Verdant Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Advanced Setup
• Gameplay Overview
• Game Start
• Turn Summary
  • 1. Select a card and a token.
  • 2. Place the card into your home.
  • 3. Check lighting conditions and collect verdancy.
  • 4. Place/Use Items.
  • 5. Completing Plants and adding Pots.
  • 6. Place any unused Item Tokens in Storage and check Green Thumb Token limit.
  • 7. Refill the Market.
• Green Thumb Token Actions
• End Game & Scoring
• Solo Mode
  • Setup
  • Turn Summary
  • End Game and Scoring
• Variants
  • Family Variant
• Verdant Achievements
  • Scenarios
  • Achievements (Standard Game)
  • Achievements (Rules Modifications)
• Goal Card Rules Clarifications
• Credits

Components

• 60 Unique Plant Cards (12 each of 5 types: Succulent, Flowering, Foliage, Vining, Unusual)
• 60 Unique Room Cards (12 each of 5 patterned colors matching each of the plant types: Succulent, Flowering, Foliage, Vining, Unusual)
• 10 Player Aid Cards
• 5 Storage Cards
• 10 Unique Plant Goal Cards (advanced game scoring conditions)
• 10 Unique Item Goal Cards (advanced game scoring conditions)
• 10 Unique Room Goal Cards (advanced game scoring conditions)
• 45 Unique Item Tokens (5 each of 9 Furniture and Pet types to place in your rooms): Table, Chair, Sofa, Lamp, Shelf, Fish, Bird, Cat, Dog
• 36 Pot Tokens (6 each of 3 bonus types, and 18 terra cotta pots): Concrete - 3 pts, Wood - 2 pts, Ceramic - 1 pt, Terra Cotta - 0 pts
• 45 Nurture Item Tokens (15 of each - used to add verdancy to your plants): Fertilizer, Hand Trowel, Watering Can
• 36 Green Thumb Tokens (used to perform special actions)
• 60 Deluxe Wooden Verdancy Tokens (for tracking the verdancy of your plants): Large - 3 verdancy, Small - 1 verdancy
• 1 Full Color Scorepad
• 1 Deluxe Cloth Bag (for Item and Nurture Tokens)

Setup

1. Place all 45 Item Tokens and 45 Nurture Tokens in the Cloth Bag and shuffle/shake them well. Place the bag in the center of the play area within easy reach of all players. Reveal 4 tokens from the bag and place them in a row adjacent to the bag to begin to form the Market.

2. Shuffle all Plant Cards into a single deck and place the deck facedown in the center of the play area, just above the Cloth Bag. Reveal 4 cards from the facedown deck and place them faceup in a row adjacent to the deck, above the item tokens.

3. Shuffle all Room Cards into a single deck and place the deck facedown in the center of the play area, just below the Cloth Bag. Reveal 4 cards from the facedown deck and place them faceup in a row adjacent to the deck, below the item tokens. This completes the setup of the Market.

4. Place all Verdancy and Green Thumb Tokens in piles adjacent to the Market within easy reach of all players.

5. Using the chart below, determine how many Pot Tokens you need, based on the number of players:

   • 1P: 4 of each bonus type + all terra cotta pots
   • 2P: 3 of each bonus type + all terra cotta pots
   • 3P: 4 of each bonus type + all terra cotta pots
   • 4P: 5 of each bonus type + all terra cotta pots
   • 5P: 6 of each bonus type + all terra cotta pots

   Place these tokens in stacks or rows adjacent to the Market within easy reach of all players. Place any excluded Pot Tokens back into the box - they will not be used this game.

6. Place 2 Player Aid Cards and 1 Storage Card faceup in front of each player. Return unused Player Aid and Storage Cards to the box — they will not be used this game.

7. Randomly draw 1 Plant Card and 1 Room Card from the facedown decks, and place them in front of each player.

8. The player with the highest verdancy requirement on their plant card is the starting player. (If multiple players are tied for the highest, then the player with the plant name that is first, alphabetically, is the starting player.)

