Arboretum: Rules and Gameplay

Objective and Overview

In Arboretum, players compete to create the most beautiful and high-scoring arboretum by arranging cards in a meaningful path of trees for 2-4 players.

Arboretum consists of 80 cards, divided into 10 unique tree species, each numbered 1–8. Each player is dealt 7 cards. The remaining cards are placed in a draw pile in the center of the table.

Game Play

Players take turns in clockwise order. Each turn consists of three phases:

1. Draw

Draw two cards from the available sources:

• The central draw pile.
• The top card of any discard pile (including your own).

2. Play

Choose one card from your hand to add to your arboretum.

• Place it face-up in front of you.
• Cards in your arboretum must be arranged orthogonally (no diagonal connections).
• You are building paths, and the arrangement impacts your score.

3. Discard

Discard one card face-up to your personal discard pile.

End of the Game

The game ends when there are no further cards in the draw pile. The player who drew the last card plays their turn normally, and then scoring occurs.

Scoring

Scoring is based on paths of cards in your arboretum:

Path Rules

A valid path starts and ends with cards of the same tree species. The path must increase in value numerically but does not need to be consecutive. Paths can include cards of other species.

Determining Rights to Score

Each player reveals their remaining hand. To score a species, you must have the highest sum of values of that species in your hand. Exception: If you have the 8 of a color in your hand, but one of your opponents has the 1 of the same color in their hand, the value of your 8 is reduced to 0 when determining which player has the right to score paths of a particular color. The 1 is always worth 1. If multiple players tied the highest sum of values of that species (even if 0), all the tied players will gain the right to score. Note: It is possible to gain the right to score points of a color of path that is not present in your arboretum.

Calculating Points

+1 point for each card in the valid path. +1 additional points if the path starts with a 1 card. +2 additional points if the path ends with an 8 card. +1 additional point for each card in paths containing 4 or more cards and only cards of the species being scored.

A card may score in multiple paths (e.g. horizontally and vertically), so long as it satisfies the valid path requirement. You only score one (the highest scoring) path for each scoring species.

Winning

The player with the highest total score after final scoring wins. In the event of a tie, the tied player with the most species present in their arboretum wins.

Strategy Notes

Balance your hand to maintain scoring potential while disrupting opponents. Pay attention to your opponents' discard piles for hints about their strategy. Use high-value cards tactically to secure scoring rights.