How to Play

Overgrown

1-4 players 30-60 min 7.8 Board Game Geek Rating

Players compete as forces of nature, revitalizing abandoned cities by strategically placing tiles to create flourishing ecosystems. Drawing from limited shared resources mixed with pollution, your tile placement determines what opponents receive next. Through clever positioning and tile combinations inspired by match-3 mechanics, transform urban decay into wildlife havens. Victory goes to whoever creates the most verdant paradise.

Published 2026

Get Ready

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

Place the Aether board

Put the Aether on the box between all players

Distribute player components

Each player takes a City board, the small and large Aura of their color choice, and a reference card

Position starting Auras

Each player places their small Aura in one of the corners of the Aether

Prepare the Recycle bag

Fill the bag with 9 of each Element tile (Earth, Water, Sun), 3 Pollution tiles, and the Aether Crater tile, then mix them up

Fill the Aether board

Starting from the outer spaces first, place a pair of tiles from the Recycle bag on each space

Place City Crater tiles

Each player places a Crater tile in their City matching the position of the Crater tile in the Aether

Add tiles to bag

Add 2 of each Element tile per player to the bag from remaining tiles (2 players: 12 tiles; 3 players: 18 tiles; 4 players: 24 tiles), then return leftover Element tiles to the box

Prepare Wildlife cards

Shuffle the Wildlife deck and reveal cards equal to 1 more than the number of players (2 players: 3 cards; 3 players: 4 cards; 4 players: 5 cards)

Arrange supply

Place Overgrown tiles, Ecosystem tiles, Pollution tiles, and Wildlife tokens within reach of all players

Determine first player

The player who most recently watered a plant goes first

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

GATHER tiles

Select a pair of tiles from any one space in the Aether surrounded by any player's Aura

PLACE tiles

Place both gathered tiles into your City on any empty spaces, but they must be placed next to one another (not diagonally)

MOVE your Aura

Remove your Aura from the Aether, then place it to match the position of the 2 tiles you just placed, using the Crater as a shared reference point

ATTRACT Wildlife

If any Element tile patterns in your city match a revealed Wildlife card, take a Wildlife piece and place it on the tile indicated by the paw print, then reveal a new card

OVERGROW the City

If any group of adjacent Earth, Water, and Sun tiles exists (not diagonal), they must combine into an Overgrown tile

Create Ecosystems

If 3 Overgrown tiles are adjacent, they combine into an Ecosystem tile