Overview

Arborea is a worker placement game with a time-based mechanism. Players are Patron Spirits guiding villagers to heal and regenerate a cataclysm-scarred landscape. You send villagers on pilgrimage tracks that advance over time, and when activated, villagers follow trails to regenerate biomes, complete ecosystem cards, train new villagers, and attract creatures. The player with the most Regeneration Points (RP) wins.

Components

• Game board with 4 pilgrimage tracks
• 8 pilgrimage track tiles
• Ecosystem cards (multiple decks by biome requirement count)
• 6 borderland tiles
• 4 season tiles
• Biome tiles (6 types: tree, flower, mushroom, weed, sponge, water)
• Creature tokens
• Sun counters (time track)
• Per player: player board, 8 gift cubes, 2 elder villagers, 3 young villagers, 3 veteran villagers, spirit counter, season counters, RP counters, player aid

Setup

1. Place board centrally. Randomly place 8 pilgrimage track tiles (2 per track) on outermost spaces.
2. Shuffle ecosystem decks separately; place by requirement count (fewest left, most right).
3. Randomly place 6 borderland tiles on column tops.
4. Randomly place 4 season tiles on season spots.
5. Place biome tiles on matching ‘0’ spots of biome reserve.
6. Place creatures in outer regions.
7. Place sun counter on time track per player count.
8. Each player takes player board, components, starting ecosystem card, and a starting ecosystem task.
9. In reverse player order, each player sends 1 villager to a pilgrimage track and advances that track 1 step.

Turn Structure

Turns are taken clockwise. Each turn has 4 steps:

1. Pilgrimage: You MUST either send a villager to a track OR advance a track 1 step. You may spend 3 spirit to do one of these a second time.
2. Activate Villagers: Activate up to 3 villagers waiting at trail beginnings. First 2 are free; 3rd costs 2 spirit.
3. Complete Ecosystem Task: You may complete 1 current ecosystem task if you have the required biomes.
4. Update: Update biome reserve and advance pilgrimage tracks.

The game ends when the sun counter reaches the last time track spot, after which all players get 2 more turns.

Actions

Sending a Villager: Place a villager from your supply onto a pilgrimage track square. If the square has a season icon, advance your matching season track. Cannot place on an occupied square.

Advancing a Track: Push the track tiles 1 step toward center. All players may take villagers off the track to place them at trail beginnings. After 4 total steps, the inner tile swaps to the start.

Activating a Villager: Follow the trail from beginning to end, collecting all rewards encountered:

• Biome rewards: Increase corresponding biome on the reserve (max 8).
• Ecosystem rewards: Take an ecosystem card as a current task (max 3 tasks).
• Train villager rewards: Move young/veteran villagers from reserves to supply.
• Creature rewards: Move creatures from outer regions to borderlands, or invite creatures from borderlands to your ecosystem.

Villager Types:

• Young villagers: Standard ability.
• Veteran villagers: Gain an extra reward when activated.
• Elder villagers: Gain powerful extra rewards; represent experienced villagers.

Completing Ecosystem Tasks: Spend the required combination of biomes (reducing the reserve) to complete a task card. The card joins your ecosystem grid, and you gain any listed rewards.

Creatures: Placed on your ecosystem grid. At game end, creatures score RP based on surrounding biome types and habitats.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

End-Game Scoring:

• RP from completed ecosystem cards
• RP from creatures placed in your ecosystem (based on surrounding habitats)
• RP from season tracks (positions reached)
• RP from spirit track position
• RP from gift cubes spent during the game
• Bonus RP from season tiles and other objectives

The player with the most RP wins. Tiebreaker: player furthest on the spirit track.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Spirit is a limited resource; spending 3 spirit for extra pilgrimage actions or 2 spirit for a 3rd activation is powerful but costly.
• Biome reserve is shared among all players.
• You cannot discard ecosystem tasks once taken; choose carefully.
• When a villager reaches the last trails of a track, they must step off.
• Players may take villagers off tracks simultaneously, but can request turn-order resolution.
• Creatures score based on the specific habitats (biome types) adjacent to their spot in your ecosystem.

Player Reference

Turn Step	Action	Cost
1. Pilgrimage	Send villager OR advance track	Free (2nd: 3 spirit)
2. Activate	Activate up to 3 villagers	Free/Free/2 spirit
3. Complete	Complete 1 ecosystem task	Required biomes
4. Update	Advance tracks, update reserve	Automatic

Biome Types	Icon
Tree, Flower, Mushroom, Weed, Sponge, Water	Various