Top 99 · #39 of 40 in Strategy
Living Forest
A deck-building and tile-laying game where you save the forest's trees from the threatening Onibi, winner of the 2022 Kennerspiel des Jahres (Connoisseur's Game of the Year). A push-your-luck chain of Spirit cards combines with a cooperative-feeling forest-restoration theme, letting you feel both strategy and warmth at once.
Rules
Play one of four Spirits of Nature protecting the Sacred Tree from Onibi's flames in this push-your-luck deck-building game. Each round you decide how long to keep drawing Guardian Animal cards. The first player to collect 12 different Protective Trees, 12 Fires, or 12 Sacred Flowers wins.
Components
| Component | Count | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Guardian Animal cards | 14 per Spirit (56) | Each player's starting personal deck |
| Level 1 / 2 / 3 Guardian Animal cards | 23 / 16 / 12 | Attracted from the shared Guardian Animal board by paying their cost |
| Fire Varan cards | 23 | Onibi's servants — only a solitary symbol, no elements |
| Spirit of Nature standees · Forest boards | 4 each | Each player keeps a Forest board in front of them |
| Protective Tree tiles (dispenser supply) | 39 | Arranged by ascending cost; some removed depending on player count |
| Fire tiles (values 2, 3, 4) | 58 | Pile up at the center of the Circle of Spirits as Onibi's firepower |
| Fragment tiles | 20 | Used during the Guardian Animal phase to undo a card just drawn |
| Victory tiles | 12 (3 per Spirit) | One each of Fire, Sacred Flower, and Protective Tree — stealable on the Circle of Spirits |
Elements are never spent
Elements granted by your animals can be recounted as many times as needed in a round. Using them for one action does not reduce them, so the same totals apply again to your second action and any bonus actions.
Setup
- 1Place the Circle of Spirits board in the center. Each player takes a Forest board, one starting Protective Tree tile, 3 Victory tiles (Fire, Sacred Flower, Protective Tree), a Spirit of Nature standee, and 14 starting Guardian Animal cards.
- 2Place the starting Protective Tree tile at the center of the Forest board. Shuffle the 14 starting cards and place them face down beside the board as your personal draw stack.
- 3Sort the remaining Guardian Animal cards into Level 1/2/3 decks, place them face down on the shared board, and reveal 4 cards per level to form the shared display.
- 4Stack the Fire tiles by value (2, 3, 4), and place one value-2 Fire tile at the center of the Circle of Spirits.
- 5Fill the Protective Tree dispensers in ascending cost order. Remove some tiles based on player count: with 3 players, remove one each of cost 3/4/5 (6 total); with 2 players, remove two each of cost 3/4/5 and one each of cost 6/7/8 (15 total). With 4 players, use all 39.
Fewer players removes more Protective Trees
A 2-player game removes 15 tiles spanning both cheap and expensive costs. A 3-player game removes only 6 tiles in the middle cost range. Fewer players means less competition for the same trees, so the supply is tightened to compensate.
Round structure — push-your-luck in the Guardian Animal phase
- 1All Spirits play simultaneously. Draw one card at a time from your personal deck, revealing it face up into your Help Line.
- 2You may stop whenever you want. But if a card shows a third solitary symbol not cancelled by a gregarious symbol, you must stop (that card still stays in your Help Line and its elements still count).
- 3One gregarious symbol cancels one solitary symbol. The cancelled card's elements remain usable for the Action phase.
- 4If your personal draw stack runs out, reshuffle your discard pile into a new draw stack only when you want to draw again, not the instant it empties.
- 5At any point in this phase, you may discard a Fragment tile to undo the card you just drew (a Fire Varan returns to its stack; any Guardian Animal returns to your personal discard pile), cancelling a solitary symbol if relevant. After using it, you may keep drawing or stop.
Fire Varan cards grant no elements, only a solitary symbol
Drawing one of Onibi's Fire Varan cards adds a solitary symbol without any element. Undo it immediately with a Fragment tile, or it simply weakens your turn.