9. Deal Green Thumb Tokens to players based on the player turn order:

   • The starting player does not receive any Green Thumb Tokens.
   • The player to the right of the starting player (last player) receives 2 Green Thumb Tokens.
   • All other players receive 1 Green Thumb Token.

Advanced Setup

Once you have played Verdant with the standard setup, you can add more scoring variety to the game by adding end game scoring Goal Cards!

• Shuffle each of the 3 Goal Card decks (Plants, Items, and Rooms) and draw 1 card from each deck. Return all other Goal Cards to the box - they will not be used this game.
• Place the three drawn cards adjacent to the Market where all players can see them. These cards represent public scoring conditions that all players may achieve. Points for achieving these conditions will be awarded at the end of the game (see the Goal Card Rules Clarifications section for details).

Gameplay Overview

Beginning with the starting player and proceeding clockwise around the table, players will take turns drafting Plant Cards, Room Cards, and Item Tokens and adding them into their expanding home. Players will make spatial matches and use Nurture Tokens to care for their plant collection as the game progresses.

Each turn, a player will select an adjacent combination of a card and a token and play them into their home - the personal play area in front of them. Players will be constructing a 5 X 3 checkerboard home (must be 5 cards wide, by 3 cards tall) and cards must be placed adjacent to cards already played. Players will make matches and use actions to add verdancy to their plants in order to 'complete' them, allowing them to add Pot Tokens to pot their prized plants.

At the end of each player's turn, both the card and token selected will be replaced with new ones from the card decks and Cloth Bag, respectively. In addition, a Green Thumb Token will be placed on the other card in the same column as the card that was chosen.

The game ends when all players have completed a 5 X 3 home consisting of 15 cards (each player will play exactly 13 turns).

The game then proceeds to final scoring and the player with the most points wins!

Game Start

Before the first player takes their first turn, players will simultaneously choose the starting positions of their starting Plant Card and Room Card. These two cards must be placed orthogonally adjacent to one another in any configuration.

Any players that make a lighting condition match between their cards will immediately add 1 verdancy to their Plant Card (see Step 3 of Turn Summary).

Play then proceeds with the starting player taking their first turn.

Turn Summary

1. Select a card and a token.

At the beginning of each turn there will be 4 Plant Cards, 4 Item Tokens, and 4 Room Cards in the center of the play area. This is referred to as the Market. The cards and tokens will be arranged in 4 columns, each with 1 Plant Card, 1 Item Token, and 1 Room Card.

You must select 1 Item Token and 1 Card (Plant or Room) from the same column.

You will also obtain any Green Thumb Tokens that are on any card that you select.

Note: before making a selection, you may use Green Thumb Tokens in order to carry out actions to manipulate the market or alter the selection criteria. These actions are described in the Green Thumb Token Actions section.

2. Place the card into your home.

You will be creating a 5 X 3 grid of cards in your personal play area. This growing tableau of cards is referred to as your home. You must place cards according to the following placement rules:

• Cards must be placed orthogonally adjacent to other cards.
• Plant Cards must be placed next to Room Cards, and vice versa, in a checkerboard pattern.
• Cards may not be placed outside of the 5 X 3 grid (the grid must be 5 cards wide, by 3 cards tall).
• Cards may not be rotated from their upright orientation.
• Once a card is placed, it may not be moved on a later turn.
• Cards are not required to match either lighting conditions (see part 3), or room color (see scoring).

3. Check lighting conditions and collect verdancy.

As you place Plant Cards and Room Cards, you will be trying to place plants in locations that have favorable lighting conditions to add verdancy to complete them (see step 5 for Completing Plants).

Each plant has one to three different lighting conditions that it prefers. Each edge of each room card has one lighting condition. If a match between the lighting condition on the room and any of the preferred lighting conditions on the Plant Card are made, then 1 verdancy is added to the Plant Card.

The three lighting conditions are: Full Sun, Semi-Shade, and Shade.

