How to Play

Forest Shuffle

2-5 players 40-60 min 7.7 Board Game Geek Rating

Players build forest ecosystems by planting trees and attracting wildlife in Forest Shuffle. Each turn, draw two cards or play one by paying its cost. Cards show trees or split forest creatures that attach to trees. The game ends when the third winter card appears from the deck's bottom section. Victory goes to whoever creates the highest-scoring ecological habitat.

Published 2023

Get Ready

Setup the game with these step-by-step instructions before diving into your turn.

Place the clearing

Position the clearing (game board) in the center of the table

Distribute cave cards

Give each player one Cave card

Remove winter cards

Take out all three Winter cards from the deck

Shuffle and remove cards

Shuffle the deck and return cards to the game box based on player count:

Create three piles

Divide the remaining cards into three equal-sized piles

Shuffle in winter cards

Shuffle two Winter cards into the first pile, then place the third Winter card on top of that pile

Assemble the deck

Stack the other two piles on top of the first pile and place the deck on the left side

Deal starting hands

Give six cards to each player

Optional mulligan

If you have no tree cards, you may return your hand to the game box and draw six replacement cards (only once)

Determine first player

Randomly select who goes first

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

Choose one action

Your turn consists of either drawing two cards OR playing a card

Draw two cards

Select cards from the top of the deck and/or from the clearing, drawing them one at a time

Hand limit

Your hand cannot exceed 10 cards; ignore any draws that would exceed this limit

Play a card

Pay the card's cost (brown number in upper left) by placing that many cards face-down onto the clearing

Place the card

Put the played card face-down in your play area called your Forest

Playing trees

Trees are placed separately, each with an empty card slot on each side

Playing saplings

Instead of a tree card, play any card face-down as a universal sapling (has slots like a tree but is not one of the eight tree species)

Playing animals, plants, and fungi

Place these in an empty tree slot, sliding them under the tree card so only the relevant half is visible

Apply effects

If a played card has an effect in a light-gray block, you may apply it; most effects are immediate, while fungi have permanent effects

Apply bonuses

If a card has a binocular icon in a colored arrow, apply the bonus if you paid the cost using cards matching the tree symbol in the upper right corner

Resolve order

If both effect and bonus apply, resolve the effect first; both are always optional

Drawing from effects

Any cards drawn from effects or bonuses come from the top of the deck

Check the clearing

At the end of your turn, if there are 10 or more cards on the clearing, discard them all to the game box

Winter cards

When drawn, place them face-down next to the clearing and immediately draw a replacement

Shared slots

Common Toad and European Hare cards can share a single slot with others of their kind