Arboretum

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Arboretum by Renegade Games - the acclaimed strategy card game of creating beautiful garden paths by collecting sets of trees.

Nowhere is nature's beauty quite so evident as in the resplendent colours of an arboretum. In Arboretum, players create carefully planned paths for visitors to walk along as they take in the colourful explosion of buds and leaves. The cheerful cherry blossom, the fragrant dogwood, the mighty oak – all have a place in this peaceful haven. But the tranquil setting belies the game's competitive heart. Players try to have the most points at the end of the game by creating beautiful garden paths for their visitors.

The deck has 80 cards in ten different colors, with each color featuring a different species of tree; each color has cards numbered 1 through 8, and the number of colors used depends on the number of players. Players start with a hand of seven cards. On each turn, a player draws two cards (from the deck or one or more of the discard piles), lays a card on the table as part of her arboretum, then discards a card to her personal discard pile. 

When the deck is exhausted, players compare the cards that remain in their hands to determine who can score each color. For each color, the player(s) with the highest value of cards in hand of that color scores for a path of trees in her arboretum that begins and ends with that color; a path is a orthogonally adjacent chain of cards with increasing values. For each card in a path that scores, the player earns one point; if the path consists solely of trees of the color being scored, the player scores two points per card. If a player doesn't have the most value for a color, she scores zero points for a path that begins and ends with that color. Whoever has the most points wins.

Arboretum is a beautiful strategy card game for 2-4 players, aged 8 and up, that combines set collection, tile-laying and hand management.

• Players: 2-4 Players
• Playtime: 30 Minutes
• Age: 8 +
• Designer: Dan Cassar
• Artist: Philippe Guérin, Chris Quilliams, Beth Sobel
• Publisher: Renegade Game Studios