Mariposas

Mariposas is set up by placing the large board representing North America between players, along with the deck of movement cards, life cycle cards, and flower tokens. Each player receives a starting set of first-generation butterfly tokens placed in Michoacán, Mexico. Flower tokens are randomized and distributed across hexes on the map, and randomized seasonal scoring cards are placed in designated slots for spring, summer, and fall.

The goal of the game is to simulate the multi-generational migration of monarch butterflies. Players guide their butterflies from Mexico northwards through the seasons, reproducing to create second, third, and fourth generations, and ultimately returning surviving fourth-generation butterflies back to Michoacán before winter.

During a turn, a player plays a movement card from their hand to move one or more of their butterflies across the map's hexagonal grid. Landing on specific flower hexes allows players to collect corresponding flower tokens. When butterflies land adjacent to milkweed plants and the player spends the required flower tokens, they can reproduce, hatching a new generation on the board.

Scoring happens through multiple avenues: fulfilling seasonal objective cards based on butterfly positions at the end of spring and summer, landing on red waypoint spaces and collecting matching waypoint cards, completing set collections of life cycle cards, and returning fourth-generation butterflies back to Michoacán at the end of the game.

The game progresses through three seasons—spring, summer, and fall—each lasting a specific number of turns. First-generation butterflies die off at the end of spring, and second-generation ones expire after summer. After fall concludes, final scoring is tallied for returning butterflies, sets, and waypoints to determine the winner.