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GAME RULES
 

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Arbor is a competitive strategy game for 2-4 players.

 

You play as an Ancient , a spirit of the forest on a quest to regrow the world and claim the dormant roots of the first tree.​

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
 


SETUP
 



PREPARING TO PLAY
 

Each player chooses a color for their Forest and selects the corresponding Forest Tiles.

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Open the envelope and remove the cards. The Forest Tiles include:

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1 Origin Tile

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5 Guardian Tiles

25 Tree Tiles

 

After this, players select the Ancient they want to play in that game. The oldest player may choose first, for they are older and wiser.

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NOTE:

Ancients are characters that define special rules that only a single player has access to. See the Ancients section of these rules for more information. 

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Once players have chosen their Ancients, players must choose what Scenario they want to play and set up the board as per the requirements.

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Place your Origin Tile in the starting position and place your Ancient piece on top of it.​ Place two Tree Tiles in the positions shown.

 

Remove the following cards from the Land Card deck: 

Song of Reverence x 2

Celestial Grace x 2

Celestial Focus x2

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NOTE:

These cards were relevant in the original Game of Arbor, but are no longer used in Arbor: Reawoken.

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Shuffle the remaining Land Card deck and the Star Card deck, placing them both to the side of the board.

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The younger player may go first, for they are young and sprightly.

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GOAL OF THE GAME
 



GLORY
 

The goal of the game is to reach a set number of Victory Points, or Glory, before your opponent.

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Glory is earned by growing a Forest to connect your Origin Tile to the Root Tiles on the board. 

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Each Root Tile covers one space completely, and 8 spaces partially. 

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On each Root Tile, the 4 corners are occupied by Runes. If you place a Forest Tile in a space pointed to by a Root Rune, your Forest is "connected" to that Root. 

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  • Being connected to a Root grants you 1 Glory. 

  • If another player also occupies a space pointed to by a Root Rune, they too are granted 1 Glory.

  • If you are able to completely surround a Root, connecting with all 4 Root Runes, you are granted 2 Glory. 

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Glory granted does not persist. If your connection is broken, you lose the Glory granted.

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NOTE:

(1) The Soul of the Forest Rule is important to keep in mind when calculating Glory. 

(2) The Sacred Origin Rule is important to keep in mind when confirming victory.

(3) You cannot place a tile in the center of a Root Tile.

 

The game ends immediately when a player reaches the required number of Glory connected to their Origin Tile.

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In a 2 person game on the Valley of Fate Scenario, victory is claimed by the first player to reach 4 Glory and hold that advantage until the start of their next turn.

 

NOTE:

The number of Glory required for the game to end can be changed to allow for shorter or longer games as desired by the players. In addition, the Scenario played can necessitate different amounts of Glory.​

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CORE CONCEPTS
 



FOREST
 

Your Forest is the collective term for all the tiles present on the board in your color, starting with your Origin. During your turn, tiles can be placed on the board within spaces in order to expand your Forest. By placing tiles, you are creating the area your Ancient piece can stand on.

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ANCIENT
 

At the start of the game, you chose an Ancient as your character. This is a powerful being with unique powers. 

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Your Ancient is represented on the board by a wooden piece placed on a tile of your Forest color. Your Ancient is source of power for your forest and represents it's heart and soul.

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AURA
 

Your Ancient emanates an Aura from the tile it is standing on. The Aura extends to the 8 spaces immediately surrounding your Ancient.​

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You can only place tiles in spaces within your Aura.

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MANNA AND TERRA
 

During your turn, you take Actions by spending two types of resources: Manna and Terra. Both are generated at the start of your turn, though they function differently:

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Manna is tracked on the Manna tracker on your side of the board. They do not carry over to your next turn, and you cannot have more than 8 Manna at any given time.

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Terra are drawn from your reserve and kept in front of you as tokens. If you don't spend all your Terra on your turn, you can retain them until your next turn. The maximum number of Terra you can retain is same as the number you gained at the start of your turn. If you have more Terra than you are allowed to retain, you must return the surplus to your reserve.

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THE PLAYER'S TURN
 



TURN PHASES 
 

Each player's turn is a single day, separated into 3 phases, corresponding with the the passing day.

