Overview

Fauna is a knowledge/estimation game about the animal kingdom. Each round, a card showing an animal is placed in the card box so only the top half (name, illustration, and which measurements apply) is visible. Players take turns placing guess pieces on a world map (to estimate the animal’s habitat) and on measurement scales (weight, length, height, tail length). Points are awarded for correct and adjacent placements. The first player to reach the target score wins.

Components

• 1 Game board (world map with land/marine areas, measurement scales, victory track, scoring table)
• 180 Animal cards (360 animals total, double-sided; green border = simpler, black border = exotic)
• 1 Card box
• 42 Guess pieces (7 per player in 6 colors)
• 30 Black evaluation pieces
• 1 Starting player’s lion token
• 1 Accompanying booklet with animal information

Setup

1. Place the game board centrally.
2. Each player takes 7 guess pieces of one color; place 1 on space 1 of the victory track.
3. Place black evaluation pieces near the board.
4. Choose green (simpler), black (exotic), or mixed animal cards; insert into card box.
5. The player who owns the most exotic pet starts; give them the starting player’s lion and card box.

Turn Structure

Each round has three phases:

I. Placing Guess Pieces

1. All players view the top half of the current animal card (may handle the card box but not pull out the card).
2. Starting with the start player, each player takes turns placing 1 guess piece on either:
   • An unoccupied area on the world map (land or marine)
   • A vacant space on a relevant measurement scale
3. After everyone has placed one piece, repeat the cycle: each player may place another piece or pass.
4. Passing is permanent for that round — a player who passes cannot place more pieces that round.
5. A player may place multiple pieces on the same scale across different turns within a round.
6. When all players have passed, proceed to evaluation.

II. Evaluation

1. Pull the animal card fully out of the box, revealing the answers.
2. Evaluate areas first: Place black evaluation pieces on all correct areas. Score each player’s guess pieces.
3. Evaluate scales: Score each player’s guess pieces on the measurement scales.
4. Move scoring markers on the victory track.
5. Wrongly placed pieces are set aside next to the board (not returned to the player immediately).

III. Change of Starting Player / New Round

1. If no player has reached the victory threshold, pass the lion clockwise.
2. Each player recovers 1 guess piece from their stock of wrongly placed pieces (if any).
3. If a player has fewer than 3 guess pieces, they may refill to 3.

Actions

Players have two choices on their turn during the placing phase:

• Place a guess piece on an unoccupied area or vacant scale space
• Pass (permanent for the round)

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Area Scoring

Points depend on how many areas the animal inhabits:

Number of Areas	Direct Hit	Adjacent
1	12 pts	8 pts
2	10 pts	5 pts
3-4	8 pts	4 pts
5-8	6 pts	2 pts
9-16	4 pts	1 pt
17+	3 pts	—

Adjacent areas share a common border, or are adjacent land/marine areas.

Scale Scoring (Weight/Lengths)

• Direct hit: 7 points
• Adjacent space: 3 points

Victory Thresholds

| Player Count | Target Score | |————-|————-| | 2-3 players | 120 points | | 4-5 players | 100 points | | 6 players | 80 points |

The game ends at the end of the round when any player reaches or passes the threshold. The player with the most points wins. Ties are shared victories.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Marine areas include all islands within them unless those islands are specifically marked as land areas.
• Not all scales apply to every animal. Check the top of the card for which measurements are relevant before placing pieces on scales.
• Green vs. black cards: Green-bordered cards have more commonly known animals; black-bordered cards are more exotic and challenging.
• Guess piece recovery: Only 1 wrongly placed piece is returned per round. If you have fewer than 3 total, you refill to 3.
• No duplicate placements: You cannot place a piece on a space already occupied by any player’s piece (yours or opponents’).
• Animal data: Values on cards are averages from multiple zoological sources. Some discrepancy with other references is possible.

Player Reference

Item	Details
Players	2-6
Age	10+
Guess pieces per player	7
Minimum pieces per round	Refill to 3 if below
Area scoring	3-12 pts direct, 0-8 pts adjacent
Scale scoring	7 pts direct, 3 pts adjacent
Win threshold	120 (2-3p), 100 (4-5p), 80 (6p)

Turn options: Place 1 guess piece OR pass (permanently for the round).