Verdancy is tracked with Verdancy Tokens — the small (lighter green) tokens represent 1 verdancy, while the larger (darker green) tokens represent 3 verdancy. (At any time, you may swap 3 1-Verdancy Tokens for 1 3-Verdancy Token, as you wish. In higher player count games, players should be mindful to exchange tokens so that the supply does not run out of 1-Verdancy Tokens.)

If multiple card edge connections are created by the placement of a card, then all edges are checked for matches. You may collect multiple verdancy per turn in this manner.

Note: It does not matter which order you place Plant Cards and Room cards, any time a match is made, you collect verdancy.

4. Place/Use Items.

You may choose to place Furniture and Pet Item Tokens into your home, or spend Nurture Item Tokens to carry out nurture actions. You may place or spend the token you just obtained, a stored token you saved from a previous turn (see Step 6), or both.

Placing a Furniture or Pet Item Token

You may place a Furniture or Pet Item Token onto any Room Card that has an open space. Only 1 token may be placed on each room card. The token color/type does not need to match the room type (but if it does, it will increase the Room Card's scoring potential, see Room Bonuses in scoring.)

Using a Nurture Item Token

In addition to making Plant and Room Card lighting condition matches, you may use Nurture Item Tokens to add verdancy to plants in your home. Nurture Item Tokens are one-time-use items that are discarded from the game once used.

There are three types of Nurture Item Tokens. Each adds verdancy to your plants in a unique way:

• Fertilizer: Add 3 verdancy to any 1 plant. All 3 verdancy must be added to a single plant. If the plant would be completed with fewer than 3 verdancy, then the remaining verdancy is not added, and is lost.
• Hand Trowel: Add 1 verdancy to up to 3 plants. You may add verdancy to any 3 plants, but you may not add more than 1 verdancy to any single plant. If a home has fewer than 3 incomplete plants, then any remaining verdancy is not added, and is lost.
• Watering Can: Add 1 verdancy to all plants surrounding a single room. You must choose which room you wish to use the watering can from, and add 1 verdancy to any incomplete plants surrounding that room.

In the rare event that you do not wish to add verdancy to a plant, you may always choose not to. If you have an Item Token in storage from a previous turn, you may always place/use multiple items on your turn.

5. Completing Plants and adding Pots.

Whenever you complete a plant by adding the total number of verdancy that it requires, you will immediately remove all Verdancy Tokens from the card, and pot the plant by adding the highest value Bonus Pot Token remaining from the supply. If no Bonus Pot Tokens remain in the supply, you will take a terra cotta Pot Token. Pot Tokens are placed over the pot depicted on the card to signify plant completion.

Note: Completed plants no longer receive any verdancy from either light condition matching or Nurture Item Token actions.

6. Place any unused Item Tokens in Storage and check Green Thumb Token limit.

You may choose to store a single Item Token (from this turn or a previous turn) on your Storage Card for use on a later turn. The Storage Card only has space for 1 Item Token, so any additional Item Tokens that you cannot play or choose not to play are discarded.

You may hold a maximum of 5 Green Thumb Tokens from one turn to the next. Players store unused Green Thumb Tokens on their Storage Card. If you have more than 5 Green Thumb Tokens remaining at the end of your turn, you must discard any excess back to the supply.

7. Refill the Market.

Once you have completed all of the previous steps, you will refill the market by adding a card and token from the appropriate deck and bag, respectively. In addition, you will add the new Green Thumb Token to the remaining card in the column from which you selected your card. Your turn is now complete. Play passes clockwise to the next player.

Note: in the event that you choose a card and token from different columns (see Green Thumb Token Actions) be sure to place the Green Thumb Token on the card in the same column as the card that you selected, not the item.

