Earth: Animal Kingdom Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Objective
• Components
• Setup
• New Icons and Effects
• Game Structure
• Animal Abilities
  • Initial Placement
  • Animeeple Movement
    • A. Move up to X
    • B. Move to
    • C. Move exactly X
  • Types of Animal Abilities
  • Producing Resources
  • End-Game Scoring Opportunities
• Global Abilities
• Solo Mode
  • Setup
  • Activating Animal Abilities
  • Resolving Gaia's Animal Abilities
• Teams Mode
• Quick Reference Guide
  • When to Activate Your Animals
  • How to Activate Your Animals
  • Movement Rules
  • Types of Movement
  • Animal Abilities
  • Triggering the Global Ability

Objective

The objective in Animal Kingdom remains the same as in the base game: players compete to earn as many Victory Points (VP) as possible. To do so, you will "plant" cards to create your own tableau, a 16-card grid arranged 4 cards wide by 4 cards tall.

The game ends at the end of a round after a player plants their 16th card, which completes their tableau.

Players will score points for the value of Flora and Event cards, for Growth and Sprouts placed on their Flora, for cards in their Compost, and for Ecosystem, Fauna, Terrain, and Animal bonus points.

The first player to fill their 4x4 tableau with 16 cards triggers the game end and earns a tableau completion bonus, depending on which expansions are in play.

Animal Kingdom can be played with up to 5 players. To include a 6th player, playing with the Abundance expansion rules and components is required.

Components

• 56x Animeeples (in 36 shapes)
• 20x Canopies
• 36x Double-sided Animal cards
• 1x Scorepad
• 50x Sprouts
• 1x Rulebook

Setup

Add the Sprouts and Canopy pieces to the central supply.

Follow the setup as described in the base game for your chosen game mode.

• If you ARE playing with the Abundance expansion, set up the base game, then Abundance (Abundance rulebook page 2), before continuing setup for Animal Kingdom.
• If you are NOT playing with the Abundance expansion, before proceeding with setup, remove the Proboscis Monkey and Siberian Chipmunk (two cards with an "A" beneath the card title). These cards will not be used and should be returned to the box.

Prepare the Animal Kingdom expansion as follows:

1. Form the "Animal" deck by shuffling all Animal Kingdom cards together.

2. Draw the top Animal card and place its "Global Ability" side faceup within view of all players, between the starting player and the player to their right (who will be last in turn order).

All players should take a moment to review this card before moving on to the next step. Global Abilities will be explained in more detail on page 8.

3. Players will choose their Animal card(s) as follows:

   • Flip the Animal deck so that the "Global Ability" side is faceup.
   • Deal 4 cards to each player from the Animal deck.
   • Players should review the side of each card showing the Animeeple shape, considering each Animal's difficulty and ability.

   Difficulty is based on factors such as the frequency of required card features, generation of resources, and movement requirements within your tableau. A difficulty of one circle is the least complex, while three circles is the most complex.

   Each Animal card shows: its Difficulty; its Card Type; its Animal name and Scientific Name; its Flavour Text; its Animeeple shape (some Animals also list a quantity); its Placement Conditions, printed in italics before the Ability (not all Animals have placement conditions); its Ability; and its Storage space (not all Animals have a storage space).

   • Each player selects 1 (or 2) of their cards to keep, depending on the chosen game difficulty:

     Difficulty	Animal cards kept by each player
     Beginner/Standard	1
     Advanced	2

   • Each player places their selected Animal card(s) with the Animeeple icon faceup in their play area, leaving space for their tableau. They collect the matching Animeeple(s) and place them on top of the card(s).

     Note: A few Animals have 5 Animeeples to collect (Capybara, Wild Turkey, Pocket Gopher, Indian Pangolin, and Formosan Termites). Make sure to take all 5!

Animal Abilities will be explained in more detail on page 4.

New Icons and Effects

You may encounter new icons when activating Animal and Global Abilities.

