Arboretum rules: how to play and how to score

Arboretum quick rules

The goal

Everyone plants an arboretum of tree cards in front of them: ten colors, one species per color, numbered 1 to 8. At the end, you score paths, sequences of cards of increasing value. But you only score a color if you keep enough cards of that color in hand.

A game turn

You hold seven cards. Draw two cards, one after the other, from the draw pile or the top of any discard pile, your own included. Play one card into your arboretum, then discard one card face up onto your own discard pile: you end with seven cards.

Planting your arboretum

Your first card goes anywhere. Each later card touches a card already placed along a side, never only diagonally. A placed card never moves and is never covered.

Game end

The game ends when the draw pile runs out: the player who drew the last card finishes their turn, then scoring begins. The cards still in hand decide everything.

Gaining the right to score

Color by color, everyone reveals the cards of that color in hand and adds them up. The highest sum scores a single path of that color; on a tie, all tied players score. A 1 in hand cancels an opponent’s 8 of the same color. If no one holds the color, everyone scores it.

Scoring a path

A path links touching cards with rising values, and starts and ends with the color being scored; the cards in between can be any color. 1 point per card, 2 per card if it has at least 4 cards all of that color, +1 if it begins with a 1 and +2 if it ends with an 8.

Declaring the winner

Everyone adds up their paths, at most one per color; the same card may be used in several paths. The highest total wins; on a tie, the player with the most different colors in their arboretum.

Beginner pitfalls

A gorgeous path scores nothing if an opponent keeps more cards of its color in hand. Your discard pile is open to everyone. And holding a color you never plant can be enough to block an opponent.

How to score Arboretum

One line per color

Cassia, Dogwood, Jacaranda, Olive, Lilac, Magnolia, Maple, Royal Poinciana, Oak, Willow. If you gain the right to score this color: your best path, 1 point per card (2 per card if it has 4 or more cards, all of this color), +1 if it begins with a 1, +2 if it ends with an 8. Otherwise: 0. Colors removed with 2 or 3 players stay empty.

Colors in your arboretum

An optional line that scores nothing: on a tie, the player with the most different colors in their arboretum wins.

Worked example

Emma gains the right to score three colors. Maple: 5 cards, all red, from 1 to 8, so 5 × 2 + 1 + 2 = 13. Olive: 3 cards of mixed colors, 3. Cassia: 2 cards, the last one an 8, so 2 + 2 = 4. Total: 13 + 3 + 4 = 20 points.

Common mistakes

• Scoring a path without the right to score its color: it’s worth 0.
• Doubling a 3-card path of one color: double points start at 4 cards.
• Scoring two paths of the same color: only one per color.
• Forgetting that your 8 is worth 0 if an opponent holds the 1 of that color.

How to set up Arboretum

Setup takes a minute: just prepare the deck for the player count.