Green Thumb Token Actions

You may spend Green Thumb Tokens to carry out the following actions. Each action costs 2 Green Thumb Tokens:

• A. Token Reset: before selecting your card and token from the Market, reset any number of tokens from the Market. Choose 1-4 of the tokens from the Market and set them aside. Then, one-at-a-time, draw new tiles from the bag and place them in the vacant locations in the market, starting from the closest to the bag and moving further away from it. Then, return the tokens you placed aside back to the bag and shake the bag to shuffle them.
• B. Card Reset: Before selecting your card and token from the Market, reset any number of cards with no Green Thumb Tokens on them. Follow the same refill rules as the tokens, but place any wiped cards at the bottom of their respective decks.
• C. Ignore Selection Restriction: Select any card and any token when you choose your card and token from the Market. You may ignore the restriction of selecting from a single column and select any combination of a card and a token from the Market. (Note: since this replaces your main selection action, it may only be carried out once per turn.)
• D. +1 Verdancy: Add 1 verdancy to any one of your plants.

Any Green Thumb Tokens you spend are immediately returned to the supply. You may carry out as many Green Thumb actions as you wish on your turn, provided you have enough Green Thumb Tokens.

End Game & Scoring

The game ends when all players' homes have 15 cards (a completed 5 X 3 grid). Note: each player will play exactly 13 turns. Record scores on the Scorepad for the following:

1. Completed Plants: Each player scores each completed Plant Card in their home. For each completed plant, players score the number of points indicated below the verdancy requirement on the Plant Card. Completed plants are those that have their verdancy requirements met and have received a Pot Token.

2. Extra Verdancy on Incomplete Plants: Each player scores points equal to the total number of verdancy on all of their incomplete plants, divided by 2, rounded down to the nearest whole number. For example: 7 extra verdancy = 3 points.

3. Bonus Pot Tokens: Each player scores the total number of points printed on all of their Bonus Pot Tokens. Concrete pots score 3 points, wood pots score 2 points, and ceramic pots score 1 point. Note: terra cotta pots do not score any points.

4. Room Bonuses: Each player scores each Room Card in their home. For each room, players score 1 point per adjacent matching plant of the type depicted on the card. However, if a Room Card also contains a Furniture or Pet Item Token of the same color/pattern as the Room Card, then the number of points per adjacent matching plant is doubled to 2 points. Note: it is recommended that players start in the top left corner of their home and count rooms in each row from left to right, counting up to a total number of points as they go.

5. Furniture and Pets: Each player scores an increasing number of points based on how many unique Furniture and Pet Item Tokens they have in their home. Duplicate tokens of the same type do not score. The scoring is: 1 unique = 1 pt, 2 = 3, 3 = 6, 4 = 9, 5 = 12, 6 = 16, 7 = 20, 8 = 25.

6. Plant Collector Bonus: Each player scores 3 points if their home contains at least 1 of each of the 5 different plant types.

7. Decorator Bonus: Each player scores 3 points if their home contains at least 1 of each of the 5 different room types.

Note: If playing with the Advanced Goal Cards, each player adds the appropriate points to the score sheet for each Goal Card (see the Goal Card Rules Clarifications section).

Finally, tally up all points, and the player with the most points wins! In the case of a tie, the tied player with the most Green Thumb Tokens wins. If there is still a tie, the tied players share the victory!

Solo Mode

Setup

Follow the standard game setup rules, except give yourself 2 Green Thumb Tokens (note: you may choose whether or not to use the Advanced Setup in the Solo Mode).

Place 1 of the 4 Concrete (3-point) Pot Tokens in each of the columns, above the market. Place the remaining Bonus Pot Tokens in a stack, with the highest value pots at the top of the stack and the Terra Cotta Pots at the bottom of the stack. Place this stack of tokens above the Plant Card deck.

Turn Summary

In order to play Verdant Solo, follow a turn as usual, however, the following exceptions to the standard rules apply:

• The Market works like a conveyor belt. Refilling the Market:

  1. place a Green Thumb Token as usual, then
  2. discard any remaining cards and tokens from the rightmost column of the market (column furthest from the decks). Also, if you did not complete any plants this turn, remove the Pot Token that is above that column. If any of the discarded cards contain Green Thumb Tokens,
  3. move those Green Thumb Tokens to the left to the next available card, they do not get discarded. Finally,
  4. check to see if Green Thumb Tokens need to be wiped. If any card now contains 3 or more Green Thumb Tokens, remove all of the tokens from that card and return them to the supply.
  5. Shift all remaining cards and tokens to the right (away from the decks). This will result in the leftmost column (the one closest to the deck) being completely empty.
  6. Refill any open spaces in the Market with their corresponding card/token and move the Pot Token on the top of the stack into the space above the leftmost column.