• Used Leaf: A Leaf token that has been placed on the Fauna board, or discarded.
• Canopies: A Canopy from your tableau.
• Only other players may gain the benefit: Some abilities show two benefits separated by a vertical bar. The player who activated the ability gains the benefit on the left, and each other player may gain the benefit on the right. (Example: the player who activated the ability gains 9 and each other player may gain 2.)
• Island: An Island card. While not new, this icon now appears as part of some Global Abilities. When directed, place the indicated resources on your Island card for the rest of the game.
• Seed: A Seed token. Only applicable if also playing with the Abundance expansion.

Game Structure

This expansion introduces Animal Abilities (see page 4) and Global Abilities (see page 8). These new additions modify the turn structure of the game as follows:

• Animal Abilities: Any time a player uses a Leaf (see below), they may activate the ability of their Animal(s).
• Global Abilities: At the end of each round, when the active player token passes from the last player to the starting player, it activates the Global Ability.

Animal Abilities

Activation: A player can activate their Animal's ability immediately after using a Leaf to perform one of the following actions:

A. Placing a Leaf on the Fauna Board: Either to claim a Fauna objective, or the tableau completion bonus.

Note: You can activate animals up to 5 times by using your Leaves, as there are 4x Fauna Objectives and 1x Tableau Completion Bonus.

OR

B. Discarding a Leaf from play: Players should be aware that Leaves cannot reenter play. Therefore, by discarding a Leaf to activate Animal abilities, a player will have fewer Leaf tokens available to claim Fauna objectives and/or the tableau completion bonus.

If playing with the Abundance expansion: When a player discards a Leaf, they may activate their Animal abilities AND still gain 1 Seed.

• Only the player who used a Leaf may activate the ability of their Animal(s).
• Activating Animal abilities is optional, and a player may only use an ability if they can fully satisfy its requirements. Animal abilities may require an Animeeple to complete a specific movement and/or resource costs.
• In the advanced game, a single activation allows the player to trigger one or both of their Animal abilities in the order of their choosing. A player must complete an Animal's ability in full before activating a second Animal ability.

Initial Placement

Animeeples are not placed onto a player's tableau until the player activates their Animal(s) for the first time by using a Leaf.

This initial placement counts as 1 movement for the purposes of interpreting abilities and movement requirements (see below).

• If listed, follow the placement condition (italicized text before the Ability description) on the Animal card. If the Animal has more than one Animeeple, the placement condition will be followed each time the Animeeple is placed on your tableau.

  Example: The Red Panda's placement condition: "When first activated, place the Red Panda on a Flora. It will remain there for the rest of the game." The Red Panda's placement condition requires the Animeeple to be placed on a Flora-type card.

Otherwise, if an Animal ability restricts movement (for example, only moving on a Flora-type card or a Habitat-type card), the Animeeple's initial placement must follow those requirements. If its ability has no movement requirements, you may place it on a card anywhere in your tableau.

Example: The Tarsier has no placement conditions listed, and no movement requirements. Its Animeeple can be placed on any card in the player's tableau. The South African Oryx has no placement conditions listed, but its ability movement is limited to one card feature (shown by an icon on its card). Its Animeeple can be placed on any card in the tableau that has that feature.

Animeeple Movement

Some Animals have placement conditions that require an Animeeple to stay on the card it was placed on, while others move as indicated by their Ability. Animeeple movement is always optional, but is often required for an ability to take effect.

Example: When activated, the Pocket Gopher is placed on a Terrain where it will remain for the rest of the game. When activated, the Indian Peafowl can move as indicated by its Ability.

When an Animeeple moves, it follows one of these movement rules:

A. Move up to X B. Move to C. Move exactly X

• When moving up to or exactly X cards, an Animeeple can move orthogonally (up, down, left, or right) or diagonally from the card it currently occupies to any adjacent card that satisfies the requirements of the Animal's ability.

  Note: A player's tableau does not "wrap around." Cards on the far left are not adjacent to those on the far right, and cards on the top row are not adjacent to those on the bottom row.

