the time has come to
GROW
once again
the time has come to
GROW
once again
vox_
ludo
JESSE KROON
Game Design | Narrative Design | Experience Design
ARBOR II
CORE RULES
THE GOAL OF THE GAME
The goal of the game is to reach a set number of Victory Points, or Glory, before your opponent.
In a 2 person game on the Valley of Fate Scenario, victory is claimed by the first player to reach 13 Glory and hold that Glory until 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.
You earn 1 Glory for every Forest Tile you have placed in a space adjacent to a Root Tile. The game ends immediately when a player reaches the required number of Glory.
NOTE:
(1) The Soul of the Forest Rule is important to keep in mind when calculating Glory.
(2) You cannot place a tile in the spaces covered by the Root Tiles.
STARTING THE GAME
SETUP
Each player chooses a colour for their Forest and selects the corresponding Forest Deck.
Open the envelope and remove the cards. A Forest Deck includes:
1 Sage Tile
5 Guardian Tiles
25 Tree Tiles
After this, players select the Ancient they want to play in that game.
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.
Once players have chosen their Ancients, players must choose what Scenario they want to play and set up the board as per the requirements.
Place a Tree Tile in the starting position and place your Ancient piece on top of it.
Place Guardian Cards over positions 4-8 of the Manna Tracker.
Finally, shuffle the Star Card Deck and place it to the side of the board. Draw the top 3 cards and place them face down beside the deck.
Each player rolls a die, the higher roll can decide which player goes first.
CORE CONCEPTS
THE FOREST
Your Forest is the collective term for all the tiles present on the board in your color. During your turn, tiles can be placed on the board within spaces in order to grow your Forest. By placing tiles, you are creating the area your Ancient piece can stand on.
THE ANCIENT
At the start of the game, you chose an Ancient as your character. This is a powerful being with unique powers. Each Ancient grants you a Passive rule, an Ancient Blessing power, and an ultimate power.
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 emanates an Aura that allows you to take Actions on your turn.
THE AURA
Your Ancient emanates an Aura from the tile it is standing on. The Aura extends to the 4 spaces immediately adjacent to that tile.
THE MANNA
During your turn, you take Actions by spending Manna. Manna is a resource you gain at the start of your turn by rolling the Manna Dice.
Every Action costs 1 Manna, and there are certain ways you can regain Manna on your turn.
At the start of the game, 5 of your 8 Manna slots are blocked by Guardian Cards. This means that on turn 1, you only have 3 maximum Manna.
Upgrading a Tree in your Forest to a Guardian frees one of these Manna slots, increasing the amount of Manna you can gain over the course of the game.
However, the final maximum amount of Manna you can have is 8.
Gaining Manna above your current Maximum Manna nullifies the Manna gained.
THE PLAYER'S TURN
Each player's turn is a single day, separated into 4 phases: Dawn, Day, Dusk, and Night.
DAWN
Roll for Manna
At the dawn of your turn, you roll both dice together. You always choose the higher of the two numbers.
This number becomes your Manna, which you will spend to take Actions during your Day Phase.
If you roll the Ancient Blessing symbol on one of the dice, you gain the number of Manna shown on the other die and you can use your Ancient's Blessing power on your turn.
If you roll Ancient Blessing twice, you can choose to either reroll both your dice or one of the dice.
DAY
Spend Manna on Actions
During the day of your turn, you spend your Manna on Actions.
All Actions cost 1 Manna.
When you run out of Manna, your Day Phase ends.
You do not need to use all your Manna in your turn, but unspent Manna does not carry over to your next turn.
The Actions you can take are:
Moving your Ancient
You move your Ancient to a Forest Tile of your color within your Aura (the Tiles immediately adjacent to the Tile your Ancient is standing on).
Growing Trees
You grow your Forest by placing a Tree Tile in an empty space within your Aura.
After you place a first Tree Tile, you can choose to continue growing Trees in sequence by projecting your Aura into the newly grown Trees. This is known as a Growth Chain.
In a Growth Chain, a next Tree Tile can be placed in a space immediately adjacent from the last Tree Tile you placed in the Chain. This still costs 1 Manna.
A Growth Chain continues until you run out of Manna, or decide to take another kind of Action. Once a Growth Chain stops, your Ancient's Aura resets to its original position.
Awake a Guardian
You can replace the Tree Tile your Ancient is standing on with a Guardian Tile.
When you awake a Guardian, remove one Guardian Card from your Manna Tracker and place it to the side of the board.
You may only Awake 1 Guardian per turn.
Draw a Star Card
Drawing Star Cards happens at the end of your turn, using your last available Manna.
