Forest Shuffle
At a glance
Rules overview
English version of our rules overview, translated from the Chinese original (cunlema). The Chinese page is the source of record.
Game Overview
In a vibrant forest, players take on the role of ecosystem managers, creating balanced habitats by planting trees, placing animals, plants, and mushrooms. Each player builds their own forest, using the card slots around trees to place various creature cards, satisfying the preference conditions of different species to achieve the highest score. The core flow is to draw two cards or play one card and check the clearing area each round; the core mechanisms are hand management, card placement, and conditional scoring.
1. Game Components
| Component | Quantity/Description |
|-----------|----------------------|
| Cards | 180: 66 tree cards, 48 top-bottom split cards, 44 left-right split cards, 3 winter cards |
| Game board | 1, i.e. the clearing |
| Reference cards | 14 |
| Cave cards | 5 |
| Scorepad | 1 |
2. Setup
#### 2.1 Basic Layout
- Place the clearing (game board) in the center of the table, within reach of all players.
- Place the 14 reference cards next to the clearing.
- Each player takes 1 cave card and places it in front of them.
#### 2.2 Building the Deck
- Set the 3 winter cards aside.
- Shuffle the remaining cards, then return a number of cards face down to the box (kept secret) based on player count:
- 2 players: remove 30 cards
- 3 players: remove 20 cards
- 4 players: remove 10 cards
- 5 players: remove none, use all cards
- Divide the remaining cards into three face-down piles of roughly equal size.
- Shuffle 2 winter cards into one of the piles, and place the 3rd winter card on top of that pile.
- Stack the other two piles on top of the pile containing the winter cards to form the complete draw deck.
- Place the draw deck to the left of the clearing.
#### 2.3 Starting Hand
- Each player draws a hand of 6 cards. If their hand contains no tree cards, they may choose to mulligan: discard all 6 cards back to the box and draw 6 new cards. Each player may mulligan only once.
- The player who last took a walk in the forest is the starting player.
3. Gameplay
Starting with the first player, players take turns in clockwise order. Each turn, you must perform one of the following two actions:
#### Action A: Draw Two Cards
- Draw them one at a time; each time, you may choose to draw from the top of the deck or take a face-up card from the clearing.
- **Hand limit:** Your hand may not exceed 10 cards. If you already have 9 cards in hand, you may only draw 1 card this turn.
#### Action B: Play a Card and Check the Clearing
1. Pay the card's cost (place the corresponding number of cards from your hand face up into the clearing).
2. Place the card face up in front of you (the cards you have played form your "forest").
3. If the card has a special effect or bonus, resolve it.
4. Check whether the clearing needs to be cleared.
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4. Detailed Card Play Rules
#### 4.1 Card Types
Each card is either **a tree** or **two forest dwellers** (split card):
- **Tree card:** Each shows exactly one type of tree and forms the foundation of the forest.
- **Split card:** Divided into top and bottom halves (48 cards) or left and right halves (44 cards), each half featuring one forest dweller.
#### 4.2 Paying Costs
- Discard the specified number of other cards from your hand to the clearing area as the cost to play a card.
- When playing a split card, choose one half to play and pay only that half's cost.
- Which cards you discard as cost usually doesn't matter, but certain species have specific bonus conditions requiring payment with cards of the same color.
#### 4.3 Trees
- Trees provide one card slot in each of the four directions (up, down, left, right) for split cards to be placed.
- A card slot is empty when unoccupied; a tree is fully occupied when there is at least one card in each of the four directions.
- **Special rule when playing a tree:** You must immediately draw one card from the top of the deck into the clearing area. This may reveal a winter card.
#### 4.4 Saplings
- You may play any card from your hand face down as a generic sapling.
- Saplings provide card slots in all four directions but **do not belong to any tree species** and are not themselves considered a tree species.
#### 4.5 Animals, Plants & Mushrooms
- When playing a split card, you must place it in an empty card slot in the corresponding direction of a tree in the forest.
- A left-half dweller is placed in the card slot to the left of the tree, with the right half tucked underneath the tree.
- A right-half dweller is placed in the card slot to the right of the tree, with the left half tucked underneath.
- The same applies to top/bottom halves.
- **Important:** Only the half that remains visible after placement counts toward your forest; the hidden half has no effect on subsequent play or scoring.
- A split card can only be played when there is an empty card slot in the corresponding direction.
5. Effects & Bonuses
#### 5.1 Effects
If the card played has an effect or bonus, resolve the effect first, then the bonus (if both are present). Using effects and bonuses is optional.
Effects come in two types:
- **Instant effects:** Most cards provide a one-time effect, used immediately after being played.
