Ecosystem

To set up Ecosystem, begin by taking all the animal and habitat cards and shuffling them thoroughly into a single face-down deck. Provide each player with a player aid reference card to help them remember the scoring rules during the game. Place the scoring pad and pencil on the table where everyone can easily access them for tracking final points.

The main objective of Ecosystem is to strategically draft cards and build a personalized 4x5 or 5x4 grid representing a harmonious, interconnected ecosystem. Players aim to balance predators, prey, and environments to maximize their score.

On each turn, players simultaneously draft one card from their current hand, place it face up onto their growing grid, and then pass the remaining cards in their hand to the next player in a standard card-drafting mechanism until all spaces are filled.

Scoring in Ecosystem is entirely based on spatial placement and adjacencies. Each card type—such as bears, trout, bees, eagles, foxes, wolves, and streams—has distinct rules detailing how many points it earns when placed next to specific other cards or within certain formations.

The game concludes once every player has completely filled their 4x5 or 5x4 grid. At this point, players use the scoring pad to tally points for each animal category and check for diversity bonuses before declaring a winner.