PARKS

To set up the game, first place the main game board in the center of the table. Shuffle the Parks, Gear, Canteens, Seasons, and Year decks separately and place them in their designated spots on the board. Draw the top three cards from the Parks deck and the top three cards from the Gear deck, placing them face-up in their respective display areas. Next, prepare the Trail by separating the five basic Trail tiles (Valley, Ocean, Forest, Mountain, Vista) and the Waterfall tile (used only in 4-5 player games). Shuffle the four advanced Trail tiles (Lodge, Lookout, Wildlife, River) and draw one to add to the basic tiles. Shuffle all selected Trail tiles together, then place the Trailhead tile at the start, followed by the shuffled Trail tiles, and finally the Trail End tile. Each player receives two Hiker tokens of their chosen color, a Campfire token (placed with the lit side up), one Canteen card (face-up), and two Year cards. Players secretly look at their two Year cards, choose one to keep (face-down), and discard the other. Randomly determine the first player, who receives the First Player token. The player to the right of the first player receives the Camera token. All players then place their two Hikers on the Trailhead tile.

The objective of PARKS is to accumulate the most victory points by the end of the game. Players achieve this by visiting National Parks, collecting various resources (sun, water, trees, mountains, wildlife), and fulfilling personal Year card objectives. The game is played over four rounds, each representing a different season, during which players move their Hikers along a dynamically changing Trail to gather resources and perform actions that help them visit Parks and earn points.

A game of PARKS consists of four rounds, corresponding to the four seasons. In each round, players take turns moving their Hikers. The first player starts, and play proceeds clockwise. On your turn, you must move one of your Hikers from its current location to any unoccupied Trail tile further along the path. If you wish to move your Hiker to an occupied Trail tile (even if it's occupied by your other Hiker), you must use your Campfire token. To do this, flip your Campfire token from its lit side to its extinguished side. You can only use your Campfire once per round. When you land on a Trail tile, you immediately perform the action associated with that tile. If there are any Weather tokens on the tile, you also collect them. Actions are mandatory; if you cannot perform an action, you cannot move to that tile. Basic Trail tiles typically grant specific resources. Vista tiles allow you to either take the top Canteen card or spend two resources of any type to take a Photo token and the Camera token. Wildlife tiles let you swap any one resource for a Wildlife resource (which acts as a wild resource). Lodge tiles allow you to trade two resources of different types (excluding Wildlife) for two different resources (excluding Wildlife). River tiles let you spend one water resource to copy an action on any occupied Trail tile. Lookout tiles offer a choice between performing a Parks action (Reserve a Park or Visit a Park) or buying Gear. The Trail End tile also offers these three actions. When all your Hikers have reached the Trail End tile, your turn for the current round is over. You cannot move your Hikers backward on the Trail.

At the end of the game, after four rounds, players calculate their total victory points. Points are primarily earned from: 1. Visited Parks: Each Park card you have collected has a victory point value indicated on it. 2. Photos: Each Photo token you possess is worth 1 victory point. 3. Year Card Objectives: Your secret Year card provides bonus points (2 or 3) if you meet its specific conditions, such as visiting a certain number of Parks or collecting particular sets of resources. 4. First Player Token: The player holding the First Player token at the end of the game receives 1 additional victory point. The player with the highest total victory points wins the game. In case of a tie, the player with the most visited Parks wins. If still tied, the player with the most Gear cards wins. If there's still a tie, the tied players share the victory.

The game concludes after the fourth and final season. Once all players have moved their Hikers to the Trail End tile for the fourth time, the game immediately ends. Players then proceed to the final scoring phase to determine the winner. All collected Park cards, Photo tokens, and fulfilled Year card objectives are tallied. The player holding the First Player token also adds 1 point to their score. The player with the highest total victory points is declared the winner.