Meadow rules: how to play and how to score

Meadow quick rules

The goal

You are wanderers observing nature. You take cards from the main board and play them in front of you: grounds, animals and plants, landscapes and souvenirs. Every played card scores points, and goals are fulfilled around the bonfire.

A game turn

The game lasts 6 rounds, 8 with four players. On your turn, you place one of your five path tokens in a free notch, around the main board or on the bonfire board. The round ends when everyone has placed all their tokens; everyone takes them back and the first player token passes left.

Taking a card

Your path token, placed at the end of a row or column of the main board, points to the card to take: as many spots as its number, in the direction of the arrow. The question mark token lets you choose 1 to 4. The card is replaced, then you may play one card from your hand.

The meadow area

Ground cards are placed side by side and never covered. Observation cards are stacked in columns on top: all their required symbols must be visible in your meadow area, and the card covers one of them, which is lost. The ground symbol always stays visible.

The surroundings area

A landscape card needs a road token, slid underneath and flipped. A discovery card goes on an unused landscape. Their other required symbols must be visible in your meadow area, but they are not lost.

Missing a symbol

Discard two cards from your hand to ignore a missing symbol, as many times as needed, but always keep at least one of the required symbols. You can never ignore a landscape’s road token, or a discovery’s landscape.

The bonfire

On the bonfire board, your token gives a special action: take any card, take two road tokens, or look at three cards of a deck and keep one, without playing a card this turn; or play up to two cards. The bench lets you play one card. If your meadow area shows both symbols around a free round spot, place a bonus token there, one per turn, worth 2, then 3, then 4 points.

Halfway point and game end

At the hourglass, the main board is cleared, the N deck replaces the S deck and the board is refilled. At the end of the last round, everyone adds up the points of their played cards and placed bonus tokens. On a tie, the most discovery cards wins.

Beginner pitfalls

With the first three bonfire actions, you don’t play a card: players often forget. Never hide the ground symbol or a card’s points. The bench is a last resort, and keep road tokens for your landscapes.

Solo

You face Roger, a virtual player who always goes first. On his turn, flip a token from his stack: it points to a card of the main board by its color and number, and Roger stacks it. At the end, he scores the points of his cards, and you must beat him.

How to score Meadow

Played cards

The victory points of all the cards played in your meadow and surroundings areas. Cards in hand score nothing.

Bonus tokens

The value of your bonus tokens placed on the bonfire board: 2, 3 and 4 points. Unplaced tokens score nothing.

Discovery cards

An optional line that scores nothing: on a tie, the player who played the most discovery cards wins.

Worked example

Jake has 41 points on the cards of his meadow area and 12 on those of his surroundings area, so 53 for played cards. He placed his 2-point and 3-point bonus tokens at the bonfire: 5. Total: 53 + 5 = 58 points.

Common mistakes

• Counting cards still in hand: they score nothing.
• Counting a bonus token left in front of you: only tokens placed at the bonfire count.
• Forgetting the points of covered cards: they stay visible and count.
• Forgetting the tiebreak: on a tie, the most discovery cards wins.

How to set up Meadow

Setup takes about ten minutes. Keep the envelopes sealed for your first games; for solo, follow the last phase instead of the bonfire.