Let’s talk about one of my big hits from Gen Con last year. Forest Shuffle is a game that when I demoed it, I went and bought it immediately. They just came out with a new expansion and it just showed up on Board Game Arena, so I’ve been playing it again, including with the expansion for the first time last night. So does Forest Shuffle hold up as an interesting tableau builder with hand management, or are there some strategies that are just too good?

How to Play Forest Shuffle?

In Forest Shuffle, you try and build the forest that is going to give you the most points. To do this, you need to play out trees and then surround them with animals and other vegetation. Each card has a cost and some benefit to scoring. When all three winter cards are drawn, the game immediately ends. And the player with the most points wins, as I said.

On your turn you either play a card from your hand using other cards from your hand to pay the cost, or you draw two cards. When you play out cards there a few things to note. Firstly, there are three types of cards, left and right divided cards, up and down divided cards, and tree cards. To play the first two, you already need a tree in place. And when you play a tree, it costs one card from the deck of cards. And with a few exceptions you play only a single card above, below, and to the left and right of your tree. You do so that half the card is covered up by the tree.

Dual Purpose (and more) Cards

Cards get used for basically two things, you either play them out to score points in your tableau or you use them pay for other cards. But there is a risk with that. As you pay for cards it goes into a discard row. When that discard row gets to 11 or more cards, it wipes. But until then, those cards are ones that players can pick up with their draw. So you need to pay attention to what other players are doing to try and avoid setting them up.

But it’s also dual purpose in that the non-tree cards are split in two. Either a top and bottom halves or left and right halves. Each half is going to score in a different way. So I pick which side I want to use, and that side is the cost that I need to pay. Some some might be free, but is their scoring as good or is it worth it to pay more? That all depends on the synergies that you have.

Bonus Powers

Let’s do a little aside on the bonus powers you can activate. This is a trickier element of the game, but as you play out cards they might have a color symbol on them that’s kind of an arrow or chevron. If you pay for that card with cards that have that color, you get the bonus. And that bonus is sometimes great. It might be draw more cards, or take a whole next turn. But they make it good and tricky so you can’t just play the card, you need to set your hand up with the right colors to spend.

Luck Level

I think it is important to talk about the luck level in the game as well. I find that it is a nice balance of luck and strategy. Often times the strategy that you pick to start the game, let’s say, I want to get hares, or butterflies, or lots of trees, that is a valid strategy throughout your game. But there is an element of luck and the potential need to pivot.

So you can also just push for what you need. You never can have more than ten cards, but with ten cards there is always something you can play. So you might just find that you draw to get the strategy that you want to work. If you need more hares, you draw two cards blind and hope you get them. Eventually you’ll find what you need.

But there is a level of luck to the game. And at times you might find that you need to pivot. If all I see are people discarding bats, maybe I should start collecting and synergizing around bats. But the further you get into the game, the more focused you are apt to be in what you play.

Is There A Lot To Take In?

That, I think, is both a yes and a no. At the start of the game, there is a lot to take in, especially in your first game. The more games that you play, the less you need to read because you just know a lot of the time. But when you start, you often need to spend some time with your hand trying to figure out what direction it is leaning.

And the more you play the game, the easier it is just to know with a quick glance, nothing is that complex about the game. So as you gain familiarity with all the symbols, which there aren’t that many, the game is a whole lot faster to play. And as you focus your strategy it becomes even faster to look and see what you need, just by the type of animal or symbols an animal or tree gives you.

Who is Forest Shuffle For?

Honestly, I think that this game is going to be for most people. It might be a bit too light for some people, but it’s a good blend of strategy and planning and then making decisions based off of what comes up. And the them is very accessible, building out a forest, that makes sense and doesn’t feel too nerdy, like a fantasy or sci-fi game. And I think even for people who like heavier games, this one isn’t too long, so it’s a good palette cleanser.

Final Thoughts and Grade for Forest Shuffle

I really enjoy this game. I like to play it both in person and on Board Game Arena. It is one that works well to play asynchronously. But in person is always better for a game. But it’s that nice balance of just enough strategy and planning without an overwhelming amount of decisions. And the game is almost always positive in what it does. Don’t get a card you want from a draw, that’s okay, those cards can now be used to pay for stuff. It’s simple, elegant and with a good theme, so a very fun time.

My Grade: A
Gamer Grade: B+
Casual Grade: A

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