play a Program Card
    • Playing a Program Card
    • Wild Program Cards
    • Program Boosts
  • 2nd Action: Place a Robotanist
    • The Garden
    • The Mines
    • The Workshop
    • The Lab
  • Program Boosts
    • Playing a Program Boost
  • The Queen Action
• Step 2: Release Lab Robotanists
• Step 3: The Queen's Favor
  • 1: The Workshop: Wilting
  • 2: The Workshop: Controlled Sectors
  • 3: The Garden
  • 4: The Mines
• Step 4: End of the Round
• The End of the Game
• Important Notes worth Mentioning Again

Components

• 1 Rulebook
• 1 Game Board
• 4 Player Boards
• 1 Queen Tile: used to identify the first player each round and provide the Queen Action.
• 6 Sector Dice: placed and moved in Garden Sectors. Used to play matching Program Cards.
• 18 Program Cards: played to manipulate Gems and Garden Sector Dice in the Garden.
• 16 Robotanists: placed on the game board to earn Favor Cogs and take Program Boosts.
• 3 Program Boost Tiles: played with Program Cards to add effects.
• 36 Acrylic Gems
• 64 Favor Cog Tokens: used to keep track of your score throughout the game.

Objective

The Last Garden is a worker placement and betting game for 2-4 players. You will take control of a group of Robotanists and try to outwit your opponents in constructing the Queen's garden.

On your turn, you will play a Program Card to manipulate Gems or Sector Dice in the garden, and then place a Robotanist onto the board to earn Favor Cogs. Robotanists can be tricky, so watch out for deceptive plans. At the end of a set number of rounds, the player who has earned the most Favor Cogs from the Queen, wins.

Setup

1. Place the game board in the center of the table.
2. Place a Sector Die in each Garden Sector, matching its starting value.
3. Place the three Program Boosts face-up in the Lab.
4. Grab six Gems (two of each color) and randomly place one Gem in each Garden Sector.
5. Set the remaining Gems and the Favor Cogs next to the game board.
6. Shuffle the Program Cards, creating a Program Deck, and place it next to the game board.
7. Each player chooses a color and grabs a number of Robotanists of that color depending on the number of players. (See chart)
8. Each player draws a number of Program Cards depending on the number of players. (See chart)
9. Randomly determine the starting player, that player receives the Queen Tile.

Players	Robotanists	Program Cards
2	4	5
3	4	5
4	3	4

Rules of Play

The Last Garden is played over a number of rounds depending on the number of players:

Players	Rounds
2	4
3	3
4	4

A round consists of four Steps:

• Step 1: Build the Garden
• Step 2: Release Lab Robotanists
• Step 3: Queen's Favor
• Step 4: End of Round

Step 1: Build the Garden

Building the Garden consists of you and your opponents taking turns in clockwise order until the last Robotanist has been placed onto the game board. There are two actions you must take on your turn and they must be taken in the following order:

• 1st Action: Play a Program Card
• 2nd Action: Place a Robotanist

1st Action: Play a Program Card

There are three different types of Program Cards:

• Place: Place Program Cards allow you to choose one Gem of any color from the unused Gems and place it in a Garden Sector.
• Move: Move Program Cards allow you to remove one Gem from a Garden Sector and place it in any Garden Sector. If there are no Gems in the Garden Sector you are removing from, you may still play the card but nothing happens.
• Spin: Spin Program Cards allow you to spin a Sector Die up one number or down one number. A number 1 Sector Die can spin to a number 6 Sector Die and vice versa.

Playing a Program Card

Each Program Card has a die icon numbered 1 through 6. This die icon is called the Program Die.

To play a Program Card, its Program Die must match a Sector Die in a Garden Sector.

Ex. Marrissa plays a Place Program Card with a Program Die of 1. She may only place a Gem in a Garden Sector, if its Sector Die is also a 1.

Wild Program Cards

If your Program Card's Program Die does not match any Sector Dice, the Program Die becomes wild and may represent any number.