• On your turn, if you complete a plant, take the Pot Token from above the rightmost column of the Market. If you complete additional plants on that turn, take the lowest value Pot Token(s) available in the discard pile (note: do not take them from other slots above the market or from the draw pile — take them from the pots discarded on previous turns). There is a single exception to this rule: on the 13th and final turn of the game, the Pot Token above the leftmost column of the market will be a terra cotta Pot Token. On this turn, if you finish multiple plants, you will pot ALL plants completed with terra cotta Pot Tokens.

End Game and Scoring

The game ends the same way as a multiplayer game. Go through End Game and Scoring as usual. For single games, use this chart and compare your score:

• 60+ A good start!
• 70+ You're getting it!
• 80+ Very Good!
• 90+ Excellent!
• 100+ Elite!

For the full Verdant Solo Mode experience, try the Scenarios.

Variants

Family Variant

The Family Variant of Verdant introduces streamlined rules that reduce the complexity so that younger and less experienced gamers can enjoy the game!

Setup: Follow the standard game setup rules, except set aside the Verdancy Tokens and Green Thumb Tokens - they will not be used.

Turn Summary: The game is played the same as the standard rules, with the following exceptions:

• Since there are no Green Thumb Tokens used, there are no Green Thumb Token actions available to players.
• Follow the same Item Token storage rules as the standard game.
• Ignore lighting condition and verdancy requirements on plants - they get completed/potted in a simpler way in this variant: When you draft a Nurture Action Tile you may use it to immediately complete one of your plants (The type of Nurture Action Tile does not matter, they will all complete your plant). When you complete a plant in this way, choose ANY of the Pot Tokens and place it on the Plant Card to show that the plant is completed. (Pots do not score bonuses in the Family Variant, so it does not matter which one you take or in which order - choose the one you like the most!)

Scoring:

• Each completed plant is worth 5 points at the end of the game, disregard the points printed on the Plant Card, and bonuses printed on the Bonus Pot Tokens.
• Score the Room Bonuses, Furniture and Pets, Collector Bonus, and Decorator Bonus the same as the standard game.
• In the case of a tie, the tied player with the most completed plants wins! If there is still a tie, the tied players share the victory!

Verdant Achievements

Grow your own plant by gaining Achievements as you play Verdant! Achievements can be earned and tracked as you play multiplayer and solo games. There is an Achievement Plant Track where up to 4 players can keep track of their overall progress. You may begin gaining Achievements at any time. To do so, write your name below any of the plants. Each time you play, choose one of the three Achievement modes: Scenarios, Standard Game, or Rules Modifications and follow the instructions. From now on, whenever you gain an Achievement from any of the Achievement modes, fill in your shape under the appropriate mode and then fill in a leaf on your plant.

Scenarios

Scenarios can be played in multiplayer or solo mode. Each of the scenarios will show you which Goal Cards to use and state objectives that must all be completed to pass the scenario. When playing solo, we suggest starting with Scenario 1 and working your way up to Scenario 15, since they get progressively more difficult. You may only fill in your Achievement shape when you pass the scenario. When playing multiplayer, choose any scenario. All players who successfully pass the scenario may fill in their Achievement shape.