• An Animeeple cannot backtrack, move through, or end its movement on any card it occupied earlier in this activation, including the card occupied at the start of the activation.

  However, on future activations (even on the same turn, if a player has used or discarded more than 1 Leaf), Animeeples can move to cards occupied during a previous activation.

  Example: A player activates their Highland Cow by using a Leaf. The Highland Cow may move up to 3 times orthogonally and/or diagonally. From each card the Animeeple moves to, the player may remove 1 Growth to compost up to 3 cards from the deck. The player chooses to move the Animeeple from the Chinese Peony orthogonally to Yellow Sprouts for its first movement, diagonally to Mountain Aspen for its second movement, and then orthogonally to Tiger Orchid for its third and final movement. Conversely, during this activation the player would not have been allowed to move the Animeeple back to the Chinese Peony, as the Highland Cow began its activation there. After using another Leaf, the player activates the Highland Cow again. They are allowed to move the Animeeple to the Red-Caped Scaber Stalk, Mountain Aspen, and Chinese Peony, as some of those cards were occupied during a previous activation.

• Animeeples cannot move to or through empty spaces in a player's tableau.

• In the advanced game, Animeeples of different species may occupy the same card.

A. Move up to X

The Animeeple can move up to X cards away from its starting position.

Example: A player activates their Mountain Goat, moving its Animeeple up to 2 times from the Cinnamon Tree diagonally to the Virginia Strawberry and then diagonally to the Red Birch (both cards have the Terrain feature shown on the example). They remove 2 Sprouts from the Virginia Strawberry and 3 Sprouts from the Red Birch, and place them in the storage area on the Mountain Goat card.

Example: A player activates their Polar Bear, which can move up to 1 time per used Leaf. In previous rounds, the player claimed 2 Fauna objectives, and in order to trigger their Animal ability this turn, they discarded 1 Leaf. In total, the player has used 3 Leaves, and may move the Polar Bear's Animeeple up to 3 times, but only on cards that feature the icon shown on the card. The player may compost up to 2 cards from their hand for each card the Polar Bear moves to this turn, up to 6 cards total if the Animeeple moves to 3 cards.

B. Move to

The Animeeple moves directly to a card that meets the specified condition.

• If more than one card qualifies, the player may choose which card the Animeeple moves to.
• If no cards qualify, the Animeeple does not move and the ability has no effect.

Example: After using a Leaf, a player activates their Jaguar. They are allowed to move the Animeeple to a Flora with an animal in its name (anywhere in their tableau) that the Jaguar isn't currently occupying. The Jaguar's ability then places a resource from the supply on the newly occupied Flora, if that Flora has 1 or more Sprouts. There are 3 cards in the player's tableau that satisfy the movement requirement: Panther Cap, Woolly Buckeye, and Grey Reindeer Lichen. While the player is allowed to move the Animeeple to any of these cards, only one has 1 or more Sprouts. They move the Animeeple to the Panther Cap, and place a resource from the supply in the storage area of the Jaguar card.

C. Move exactly X

The Animeeple moves exactly X cards away from its starting position. Partial movement is not allowed.

Example:

1. On a previous turn, a player used a Leaf, activating their Vietnamese Pot-Bellied Pig. For its initial placement, the Animeeple is placed on "Forest Edge", a Terrain with both features shown on the Animal's requirement. As they have satisfied the conditions of the Animal's ability, they gain 3 Soil.
2. On their current turn, after using a Leaf, a player wishes to use the Vietnamese Pot-Bellied Pig's ability again. The Animeeple must move in order for its ability to take effect, and neither the Persian Shield nor Angel's Trumpets satisfy the Animeeple's movement requirements, so the player may not trigger its ability.
3. On a later turn, after adding Scrubland to their tableau, the player uses a Leaf, activates the Pot-Bellied Pig, moves the Animeeple exactly once to Scrubland, and gains 3 Soil.