Ex. Marrissa plays a Place Program Card with a Program Die of 1 but there are no Sector Dice that match. She may now place a Gem in any Garden Sector instead.

After you have resolved your Program Card, place it in a designated discard pile next to the Program Deck.

You may never look through the discard pile.

Program Boosts

When playing a Program Card, you may use a Program Boost to add additional effects. (See the Lab for Program Boosts.)

2nd Action: Place a Robotanist

There are four different locations to place your Robotanists:

The Garden

The Garden is made up of six Garden Sectors. Placing Robotanists in a Garden Sector could earn you Favor Cogs in the Queen's Favor step. Only one Robotanist may occupy a Garden Sector at one time. (See Step 3: The Queen's Favor for scoring.)

The Mines

There are three spaces in the Mines, each representing a different color of Gem. Placing Robotanists on any unoccupied space in the Mines will earn you Favor Cogs in The Queen's Favor step. (See step 3: The Queen's Favor for scoring.)

The Workshop

There are three different rows of spaces within the Workshop: 1:1, 1:2, and 6+ = 3

Each Row has Sector Die numbered 1 through 6. Placing a Robotanist on an unoccupied space with a Sector Die will give you Control of that Sector Die. Every Sector Die you Control that matches a Sector Die in the Garden could earn you Favor Cogs in The Queen's Favor step. (See step 3: The Queen's Favor for scoring.)

The Lab

Placing a Robotanist on an unoccupied numbered space in the Lab (starting with 1) allows you to take any one of the three available Program Boosts. You may not place a Robotanist in the Lab if there are no Program Boosts to take.

Program Boosts

There are three different Program Boosts:

Place/Move Gem x 2 When playing a Place Program Card, use this Program Boost to place two Gems of any color instead of one.

Or

When playing a Move Program Card, use this Program Boost to remove two Gems from a Garden Sector and place them both in any Garden Sector.

Place/Move a Gem - Multi When playing a Place Program Card, use this Program Boost to place one Gem of any color in every Garden Sector that matches its Sector Die.

Or

When playing a Move Program Card, use this Program Boost to remove one Gem from every Garden Sector that matches its Sector Die and place them in any Garden Sector. All Gems must be placed in the same Garden Sector, not split apart.

Change Action When playing a Program Card, use this Program Boost to change the Program Card to any other Program Card instead.

The Program Card's Sector Die remains unchanged.

Playing a Program Boost

To play a Program Boost, declare you are using your Program Boost when playing a Program Card, then add its effect. After using a Program Boost, return it to any empty spot in the Lab. You may only have one Program Boost at a time, and it may be held from round to round until you use it.

Ex. Marrissa plays a Place Program Card and declares she is using her x 2 Program Boost. She may now place two Gems in the Garden Sector instead of one. After her Program Card is resolved, Marrissa places the x 2 Program Boost back into the Lab.

The Queen Action

If you are the first player and control the Queen Tile, you may take a special one-time free action called the Queen Action. The Queen Action may be taken to Place one Gem of any color into any Garden Sector. The Queen Action does not count as one of the two actions you are required to take and may be taken at any time during one of your turns.

Once you have taken the Queen Action, turn the Queen Tile upside down to show players that you have taken it for the Round.

After each player has placed their last Robotanist, proceed to Step 2: Release Lab Robotanists.

Step 2: Release Lab Robotanists

If any Robotanists are in the Lab, you and your opponents must move them, starting with the number 1 space, to any unoccupied space on the game board that could earn Favor Cogs. Robotanists can not be placed back into the Lab during this Step.

Ex: Marrissa and Jordan both have Robotanists in the Lab. Marrissa's Robotanist is on the number 1 space and Jordan's is on the number 2 space. During the Release Lab Robotanists step, Marrissa decides to place her Robotanist in an unoccupied Garden Sector, then Jordan decides to place his in an unoccupied space in the Workshop.

After all Robotanists have been released from the Lab, proceed to Step 3: The Queen's Favor.