Each scenario lists a set of three Goal Cards, a minimum score, and objectives:

#	Goal Cards	Min. Score	Objectives
1	A, A, B	70	—
2	B, B, C	70	—
3	E, D, F	75	—
4	J, I, B	75	Complete all plants
5	G, A, C	75	Cannot use Hand Trowel Items
6	I, C, E	80	Complete 1 of each of the 5 plant types
7	B, E, D	80	Place 8 unique items in your home
8	F, B, F	85	All lighting conditions must match; Placed items must match room type
9	G, A, B	85	Same type of plant/room in each column; Score 5+ points from extra verdancy
10	D, F, A	90	Have only 3 different plant types; Score 10+ points from pots
11	C, I, E	90	Have no pets; End game with 3+ Green Thumb Tokens
12	A, J, G	95	Have 4 plants of any plant type; Score 35+ points from plants
13	E, F, A	95	All lighting conditions must match; All rooms must contain an item
14	I, C, J	95	Cannot use Watering Can Items; Score 20+ points from rooms
15	F, D, I	100	Achieve both Collector and Decorator; Score 40+ points from plants

Achievements (Standard Game)

Set up and play a multiplayer game of Verdant using the standard rules. Any player who plays the game will fill in a maximum of one Achievement shape in their column if they earned an Achievement.

1. Score 70+ points.
2. Score 80+ points.
3. Score 90+ points.
4. Score 100+ points.
5. Have 5 of a single plant type.
6. Have 5 of a single room type.
7. Complete 8 plants.
8. Collect 8 unique items.
9. Score 30+ points from completed plants.
10. Score 40+ points from completed plants.
11. Score 20+ points from rooms.
12. Score 25+ points from rooms.
13. Have all items match their room.
14. Score 9+ points from Bonus Pots.
15. Score 12+ points from Bonus Pots.
16. Score 10+ points from Goal Cards.
17. Score 15+ points from Goal Cards.
18. Have 10+ extra Verdancy Tokens.
19. Score both Collector and Decorator.
20. Win by 10+ points.
21. Win by 15+ points.
22. Collect all 4 pets.
23. Collect all 5 pieces of furniture.
24. Score 8 points from a single room.
25. End game with 5 Green Thumb Tokens.

Achievements (Rules Modifications)

Set up and play a multiplayer game of Verdant following the standard rules with one rules modification from the list below. Any player who plays the game will fill in their Achievement shape under the rule modification that was used.

1. All lighting conditions must match when placing cards.
2. Three Green Thumb Tokens required to take a Green Thumb action.
3. At the start, each player draws a room card - this room type may not be drafted by the player.
4. Play with 2 sets of Goal Cards - players may choose at the end which of the 2 cards to score.
5. Play with individual secret goal cards - deal one set to each player at the start of the game.
6. Play with no 5 X 3 grid restriction - players may create any shape with their 15 cards.
7. Play without Item Storage - tokens must be played on the turn they were drafted, or discarded.
8. Fertilizer Tokens cannot be played. Instead, discard to gain 3 Green Thumb Tokens.
9. You may spend 5 Green Thumb Tokens to do any Nurture action.
10. Play with a market of only 3 columns.

Goal Card Rules Clarifications

The Goal Cards used in the Advanced Setup for Verdant have specific goals with numbers of points that can be achieved by completing them. The following are clarifications for commonly asked questions regarding these Goal Cards.

Goal Cards that involve having the 'most' of something indicate 'friendly ties' - this means that all players who are tied for the most will score all of the points listed. For most of 'any', in the case of 'Competitive Collections' and 'Colorful Competition', score each of the 5 plant types separately, and the player with the most of each scores the indicated points. Note: these cards should be removed from play in solo games. If you randomly select one in a solo game, discard the Goal Card and select another one.

Perfectly matching conditions refers to lighting condition matches between cards. In order to have perfectly matching conditions, cards must have all sides that are adjacent to another card be matching.

Missing types refer to plant or room types that the player does not have in their home at the end of the game.

There are 4 Pot Token types - terra cotta pots count as one of the types (Concrete, Wood, Ceramic, Terra Cotta).

Credits

Designers: Molly Johnson, Robert Melvin, Aaron Mesburne, Kevin Russ, and Shawn Stankewich. Illustration by Beth Sobel. Solo Mode Design by Shawn Stankewich. A Flatout Games CoLab publication, co-published with AEG (Alderac Entertainment Group). © 2022 Alderac Entertainment Group.