Types of Animal Abilities

There are four types of Animal abilities:

1. Those that produce resources during the game. Example: The Eurasian Hoopoe's ability produces a resource to place on Flora.
2. Those that convert resources during the game. Example: The Ring-Tailed Lemur converts one resource to another.
3. Those that allow a player to activate abilities. Example: The Komodo Dragon activates another Animal's ability.
4. Those that provide end-game scoring opportunities. Example: The White Rhinoceros's ability produces Soil to store on the card, worth VP at the end of the game.

Producing Resources

Resources produced by an Animal ability are typically added to the player's tableau. These resources may be collected as desired (partially or in full) as long as the player can accommodate them in their tableau.

If playing with the Abundance expansion: Sprouts generated from Animal abilities may be stored unless placement conditions are provided (ex: card type or adjacency), in which case they must be placed as directed or lost.

End-Game Scoring Opportunities

All Animals that provide end-game scoring opportunities have a storage area on their card.

Only resources generated or manipulated by an Animal's ability can be placed in the storage area. There is no storage limit, but resources in storage remain there permanently and cannot be spent, converted, or moved to a player's tableau.

Global Abilities

Activation: One Global Ability card is used per game, activating for all players each time the active player token is passed from the last player in turn order to the starting player.

There are four types of Global abilities:

1. Those that produce resources during the game. Example: The Thomson's Gazelle's Global Ability gains resources based on the number of Flora in your tableau with both features shown on the card: 1 Flora gives +2, 2-3 Flora gives +3, and 4+ Flora gives +4.
2. Those that convert resources during the game. Example: The Platypus's Global Ability offers a choice of one of three options: A: pay 1 resource to gain 1 resource; B: pay 3 resources to gain 2 resources; C: pay 5 resources to gain 3 resources.
3. Those that allow a player to activate abilities. Example: The Saltwater Crocodile's Global Ability offers a choice of options, each with a resource cost, that activate one, two, or three different Animal abilities.
4. Those that provide end-game scoring opportunities. Example: The Asian Elephant's Global Ability allows a player to move one resource from a Flora (with 4 or more of the resource indicated on the card) to their Asian Elephant card, worth 3 VP per item stored there at the end of the game.

• Each player resolves the Global Ability independently, and must forgo its effect if they lack the requirements or choose not to use it.
• If a Global Ability offers a choice, each player makes their own selection.
• Only resources generated or manipulated by the Global Ability can be placed on a player's card. There is no storage limit, but resources on the card remain there permanently and cannot be spent, converted, or moved to a player's tableau.

Solo Mode

The solo mode objective is the same as the base game.

Setup

Follow the setup as described in the base game for your chosen game mode.

If you are playing with the Abundance expansion, set up the base game, then Abundance (Abundance rulebook page 2), before continuing setup for Animal Kingdom. Otherwise, remove the two Animal cards with an "A" beneath the card title before proceeding as follows:

• Do not draw or display a Global Ability card. Global abilities on Animal cards are not used in the solo game.

• Based on your chosen game difficulty, deal Animal cards to both yourself and Gaia: 1 for beginner/standard or 2 for advanced.

  Note: If Gaia is dealt any of the following Animals, deal again as Gaia will not use them: Komodo Dragon, Indian Peafowl, Saltwater Crocodile, Ball Python, Reindeer, Jaguar, and Snow Goose.

• Place Gaia's Animal card(s) faceup in her play area; the matching Animeeples should be returned to the box as Gaia will not use them.

• All other Animal cards and their Animeeples are returned to the box, as they will not be used for this game.

Activating Animal Abilities

You activate your Animals as normal (see page 4). This includes placing a Leaf on the Fauna board, claiming the tableau bonus, or discarding a Leaf to activate Animals.

If you discarded a Leaf to activate your Animals, place that Leaf on Gaia's board. She will score 5VP per Leaf on her board at the end of the game. When you calculate scores, you can record Gaia's VP from Leaves on one of her unused Ecosystem scoring spaces.

