Verdant Arizona Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Set Up
• Gameplay
  • Move the Truck
  • Collect a Cactus
  • Display That Cactus
• Cactus Wrens
• Update the Market Grid
• Game End
• Scoring
  • Rows and Columns
  • Geckos
  • Quadrants
• Advanced Scoring
• Solo Game
  • Solo Setup
• Credits

Contents

• 40 cactus cards
• 15 cactus wren tokens
• 1 truck meeple
• 1 reference card
• 1 solo reference card

Set Up

1. Shuffle the deck of cactus cards, face-down.
2. Deal 9 cards into a face-up 3x3 market grid, in the center of the table.
3. If a card has a cactus wren icon on it, place a cactus wren token on that card.
4. Randomly determine who is Player 1 and who is Player 2.
5. Player 1 takes the truck meeple and places it on the market grid between any 2 cards or along the outside edge. If they place the truck in a vertical space, they must orientate it North or South. If they place it in a horizontal space, they must orientate it East or West.
6. Player 2 takes the first turn.

Example 3x3 market grid. The truck meeples each show an example valid start location. The truck is not placed on cards, but between them or along the outside edge of the grid. The truck meeple must be facing North, South, East or West.

Gameplay

On a player's turn they do three things in this exact order:

1. Move the truck
2. Collect a cactus
3. Display that cactus

Turns alternate until both players have completed a 4 x 4 personal cactus display.

Move the Truck

The player may move the truck up to two times. The truck must move between the cards on the market grid and/or around the outside edge of the market grid. Any of the following are considered a move:

• Moving the truck 1 space in the direction it is currently facing.
• Turning a 90 degree corner and moving one space.
• Turning the car around, 180 degrees.

The truck must end its movement next to a face-up card.

If the truck cannot reach a face-up card in 2 moves, players will first need to update the market grid before any movement is made. See the Restocking the Market section for details.

Collect a Cactus

When the player has finished moving the truck, they must take a face-up cactus card adjacent to the car. Players cannot take face-down cards.

If that cactus has a wren on it, the player gains that wren. The player replaces the cactus they have taken with a card from the cactus deck, placing it face-down.

Example: The player has moved the truck to the outside edge of the board and finishes its movement by the white "4" face-up card. They take the face-up card and put a card from the deck face-down in the vacated space.

Display That Cactus

The player places the cactus card they have just collected into their personal collection, face-up. The first cactus is simply placed anywhere in front of them to start the collection.

Every subsequent cactus card the player collects must be placed so that its edge touches an existing cactus card in their collection (adjacent).

A player's collection cannot exceed 4 cards high and 4 cards wide.

Cactus Wrens

Some cards will have a wren token on them, which a player collects if they take that card.

Cactus wrens can be spent on a player's turn in either of the following ways:

1 Wren: Move the car one additional space.

2 Wrens: Switch the positions of any 2 cards that have already been placed in a player's own collection.

When spending a Wren, return it to the supply. Players may spend multiple Wrens on their turn.

Update the Market Grid

The market grid is refreshed at the start of a player's turn whenever reaching a face-up cactus in 2 moves is impossible.

If the player can reach any cactus in 2 moves, they must do so.

If a player cannot reach a face-up card in 2 moves, they update the market grid before taking their move action.

To update the market grid:

• Place a Cactus Wren token on all face-up cards.
• Flip over all face-down cards in the market grid.
• Add a Wren Token to any revealed cards with the Nest icon.
• Continue the active-player's turn as normal.

Game End

The game ends when both players have a complete 4x4 personal collection.

At this point, move on to scoring.

Scoring

At the end of the game, each player scores their own 4x4 collection.

Rows and Columns

Players check each row and column in their collection. If a row or column has cards with numbers in ascending or descending order, the player scores 1 point. When deciding if the row or column is ascending or descending, numbers can be skipped and may be of any color. 2, 7, 33, 34 is a valid order. 7, 2, 33, 34 is not!

A row or column that scores in this way is eligible to score bonus points for Geckos.

Example: A player has 4 valid rows and 2 valid columns. Their score for rows and columns will be 6 points (4+2).

Geckos

Whenever a row or column successfully scores, the player scores 1 point for each Gecko in that row or column. This means a single Gecko may score up to 2 points, if it is in both a scoring row and column.

Example: A player has 3 Geckos in their collection. Gecko 1 is in a qualifying row and column, so scores 2 points. Geckos 2 and 3 are in scoring rows, but not in a scoring column, so they score 1 point each.

Quadrants

The four cards in each corner of a collection are called quadrants. If a quadrant has cards of all the same color, the player scores 2 points.

Example: A player has got 1 valid quadrant, with all 4 cards in it being yellow. The player will score 2 points for this quadrant.

The player with the highest total score is the winner. In the case of a tie, the player with the most cactus wren tokens is the winner. If the score is still tied, the game is a draw.

Advanced Scoring

For a more challenging puzzle, use this additional scoring method: Score an extra 1 point for each row and column in which all cards are a single color.

Solo Game

Verdant Arizona can be played solo against an artificial opponent called Vera. To win, the player must beat Vera's score. Good luck!

Solo Setup

Follow the normal Set-up instructions. The player goes first by selecting the car's starting location. Then, Vera takes a turn as detailed on the Solo reference card. Turns alternate until you've built a 4x4 grid. See Vera's reference card for win conditions and adjusting the difficulty.

Note: The detailed step-by-step logic for Vera's turns is printed on the physical Solo reference card, a separate component not included in the pages of this rulebook booklet.

Credits

Designer: Robin David Graphic Design: Jonathan Carnehl ©2026 Galen's Games • galensgames.com