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Certain actions can only be performed in certain phases.

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1. Dawn Phase

Roll dice to gain resources.​

Spend Terra to draw Land Cards.

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2. Day Phase

Spend Manna â€‹and Terra to expand your forest.

Play spell cards to empower yourself or hinder your opponents.

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3. Dusk Phase

Spend your final Manna to draw Star Cards.​​



ROLLING THE DAWN DICE
 

At the Dawn of your turn, you roll both dice together. 

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You choose one of the dice to generate your Manna, and the other to generate your Terra. You will spend both of these resources throughout your turn. 

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If you roll the Ancient Blessing symbol, it acts as a double of the other die. In addition, you can use your Ancient's Blessing power on your turn.

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If you roll Ancient Blessing twice, you can choose to either reroll both your dice or one of your dice.​​



TAKING ACTIONS
 

During the Day of your turn, you spend your Manna and Terra on Actions.  

 

If an Action costs Manna, move the die you placed on your Manna Tracker down 1 space. In this way, you can track how many Manna you have left.

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If an Action costs Terra, you will remove them from you hand and either move them to the board or return them to your reserve. ​​​​

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Certain Actions can only be performed in certain turn phases. ​​

 


GAMEPLAY ACTIONS
 



DAWN
DRAWING LAND CARDS
 

​At Dawn, after gaining Terra, you can choose to spend Terra to draw Land Cards.​​ When you spend Terra, return them to your reserve.

 

The cost of a Land Card is determined by how many you have:

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Your first Land Card costs 1 Terra. 

Your second costs 2 Terra.

Your third costs 3 Terra, and so on. 

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When you draw a Land Card, take the top card of the deck.

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You can only draw Land Cards at the start of your turn, before taking any other Actions. ​​​



DAY
GROWING TREES
 

In order to reach the Roots, you will need to grow your Forest.

 

You grow your Forest by placing Tree Tiles in spaces within your Ancient Aura.

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Growing a Tree costs 1 Manna and 1 Terra.

Note: Terra tokens double as Trees.​​​​



DAY
MOVING YOUR ANCIENT
 

In order to grow further, you must Move your Ancient.

 

You can move your Ancient in a straight line across any number of your Forest Tiles for 1 Manna.​ 

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You cannot move diagonally unless you are playing a Ranger Ancient.​​​​​​​



DAY
SUMMONING A GUARDIAN
 

Trees are not the only types of Tiles you can place on the board. 

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You can summon a Guardian Tile by placing it on top of a square of 4 Tree Tiles. All 4 Trees must be within your Aura. 

 

Summoning a Guardian costs 2 Manna and 2 Terra. 

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Guardians empower your forest:

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Guardians protect the Trees that they are standing on, making them Eternal.

This means that they cannot be affected by Star Cards (see rules for Star Cards and Eternity).

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In your Dawn Phase, after rolling the dice, you can add 1 Terra or 1 Manna to your resource pool for each active Guardian.​​​​​​



DAY
PLAYING SPELL CARDS
 

Star Cards and Land Cards grant you access to powerful abilities, and are collectively referred to as Spell Cards.

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You can play Spell Cards from your hand during the Day Phase of your turn.

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It does not cost any Manna or Terra to play a Spell Card.​​​​​



DAY
DRAWING STAR CARDS
 

D U S K     P H A S E

1+ Manna

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When you are ready to end your turn, you can choose to move to your Dusk Phase.​ In your Dusk Phase, you can spend your final Manna to draw Star Cards.

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The cost of a Star Card is determined by how many you are holding in your hand:

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Your first Star Card costs 1 Manna. 

Your second costs 2 Manna.

Your third costs 3 Manna, and so on. 

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When you draw a Star Card, place 3 cards face down on the table. You choose 1 Card and add it to your hand. The unchosen cards are placed on the bottom of the deck.

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Once you move to your Dusk Phase and draw a Star Card, you may not take any other Actions. ​​

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STAR CARDS
AND ETERNITY
 



THE FIVE HOUSES
 

Star Cards are divided into 5 houses, each aligned with a different Spirit. The back of a Star Card displays the color and sign of it's house.

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The 5 Spirits are aligned with 5 different mechanics:

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     F I R E      C A R D S      

​Esh'to is the spirit of passionate flames, smoldering embers, and silent ash. 

