Kodama Forest
Kodama Forest Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Object of the Game
In Kodama Forest, everyone works with their neighbors to cover as much of their shared player boards as possible. Every round, each player places one tile on the board to their right and one tile on the board to their left. Forests are penalized for every uncovered dirt section, and the game ends when one board has covered all of its "5" and "10" dirt spaces. Players score both of their shared boards, with the lowest combined score determining the winner.
Balancing cooperation and competition is the key to victory.
Components
- 6 board frames (4 pieces per frame)
- 6 player boards (with "Beginner" on one side)
- 88 forest tiles
- 1 cloth bag
- 28 butterfly tiles
- 12 panda tiles
- 20 frog tiles
- This rulebook
Setup
- Place a player board between each pair of adjacent players. Each player should have a board on their left and on their right. Place a board frame on each of the player boards.
- Place all of the butterfly, frog, and panda tiles in separate piles in the middle of the table.
- Place all the forest tiles in the cloth bag.
- Each player draws three forest tiles from the bag.
Forest Tile Anatomy
Each forest tile can have up to four different symbols on them.
- Half flower - When you place two half flowers next to each other to form a full flower, you place a butterfly tile on same player board.
- Half pond - When you place two half ponds next to each other to form a full pond, you place a frog tile on same player board.
- Half bamboo patch - When you place two half bamboo patches next to each other to form a full bamboo patch, you place a panda tile on same player board.
- Trees - Trees have no effect when placed. They are used to cover the dirt floor of the forest with beautiful vegetation.
Gameplay
Kodama Forest is played over several rounds. Players play each step of the round simultaneously. Each round has two steps: 1. Place tiles on your board, and 2. Draw tiles.
1. Place Tiles on Your Board
Each round you will start with three tiles in your hand, and will place one tile on the board to your right and one tile on the board to your left.
Each player chooses a forest tile from their hand to place on the board to their left and a tile to place on the board to their right. This can be done in any order. Players should work together with the players on their left and right to choose the best tiles to play and where to place them.
When a tile is placed, if a full flower, pond, or bamboo patch was made, that player immediately places the corresponding butterfly, frog, or panda on that player board using the same placement rules as the forest tiles.
Example: Abby and Bob have a player board between them. After discussing their options, Abby decides to place piece A along the bottom of their board. Bob decides to place piece B directly above piece A so that they form a complete bamboo patch. This allows them to place a panda (piece C) on their board. Note, the panda does not need to be placed adjacent to the bamboo patch.
Placement Rules
- Tiles must be placed completely on the player board. They cannot be placed over the edge of the board.
- Tiles must be placed along the printed lines of the board so that each square of the tile fits in the squares shown on the player board.
- Tiles cannot be placed on other tiles or on the blue kodama squares printed on the player boards.
- Once a tile is placed, it cannot be moved on a later round.
- Tiles may be placed so that the flowers, ponds, and bamboo patches do not align.
Special Rule - Instead of placing any tile, you may discard that tile and place a butterfly tile instead.
2. Draw Tiles
At the end of the round, each player draws two tiles so they have three tiles in hand. Once each player has drawn their tiles, start the next round unless one or more of the player boards have no 5's or 10's showing. If that is the case, proceed to the end of the game.
End of Game
The game ends at the end of any round where at least one of the player boards has all of its 5 and 10 spaces covered.
Scoring
Each player scores points for the uncovered spaces on the boards on their left and on their right, lowest score wins. They score points in the following way:
- Kodama spaces are worth 0 points.
- Dirt spaces with no number on them are worth 1 point each.
- Dirt spaces with 5's written on them are worth 5 points each.
- Dirt spaces with 10's written on them are worth 10 points each.
The player with the lowest score wins. If there is a tie, the players with the fewest 5's and 10's showing wins. If they are still tied, all tied players win.
Example: The player board between Abby and Bob at the end of the game has only four dirt spaces showing. Three of those spaces have no number on them, so they are worth 1 point each. The last visible dirt space has a 5 on it, so it is worth 5 points. The score for this board is (3x1) + 5 = 8 points. The score for the board on Abby's other side is 12, so Abby's total score is 20 points.
How to Play at Lower Player Counts
Solo
Setup: Place one player board on your left and one on your right.
Gameplay: Each round you place one tile on the board on your left and one on the board on your right as normal.
Game End: The game ends after ten rounds. Record the total score of your two boards, and try to best that score later.
Two-Player Cooperative Variant
Setup: Place two boards between the two players.
Gameplay: Players place pieces as usual working together to cover the most empty spaces.
Game End: The game ends after five rounds. Record the total score of the two boards, and try to best that score later.
Two-Player Competitive Variant
Setup: Each player places a player board to their left and one to their right, so that four boards are being used.
Gameplay: Players place pieces to the boards on their left and right as normal except that they do not work with the other player. Each player has two boards that only they place tiles on.
Game End: The game ends as usual when at the end of any round there is at least one player board with all of its 5 and 10 spaces covered. Score as normal with the player with the lowest score winning.