See Dusk Phase for a full explanation.
Play a Star Card
You can play Star Cards from your hand.
Awake the Sage
You replace the Tree Tile your Ancient is standing on with a Sage Tile.
Doing this activates your Ancient's Invocation. See Ancients for a full explanation.
DUSK
Draw Star Cards
You can draw Star Cards at the end of your turn.
Drawing a Star Card costs 1 Manna per card.
There are 3 Star Cards revealed at any given time, so you can draw a maximum of 3 per Dusk Phase.
If you decide to draw Star Cards, you cannot go back to take any additional Actions. After you have drawn Stars, your turn is over, and you move into your Night Phase.
You can only hold 4 Star Cards at a time.
NIGHT
Reveal Star Cards
The last thing you do on your turn is to reveal new Star Cards for the next player's turn, back up to 3.
THE PLAYER'S TURN
GAMEPLAY RULES
STAR CARDS
You may only draw Stars in your Dusk phase (as the last Manna spent on your turn). 3 Star Cards are available to you each Dusk Phase.
By spending 1 Manna, you may choose 1 of the 3 Cards to add to your hand.
NOTE:
Ignore the text on the back of the card, this is only relevant for the original Game of Arbor. In Arbor 2, cards are denoted by their color. Consult below or on your Ancient Guide to remember the mechanics of the Spirit.
You may only hold up to 4 Star Cards in your hand at any time.
When you play a Star Card, you can choose one of the two Songs as the effect of the card.
the sacred star songs:
Esh'to | Spirit of Fire
Song of Flame
Burn 2 Trees from spaces within your Aura.
Song of Ash
Burn 1 Tree from anywhere on the board.
Lau'su | Spirit of Light
Song of Devotion
Grow 2 Trees in spaces adjacent to already existing Trees in your Forest.
Song of Radiance
Grow 1 Tree in any space on the board.
Xin'eth | Spirit of Shadow
Song of Darkness
Move an opponent's Ancient to a Tree Tile 3 spaces away.
Song of Cunning
Swap 2 the contents of any 2 adjacent spaces.
Shai'al | Spirit of Storm
Song of Thunder
On your opponent's next turn, they gain 2 less Manna at Dawn.
Song of Lightning
On your next turn, you gain 2 more Manna at Dawn.
Ool'lan | Spirit of Fate
Song of Revelation
Draw the Star Card that was last played. Can be played for free at any time.
Song of Destiny
Counter a Star Song that was just played. Can be played for free at any time.
GUARDIAN TILES
Guardian Tiles are special tiles that safeguard your forest.
Guardian Tiles are adding to the board by replacing a Tree Tile your Ancient is standing on. This is known as "Awaking a Guardian", and costs 1 Manna. (see Day Phase rules for more detail).
You can only Awake 1 Guardian per turn.
Guardian Tiles are Eternal, making them immune to the effects of Star Cards and Ancient abilities.
Placing a Guardian Tile frees up an additional Manna slot.
When you place a Guardian, remove a Guardian Card from your Manna tracker and place it to the side.
ETERNITY
Eternal tiles cannot be affected by Star Cards or Ancient abilities.
The Sage Tile, all Guardian Tiles, and the TreeTile your Ancient is standing on are all Eternal.
THE SAGE TILE
Your Sage Tile is a special tile that activates your Ancient's Invocation ability when you place it on the board.
Similar to a Guardian Tile, you "Awake the Sage" by replacing the Tree Tile your Ancient is standing on. This costs 1 Manna.
The Sage Tile is Eternal, making it immune to the effects of Star Cards and Ancient abilities.
SOUL OF THE FOREST
Your Ancient is the soul of your forest, and it is via connection to the Ancient that the forest is granted its power.
Tree, Guardian, and Sage Tiles are only considered "part of your forest" if they are connected to the tile your Ancient is standing on through an unbroken chain of tiles.
If part of your forest is separated from your Ancient, it loses all benefits, including:
(1) Glory gained through connection to a Root
(2) Eternity of Guardian or Sage Tiles is removed
(3) Unlocked Manna slots gained by having Guardians in your Forest
If you lose connection to Guardians, replace Guardian Cards over Manna slots corresponding to the number of Guardians which have been separated from your Ancient.
Reconnecting your forest restores all that was lost.
ANCIENT ABILITIES
Your choice of Ancient defines the following:
Trait
This is a special rule that is always active for you, and only applies to you.
Blessing
This is a special ability that you can use when you have played a Life Spirit Card, or when you have rolled the Blessing symbol when rolling at Dawn.
Invocation
This is a powerful special ability that you activate when you Awake your Sage. You can only use it once per game.