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  • Fire Cards remove a player's Trees from the board by Burning them.

  • Burned Trees are returned to the player's hand when removed from the board. 

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     S T O R M      C A R D S      

​Shai'al is the spirit of howling winds, booming thunder, and crackling lightning. 

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  • Storm Cards affect an opponent's ability to gain and use Manna on their turn.

  • Storm Cards stay in effect until the target's turn is over. 

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     L I G H T     C A R D S      

​Lau'su is the spirit of healing light, warming kindness, and the brilliant dawn. 

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  • Light Cards grow Trees onto the board, either from your hand or from the Tree deck.

  • They allow for unparalleled growth.

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     S H A D O W     C A R D S      

​Xin'eth is the spirit of shadowy cunning, dark deals, and hidden knowledge. 

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  • Shadow Cards steal an opponent's Trees from the board or Terra their hand.

  • The more you steal, the more you gain. 

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     F A T E    C A R D S      

​Ool'lan is the spirit of unerring truth, silent wisdom, and the destined path. 

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  • Fate Cards interact with other Star Cards.

  • These cards can be played at any time, even during an opponent's turn. 

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ETERNITY
 

Luckily, there are ways to protect the forest from the wrath of the Stars.

If a Forest Tile is Eternal, it cannot be affected by Star Cards. 
 

  • The following Tiles are Eternal: 

    • ​The Tree your Ancient is standing on.

    • Origin Tile

    • Guardian Tiles

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THE ORIGIN AND
THE ANCIENT
 



SACRED ORIGIN 
 

You start the game on your Origin Tile, in the starting position called for by the Map that you are playing on. 

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As you grow your forest, you will inevitably need to leave the safety of your Origen. However, it is important to maintain a strong connection. 

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​In order for you to achieve victory, you must have the required number of Glory and your Ancient must have a connection to your Origin Tile. 

 

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SOUL OF THE FOREST
 

​In order for your Forest Tiles to be considered Active in the game, they must have an unbroken connection to your Ancient. 

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  • Tiles are  considered connected with they directly next to one another.

  • Corner to corner Tiles are not considered connected.
     

If the connection to your Ancient is broken, you cannot interact with the disconnected Tiles in any way: they are Inactive.

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All Glory gained from those Tiles is lost.

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If you reestablish a connection to your Ancient, those tiles are Active once again: they can be interacted with and all Glory is restored.

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CHOOSING AN ANCIENT 
 

At the beginning of the game, each player chooses an Ancient to play. Each Ancient belongs to a specific Class, and has a unique Blessing ability. 

 

Your Ancient's Class determines a passive rule that applies to your gameplay.

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Your Ancient's Blessing is the special ability you can use if you roll the Blessing symbol on the Manna dice at Dawn, or if you play the Ancient Blessing Cultivation Card.

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ANCIENT CLASSES
 

Ancients belong to one of five Classes.  Each Class has it's own unique approach to the Game of Arbor, as defined in their special rule. â€‹

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     S E E R      

​A wise visionary, able to call upon the insight of the stars with unparalleled skill.  

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  • You draw Star Cards for 1 less Manna. 

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     K N I G H T      

​A champion of life, driven to reclaim the world in the name of the mother tree.  

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  • When you grow a Tree, you can grow a second one free of Manna cost.

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     R A N G E R      

​A wayward wanderer, beholden to nothing besides their own shifting desires.  

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  • You can move diagonally across Forest Tiles of your color.

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     M Y S T I C      

​A contemplative scholar, deeply connected to the secrets of the soil and stone.  

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  • You draw Land Cards for 1 less Manna.

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    A R C H O N      

​An adaptive magus, attuned to the creation and manipulation of cosmic energy.  

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  • When you roll the Dawn Dice, you can add 1 to each die, or 2 to 1 die.

  • You cannot gain more Manna or Trees than 6.

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ANCIENT BLESSINGS
 

When you choose your Ancient, they will give you a unique Ancient Blessing.​

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​Ancient Blessings can grant effects that last your entire turn or that only take place once. 

In all cases, you can only use your Ancient Blessing once on your turn. â€‹â€‹â€‹

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