The Action phase — elements and the five actions
Starting with the player holding the Sacred Tree, play proceeds clockwise. Fewer than 3 uncancelled solitary symbols grants 2 different Actions; exactly 3 grants only 1 Action. An Action's strength is the sum of matching elements visible on your Help Line and Forest board. The Sacred Flower element is a victory counter only — it cannot power an Action.
| Action | Element required | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Take a Fragment tile | None | The only Action possible with zero elements. Take 1 Fragment tile |
| Attract Guardian Animal(s) | ☀ Sun | Take one or more Guardian Animal cards costing at most your Sun total, onto your personal draw stack |
| Extinguish the Fire | 💧 Water | Take Fire tiles from the Circle of Spirits totalling at most your Water total (collecting them is a win condition) |
| Move forward on the Circle of Spirits | 🌀 Swirl | Advance up to your Swirl total; jumping another Spirit steals a Victory tile and triggers the landing rock's bonus |
| Plant a Protective Tree | 🌱 Sprout | Take exactly one Protective Tree tile costing at most your Sprout total, adjacent to an already-planted tree |
Planting Protective Trees, corners, and row/column bonuses
- 1No matter how many Sprout elements you have, this Action plants only one Protective Tree tile.
- 2A new tree must connect orthogonally to a tree already planted. Diagonal placement does not count.
- 3A planted tree grants its printed elements instantly and permanently — usable immediately for your second Action.
- 4Filling an entire row or column of your Forest board permanently grants that row or column's bonus element (1 Water, 1 Sun, 1 Swirl, or 2 Sacred Flowers).
- 5Planting a tree in one of the four corners triggers an immediate bonus Action (2 Fragment tiles, +3 Sun for attracting animals, or +2 Water for extinguishing fire, depending on that corner). You may reuse elements you already spent.
Some trees let you repeat the same action
A specific tree lets a 2-Action turn perform the same Action twice instead of two different ones. All elements may be reused for the repeated Action.
Advancing on the Circle of Spirits and rock bonuses
- 1Move your standee clockwise up to your Swirl element total.
- 2If another Spirit's standee is ahead of you, jump over it without counting that rock toward your movement.
- 3For each Spirit you jump, steal one Victory tile of your choice from them.
- 4Immediately take the bonus Action of the rock you land on. This is an extra Action, which may match or differ from Actions already taken this round. You must move at least one rock to trigger it.
End of round — Onibi's two-part counterattack
- 1① Onibi attacks you: sum the values of all Fire tiles remaining at the center of the Circle of Spirits for Onibi's firepower. If your Water total is lower than that firepower, add Fire Varan cards to your discard pile equal to the number of Fire tiles remaining (not their value). If there aren't enough Fire Varan cards, distribute them one at a time starting with the first player; if none remain, nothing happens.
- 2② Onibi attacks the Sacred Tree: add one value-2 Fire tile for every Level 1 card taken this round, one value-3 for every Level 2, and one value-4 for every Level 3. The center never holds more than 7 Fire tiles, and if none remain after this step, add one value-2 tile.
- 3③ Refill the Guardian Animal display: reveal as many new cards per level as were taken this round.
- 4④ Move all remaining Help Line cards to your personal discard pile. They grant no elements next round.
- 5⑤ Pass the Sacred Tree marker to the next Spirit clockwise, then begin the next round.
Fire Varan cards stay in your deck permanently
Fire Varan cards you receive shuffle into your discard pile and can be redrawn in later rounds. They add only a solitary symbol with no elements, so your deck keeps getting worse unless you maintain a steady Water total.
Victory conditions and tiebreaks
| Condition | How it is counted |
|---|---|
| 12 different Protective Trees | Trees planted on your Forest board + any Protective Tree Victory tile |
| 12 Fires | Number (not value) of Fire tiles collected + any Fire Victory tile |
| 12 Sacred Flowers | Flowers visible in your Help Line + flowers granted by your Forest board + any Sacred Flower Victory tile |
The game ends the instant a player completes one of the three conditions at the end of a full Action phase. If several players complete a condition at the end of the same round, each adds up all three condition totals, and the highest sum wins.
