How it plays
Earth develops a personal four-by-four grid of flora and terrain cards. On your turn, choose planting, composting, watering or growing. You receive the stronger action benefit; everyone else may take a smaller benefit. Players then activate the matching-color abilities in their own displays.
Cards create chains of resources, growth and further opportunities, but planting costs soil and occupies limited grid space. Sprouts and growth pieces also contribute to scoring. Ecosystems reward particular arrangements, while shared fauna objectives make the timing of achievements matter. Completing a sixteen-card grid triggers the end of the game.
Decisions you’ll make
Choose actions by considering what they enable as well as their immediate reward. An action that fills a resource shortage may also activate several useful cards already planted.
Arrange cards with the activation sequence in mind. Their printed order and positions can affect whether one ability supplies what a later ability needs.
Learning the game
Involved: explain active versus following rewards, color activation order, soil, sprouts, growth and the multiple scoring objectives.