Gaia activates her Animals whenever she places a Leaf on the Fauna Board by claiming a Fauna objective or the tableau completion bonus.

Since Gaia does not have a tableau, she ignores all Animal placement and movement requirements, as well as card features and adjacency requirements for gaining resources. If she can pay the full cost of an ability, she resolves it and gains the benefit. She must use any ability she can afford.

For every 1 card Gaia should draw due to the effects of an Animal ability, Gaia instead composts 2 cards from the deck.

Resolving Gaia's Animal Abilities

• If an ability would generate resources for another player (you), you still receive them.

• If an Animal's ability triggers based on the total number of Animeeples in the tableau (Capybara, Wild Turkey, Pocket Gopher, Indian Pangolin, and Formosan Termites), Gaia instead triggers the ability once per Leaf she has used.

• If an Animal stores resources for end-game points, Gaia must still pay the required resources to use the ability. If she cannot, the ability has no effect.

• Golden Eagle and Asian Elephant: When paying Growth, Gaia always removes the last Growth token placed on her board, even if it's not a Canopy.

• Since Gaia does not use Animeeples or a tableau, always evaluate her Animal abilities as if she completes the maximum allowed or required movement.

  Example: The Golden Eagle removes a resource from a Flora when activated. As Gaia has no cards in her tableau, she takes the last Growth or Canopy that was placed on her board, and moves it to the storage area of the card.

• If an ability allows an Animeeple to move up to a certain number of cards, Gaia resolves the ability as many times as she can afford, up to the maximum stated.

  Example: The Bluebottle Fly specifies it may move up to 3 times. Gaia performs the ability to its maximum potential, removing a total of 3 cards from her compost to gain 6 Growth. If Gaia did not have 3 cards to compost, she would perform the ability as many times as she could afford to do so.

• If an ability requires an Animeeple to move exactly a specific number of cards, Gaia may only resolve it if she can fully pay the cost. No partial benefit is allowed.

  Example: To activate the Canada Jay's ability, Gaia must remove 2 Growth from her board. If she is able to do so, she gains 9 and you gain 2 (as shown on the card). If she is unable to remove 2 Growth, the ability has no effect.

Teams Mode

When playing in Teams Mode, follow the standard setup and game structure. Animal abilities are only triggered by the player who placed or discarded a Leaf; teammates do not share Animal activations.

Quick Reference Guide

Use this page to quickly review key concepts during play.

When to Activate Your Animals

• Immediately after using or discarding a Leaf.
  • You can trigger up to 5 activations on the Fauna Board: 4 Fauna Objectives + 1 Tableau Completion Bonus.
• You may also discard a Leaf permanently at any time to trigger your Animals.
  • Playing with Abundance? Gain +1 Seed.

How to Activate Your Animals

Activate your Animals one at a time, in any order.

First Activation

• Follow all placement rules (in italics) and movement requirements (as indicated by the ability).
• If there are no placement rules or movement requirements, place the Animeeple on any card in your tableau.

Movement Rules

• Animeeples may move orthogonally or diagonally to adjacent cards.
• Cannot move through empty spaces or wrap around your tableau.
• No backtracking: The Animeeple cannot return to any card it moved to or started on during this activation.
• Only animals of different species may occupy the same card at any given time.

Types of Movement

If you cannot satisfy the Animal's movement requirements, the ability does not activate.

• Move up to X: Move up to that number of cards, as long as all requirements are met.
• Move to: Move directly to a valid card of your choice.
• Move exactly X: Must move the exact amount indicated, no partial movement is allowed.

The Leaf icon refers to the total number of Leaves you've used or discarded during the course of the game.

Animal Abilities

Trigger your Animal's ability as directed by the card. Resources placed in an Animal's storage area stay there permanently.

Triggering the Global Ability

• Immediately activates when the active player token passes from the last player in turn order to the start player.
• If the ability offers a choice, each player makes it independently.
• If the ability instructs players to place resources on their card, they stay there permanently.