- **Permanent effects (mushrooms):** Mushrooms provide permanent effects, usable repeatedly starting from the next round until the end of the game. When a card meeting the condition is placed in the forest (e.g., beneath a certain tree), the mushroom's permanent effect can be triggered immediately.
#### 5.2 Bonuses
- Certain species have a colored arrow with a telescope symbol, indicating that a bonus is available if the cost is paid with matching cards.
- **Activation condition:** All cards discarded as cost must have the same card color as the card being played (i.e., display the same tree symbol).
- When a split card is used as cost, either half displaying the matching tree symbol is acceptable.
6. Check the Clearing Area
- At the end of the round, if the number of cards in the clearing area reaches **10 cards or more**, you must empty the clearing area, returning all cards to the game box.
- After clearing, the round ends, and the next player in clockwise order takes their action (unless a special effect or bonus allows you to take another action).
7. Game End & Scoring
#### 7.1 End Condition
When the 3rd winter card is revealed, the game ends immediately and proceeds to the scoring phase. The current turn is not completed; finishing the current turn is not allowed.
#### 7.2 Scoring Method
- Add up the points of all visible cards in the forest.
- Add the number of cards beneath cave cards (if any).
- If unsure how a card scores, consult the reference card.
#### 7.3 Victory Condition
The player with the highest score wins. If scores are tied, the victory is shared.
Key Rules & FAQ
#### Commonly Misplayed Rules
1. **Hand limit of 10 cards:** When you already have 9 cards, you may only draw 1 card, not 2.
2. **When playing a tree, you must place a card into the clearing area:** This action may reveal a winter card.
3. **Saplings do not belong to any tree type:** They cannot trigger effects that depend on a specific tree type.
4. **The hidden half of a split card does not count toward the forest or scoring.**
5. **When the clearing area reaches 10 cards or more, it must be emptied.**
6. **The game ends immediately when the 3rd winter card is revealed:** The current turn cannot be completed.
7. **A mushroom's permanent effect takes effect starting the next round, not the round it was played.**
8. **Activating a bonus requires all cost cards to match in color:** Partial matching is not sufficient.
9. **A mulligan may be taken at most once:** And only if your initial hand of 6 cards contains no tree cards.
#### Frequently Asked Questions
- **Q: What happens if the card revealed after playing a tree is a winter card?**
A: The winter card must be placed face up next to the clearing area, then draw a replacement card from the top of the deck. If this is the 3rd winter card, the game ends immediately.
- **Q: Can saplings be replaced or removed?**
A: The rules do not address such actions.
- **Q: Can a split card be played on a sapling?**
A: Yes, saplings provide card slots in all four directions, just like trees.
- **Q: Can a mushroom's permanent effect be triggered every time its condition is met?**
A: Yes, whenever a card meeting the condition is placed in the forest, you may use the mushroom's permanent effect.
- **Q: What is the purpose of cave cards?**
A: During scoring, the number of cards beneath a cave card counts toward the total score.
Rules Q&A
Questions below are real questions players asked cunlema about this game; answers are ours, translated into English.
可以给森森不息计分吗?
**When Scoring Occurs**
- When the **3rd winter card is revealed**, the game **ends immediately** and scoring begins right away. The current turn is not allowed to be completed.
**How to Calculate Total Score**
1. **Add up the points of all visible cards in your forest** — including trees, and the still-visible half of resident cards after placement.
2. Then add **the number of cards beneath cave cards** (if any). Note that this adds the **card count**, not the points of those cards themselves.
3. If you are unsure how a particular card scores, check the **reference card or appendix**.
**Winning**
- The player with the highest score wins; in case of a **tie**, the victory is **shared**.
**Key Restrictions & Exceptions During Scoring**
- The **hidden half of split cards does not score**; only the still-visible half after placement counts toward your forest and scoring.
- Saplings do not belong to any tree species; scoring conditions related to specific tree species should be judged according to the reference card.
- The game "ends immediately when the 3rd winter card appears," so there is no such thing as continuing to take extra turns before scoring.
**Content Not Found in the Rulebook**
- Specific point values and scoring conditions for various animals, plants, and mushrooms (these are in the reference card/appendix; the rulebook text does not list them item by item).
- Whether special effects or bonuses that allow extra actions affect scoring resolution — the rulebook does not cover such special resolution instructions.
If you tell me your current forest layout — which trees you have, which animals/plants/mushrooms are placed around each tree, and how many cards are beneath the caves — I can go through the reference card with you card by card to verify the scoring.
This content is for reference only; in case of any conflict, the instruction manual and experienced players nearby shall prevail.
According to Reminder 4 in the Rules Overview, when you play a card and reveal a winter card, you do **not** need to deal out a card to replace this winter card. Winter cards go directly into your hand; you do not need to draw additional cards.