12 Protective Trees means 12 different kinds
Planting the same tree twice does not add to this total — you need 12 distinct Protective Trees. A duplicate still grants its elements, just not an extra count toward victory.
Strategy tips
- Secure gregarious animals early so the 3-solitary-symbol cap rarely stops you, letting your Help Line grow longer.
- Without a steady Water total each round, Fire Varan cards keep piling into your deck and your draws keep getting worse.
- Planting in all four corners grants an extra bonus Action each time, so prioritizing corners pays off when you can afford it.
- Jumping other Spirits on the Circle of Spirits steals a Victory tile each time, so don't neglect the Swirl element entirely.
Player-count differences and editions
No expansion was confirmed. The only official player-count variant is the Protective Tree dispenser adjustment at setup, which tightens supply most at 2 players. This guide covers the base game (2–4 players).
| Players | Protective Trees removed at setup |
|---|---|
| 4 | None — all 39 used |
| 3 | One each of cost 3/4/5 (6 total) |
| 2 | Two each of cost 3/4/5, one each of cost 6/7/8 (15 total) |
Both official rulebooks credit Board Game Arena, confirming an official online implementation. The Korean edition is translated by Popcorn Games and officially distributed by Popcorn Edu (per the Korean rulebook's credits page).
Frequently confused rules
Q. Does the card showing the third solitary symbol still grant its elements?
Yes. That card remains in your Help Line. Stopping only ends further drawing; it does not remove the card that was just revealed.
Q. If a gregarious symbol cancels a solitary symbol, do that card's elements disappear too?
No. Only the symbol count is cancelled. The card's printed elements remain fully usable for your Actions.
Q. With plenty of Sprout elements, can I plant more than one tree in a single Action?
No. The Plant a Protective Tree Action always plants exactly one tile, regardless of your Sprout total. Planting more requires another Action or a bonus Action.
Q. What are Fire tile numbers used for?
The Extinguish Fire Action spends them as cost. At round end, Onibi's attack compares your Water total against the sum of remaining tile values, but the number of Fire Varan cards you actually receive equals the count of remaining tiles, not their value.
Q. Can a corner bonus or row/column bonus be triggered again and again?
No. Each corner or row/column grants its bonus only once, the moment it is first completed. The corner bonus is an immediate extra Action; the row/column bonus grants a one-time permanent element.
Designer and awards
Designed by Danish designer Aske Christiansen, illustrated by Apolline Etienne, and first published by Ludonaute in France in 2021. It won the 2022 Kennerspiel des Jahres and the 2022 As d'Or Insider award (per English Wikipedia).
Namuwiki's entry (sourced from BGG) lists 1–4 players (3 recommended), ages 10+, and about 40 minutes, but both official rulebooks only describe setup for 2–4 players. No official solo mode is documented, so this guide does not include one.
Sources
Ludonaute — official English rulebook PDFLudonaute — official Korean rulebook PDF (translated by Popcorn Games, distributed by Popcorn Edu)Wiki cross-check — English Wikipedia: Living Forest (board game)Wiki cross-check — Namuwiki: Living Forest (Korean)Rule summaries are reference content written by us, not quotations from the official rulebook. Always check the official rulebook for exact rules. Diagrams are original schematics, not rulebook illustrations.
Spotted a mistake? Tell us in the comments below →
Last updated 2026-10-10
💡 Master tip
Players often get greedy with their chain of helpers and end up forced to stop once solitary symbols pile up, so it's safer to secure a little at a time rather than try to grab everything at once. Aiming for whichever of the three victory conditions has less competition is also an efficient strategy.
Similar games
Ready for something heavier
If this one has gotten too easy, try these — same feel, one step up in weight.
Tools you can request
Not built yet. Let us know if you want one — it goes on the list.
Victory Condition Progress Tracker
Shows real-time progress toward the 3 victory conditions
Comments
Share your thoughts, report a mistake, or request a tool. No sign-in needed — nicknames are not verified, so anyone can use the same one.
Loading…