Symbiosis rules: how to play and how to score

Symbiosis quick rules

The goal

Everyone builds their pond: eight cards laid out in front of them, in two rows of four. Each card shows an Animal in the foreground, a Season in the background and points at the bottom. Almost all your cards start face down, and you gradually swap them with the River, in the middle of the table.

Your turn

Take a card from the River and swap it with a card of your pond, hidden or visible: the new card stays face up in your pond, the old one goes face up into the River. If the card you replaced was already face up, also flip another hidden card. So each turn reveals a card of your pond.

Scoring

Some cards score fixed points, wherever they are. Others score points for each Animal or Season of a given type, and then the column matters: in the middle, the card counts your whole pond; in your left column, your left neighbor’s pond; in your right column, your right neighbor’s.

End of the game

The game ends when everyone has all eight cards face up, so seven turns each. Everyone adds up the points of their eight cards, and the highest total wins. On a tie, the victory is shared: you live in perfect symbiosis.

Beginner traps

Look at your neighbors’ ponds before placing a card on a side: they are what make it score. In the middle, a card benefits from your whole pond if you gather the right Animal or Season there. And replacing a face-up card makes you flip a hidden card too.

Duel mode

With two, the River has eight cards, four of them face down, and you may take any of them. At the end, flip the River’s hidden cards: your two cards on the River’s side count its eight cards.

Team mode

With four, you team up with the person sitting across from you. The cards on both your sides count your teammate’s pond, and each team adds up the points of its two ponds.

How to score Symbiosis

Left column

The points of your 2 left cards. A card with variable points counts your left neighbor’s pond.

Middle columns

The points of your 4 middle cards. A card with variable points counts your whole pond.

Right column

The points of your 2 right cards. A card with variable points counts your right neighbor’s pond.

Duel and Team modes

In Duel mode, the River side counts the River’s eight cards. In Team mode, both sides count your teammate’s pond, and the team adds up its two ponds.

Worked example

On the left, Emma has a “2 points per pink Season card” card facing two pink cards in Jake’s pond (2 × 2 = 4) and a 3-point fixed card: 7 points. In the middle, a “3 points per fish” card with two fish in her pond (3 × 2 = 6) and three fixed cards worth 4, 5 and 2: 17 points. On the right, 9 points. Total: 7 + 17 + 9 = 33 points.

Common mistakes

• Counting your own cards for a side card: it counts your neighbor’s pond.
• Forgetting that a fixed-point card scores the same in any column.
• In Team mode, comparing players one by one: you compare teams, two ponds added together.
• In Duel mode, forgetting to flip the River’s hidden cards before scoring.

How to set up Symbiosis

Setup takes a minute. In Duel mode, the River gets four extra hidden cards.