Step 3: The Queen's Favor

In this step, you will earn Favor Cogs depending on the placement of your Robotanists. There are five different scoring options, and all scoring must happen in the following order:

1: The Workshop: Wilting

6+ = 3 - (IMPORTANT) Before any other scoring happens, any Garden Sector that contains six or more Gems is Wilting. Immediately remove all Gems from the Wilting Garden Sector and place them with the unused Gems. If you Control a 6+ = 3 Sector Die in the Workshop that matches the Wilting Garden Sector's Sector Die, you earn three Favor Cogs.

Ex. Marrissa Controls the 6+ = 3 space with the Sector Die of four in the Workshop. There is a Garden Sector with a Sector Die of four that contains six Gems. Before any other scoring, Marrissa removes all six Gems from the Wilting Garden Sector and earns three Favor Cogs.

2: The Workshop: Controlled Sectors

1:1 - If you Control a Sector Die in this row that matches any Garden Sector Dice, earn one Favor Cog for every Gem in all matching Garden Sectors.

Ex. Marrissa Controls the number 5 Sector Die in the 1:1 row. There are three matching Garden Sectors in the Garden, each having two Gems. Marrissa adds the Gems together and will earn six Favor Cogs.

1:2 - If you Control a Sector Die in this row that matches any Garden Sector Dice, earn one Favor Cog for every two Gems in all matching Garden Sectors, rounding up.

Ex. Marrissa Controls the number 4 Sector Die in the 1:2 row. There are two matching Garden Sectors in the Garden. One Garden Sector has three Gems and the other has two. She adds all the Gems together and rounds up, equaling six. Marrissa will earn three Favor Cogs.

3: The Garden

If you placed a Robotanist in a Garden Sector, earn one Favor Cog for every Gem in that Garden Sector. Remember, only one Robotanist may occupy each Garden Sector.

Ex. Marrissa has a Robotanist in a Garden Sector that contains four Gems. She will earn four Favor Cogs.

4: The Mines

The color that represents the most Gems in the Garden (all six Garden Sectors) will earn you Favor Cogs accordingly.

• 1st Place = Five Favor Cogs
• 2nd Place = Three Favor Cogs
• 3rd Place = One Favor Cog

If there is a tie, add the contested Favor Cogs together and split them evenly amongst the tied players.

Ex. Marrissa's Robotanist is on the green Gem space and Jordan's is on the blue Gem space. Both green Gems and blue Gems are tied for the most Gems in the Garden. Add together the 1st place Favor Cogs and 2nd place Favor Cogs and split them evenly. Marrissa and Jordan will each earn four Favor Cogs.

Step 4: End of the Round

After any Favor Cogs have been earned, discard your unused Program Card and return all of your Robotanists from the game board.

Shuffle the discarded Program Cards back into the Program Deck and deal a new hand to each player. The first player passes the Queen Tile to the left and that player becomes the first player for the round.

(IMPORTANT): The Garden Sector Dice and Gems do not reset from round to round.

The End of the Game

After you have completed the last round, the game is over.

Count the total of your Favor Cogs and the player with the most Favor Cogs wins!

Important Notes worth Mentioning Again

• The Sector Dice and Gems in the Garden do not reset from round to round.
• If your Action Card's Program Die does not match any Sector Dice, the Program Die becomes wild and may be played on any Garden Sector.
• Only one Robotanist may occupy a Garden Sector at one time.
• When moving multiple Gems at the same time, all gems must be placed in the same Garden Sector, not split apart.
• When Spinning a Sector Die, you may only spin the die up one number or down one number. A 1 can spin to a 6 and vice-versa.
• Wilting happens before any other scoring happens.
• You may only ever hold one Program Boost at a time, but you may hold onto it from round to round until you decide to use it.
• The Queen Action is a one-time free action that the first player may take at any time during their turn.
• At the end of a round, you should have one Program Card left. Don't worry, you did not forget to take a turn.