**Conclusion: You must draw a replacement card.** A Winter card revealed when playing a tree is handled exactly the same as a Winter card drawn normally — place it face up next to the clearing area, then **immediately draw a replacement card from the top of the deck**.
**Specific procedure:**
- You play a tree and, per the rules, flip the top card of the deck into the clearing area.
- If the card flipped is a Winter card:
- Place this Winter card **face up next to the clearing area**;
- **Immediately draw a replacement card from the top of the deck**.
- The only exception: if this is the **3rd Winter card**, the game ends immediately and goes straight to scoring; no replacement card is drawn, and you are not allowed to finish the current turn.
**A few related points:**
1. When drawing a replacement card from the top of the deck, if you draw another Winter card, handle it the same way as above (keep placing it aside and keep drawing replacements) until you draw a non-Winter card — unless the 3rd Winter card has already ended the game along the way.
2. A Winter card is only revealed and placed next to the clearing area; it is not an ordinary card in the clearing area waiting to be cleared. The clearing check applies to cards in the clearing area.
3. Winter cards are placed in the **bottom third** of the deck during setup (two shuffled into a pile, the third placed on top of that pile), so you will typically encounter them in the later part of the game.
So the answer to your question is: yes, you must continue drawing a replacement card — it's not enough to simply flip it over.
This content is for reference only; in case of any conflict, the rulebook and experienced players take precedence.
In Forest Shuffle, when you draw cards, you may take two cards directly from the public board, or you may take only one card from the board and then draw one card from the draw pile.
**Conclusion: Yes.** In Forest Shuffle, when you choose the "draw two cards" action, both cards may be taken from the clearing area (the public board); there is no restriction that "one must come from the deck."
**How to do it:**
- After choosing the draw two cards action, **draw them one at a time**, adding them to your hand.
- For **each** of these two cards, you may freely choose:
- Take one face-down card from the top of the deck, **or**
- Take one face-up card from the clearing area (the public board).
- Therefore all three combinations are legal: both from the board, both from the deck, or one from the board and one from the deck.
**Conditions and exceptions:**
1. **Hand limit of 10 cards:** If you already have 9 cards in hand, you may only draw 1 card this turn.
2. **The clearing area is empty at the start of the game** (there are no cards initially), so in that case you can only draw from the deck.
3. Cards in the clearing area typically come from: cards discarded by other players when paying costs, and the card flipped from the top of the deck into the clearing area when a tree is played.
4. Separate reminder: when you **play a tree**, you must additionally flip one card from the top of the deck into the clearing area — this is not part of your draw action, and it may reveal a winter card.
So your understanding is correct: it is not "one from the board and one from the deck," but rather each of the two cards independently chooses its source.
This content is for reference only; in case of any conflict, the rulebook and experienced players nearby take precedence.
## Key Rules & FAQ ### Frequently Asked Questions **If the card played costs 3 points and there are 9 cards in the clearing, are these 3 cost cards cleared away along with the others?** Yes. When the card you play requires a cost of 3 points, you choose 3 cards from that clearing as the cost, and these cost cards are cleared away (removed from that clearing) along with all other cards on that clearing.
**Conclusion: They will be cleared together.** Those 3 cost cards will be cleared away along with the other cards and returned to the game box.
**Detailed Process:**
- Before playing a card, the clearing area has 9 cards.
- You pay 3 cost, place 3 (other) cards from your hand face up into the clearing area, bringing the clearing area to 12 cards.
- At the end of the round, check the clearing area: if it reaches 10 cards or more, it must be cleared.
- Clearing means removing **all cards** in the clearing area and returning them to the game box, so all 12 cards (including the 3 cost cards you just placed) are cleared. The cost cards are not retained because they were "just placed."
**Notes and Exceptions:**
1. Clearing only checks whether the number of cards in the clearing area reaches 10 or more; it does not consider who placed these cards or why they were placed.
2. Once cost cards are placed into the clearing area as cost, they have entered the public area and are thereafter handled according to the clearing area rules; they no longer belong to your resources.
3. The order is: pay cost first → play the card and resolve any effects/rewards (if any) → check the clearing area at the end of the round.
4. If it does not reach 10 cards, no clearing occurs, and these cost cards remain in the clearing area, where they can be taken by later players when drawing cards.
This content is for reference only; in case of any conflict, the rulebook and experienced players nearby shall prevail.
Rules, cards and Q&A (Chinese)
The rules, card data and player questions for this game are written in Chinese. Open the Chinese page to read them.
Where to find full rules
Full rules and card lookup are available in the cunlema app at cunlema.cn — pick this game and ask about any rule, card or turn you are unsure about.