Overview

Ancestree is a tile-drafting game where players compete to build the best family tree over three rounds. Each round, players simultaneously select ancestor tiles from a shared hand, place them into their growing family tree, and pass the remaining tiles to a neighbor. Points are scored after each round for dynasty majorities, coins, and at the end of the game for marriages. The player with the most points wins.

Components

• 90 Ancestor tiles (depicting six clans/dynasties: eagle, camel, lion, elephant, dragon, and one more; each with leaf connectors and optional heart connectors and coin icons)
• Scoring tokens (dynasty tokens in values of 1, 2, and 3)
• Score track / scoreboard
• Marriage scoring reference

Setup

1. Shuffle all Ancestor tiles face-down.
2. Deal 6 tiles to each player as their starting hand.
3. Place the scoring tokens and marriage reference within reach.
4. Determine first player or play simultaneously.

Turn Structure

Each round proceeds as follows:

1. Select: All players simultaneously choose 1 tile from their hand to play into their family tree.
2. Place: All players simultaneously place their chosen tile, connecting it to their existing tree via leaves or hearts.
3. Pass: Each player passes their remaining hand to the player on their left (rounds 1 and 3) or right (round 2).
4. Repeat: Continue selecting, placing, and passing until 5 tiles have been played. The 6th (last) tile in each hand is discarded.
5. Score the round: Evaluate dynasties and coins (see Scoring).
6. New round: Deal a new hand of 6 tiles to each player. Play three rounds total.

Actions

Tile Placement

• Leaf connections (parent-child): Tiles can be placed above or below existing tiles. Leaf connectors at the top and bottom of tiles must match in color — light leaves connect to light leaves, dark leaves connect to dark leaves. Mismatched leaves do not form valid connections.
• Heart connections (marriages): Tiles can be placed horizontally adjacent to existing tiles. Heart symbols on tile edges indicate valid marriage connections.
• A tile must make at least one valid connection (leaf or heart) to the existing family tree. It is acceptable if other connection points on the tile do not align with neighboring tiles, as long as at least one connection is valid.
• The first tile of the game can be placed freely as the start of the family tree.

Dynasty Comparison

After each round, for each of the clan types, compare the length of your longest connected chain of that clan to the corresponding chains of the players sitting immediately to your left and right. If your chain is longer, you win a dynasty token from that comparison.

• You can earn up to 2 dynasty tokens per clan per round (one for each neighbor comparison).
• Dynasty tokens earned in round 1 are worth 1 point each.
• Dynasty tokens earned in round 2 are worth 2 points each.
• Dynasty tokens earned in round 3 are worth 3 points each.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Points are accumulated from three sources:

Dynasties (scored each round)

• Compare connected clan generations to each neighbor; winner takes a dynasty token.
• Tokens are worth 1 / 2 / 3 points depending on the round.

Coins (scored each round)

• Count all coin icons on all tiles in your tree at the end of each round.
• Coins on tiles placed in earlier rounds continue to score in later rounds (a coin placed in round 1 scores three times total across all three rounds; a coin placed in round 2 scores twice; a coin placed in round 3 scores once).

Marriages (scored at end of game only)

• Count the total number of valid heart connections (marriages) in your family tree.
• Marriages score on an escalating scale: 1 marriage = 1 point; 2 marriages = 3 points; 3 marriages = 5 points; 4 marriages = 10 points (and so on per the reference chart).

The player with the highest total score wins.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Two-player variant: Deal three hands of 6 tiles. The third hand has a tile randomly played face-down each selection step, simulating a phantom player for dynasty comparisons.
• Tiles that cannot be legally placed must still be chosen; place them aside as discarded.
• If there is a tie for dynasty comparison, neither player earns a token for that comparison.
• Coins score cumulatively — tiles placed in earlier rounds provide ongoing value.

Player Reference

Scoring Category	When Scored	Details
Dynasties	Each round	Compare clan chains to neighbors; tokens worth 1/2/3 pts by round
Coins	Each round	1 pt per coin icon on all tiles; coins from earlier rounds keep scoring
Marriages	End of game	1→1pt, 2→3pt, 3→5pt, 4→10pt (escalating scale)

Round flow: Deal 6 tiles → Select 1 → Place → Pass hand → Repeat 5x → Discard last tile → Score round Pass direction: Left in rounds 1 and 3; Right in round 2