Objective

Cascadia is a strategic tile-laying game where players aim to create the most diverse landscape and harmonious wildlife habitat. The objective is to score points by skillfully placing habitat tiles and wildlife tokens.

Game Components

• 85 Habitat tiles (featuring 5 different terrain types: mountains, forests, rivers, swamps, and grasslands)
• 100 Wildlife tokens (20 each of 5 animal types: bears, foxes, eagles, salmon, and elk)
• 10 Wildlife scoring cards (2 for each animal type)
• 1 Starting Player card
• 20 Nature Tokens

Setup

1. Shuffle the habitat tiles and place them in a facedown stack.
2. Mix the wildlife tokens in a bag.
3. Reveal four habitat tiles and wildlife tokens as the initial offer.
4. Set one wildlife scoring card per animal type to determine points.
5. Each player receives a starting habitat tile and initially places 2 wildlife tokens on it.

Gameplay

The game proceeds clockwise, and each turn consists of 4 steps: 1. Select a habitat tile and wildlife token: Pick a pair from the available offers. Alternatively, using a Nature Token lets you choose any combination of tile and token. 2. Place the habitat tile: Position your chosen tile adjacent to your evolving terrain to form large connected landscapes for end game points. 3. Place the wildlife token: Position your token on one of the eligible spaces in your terrain. Wildlife positioning must adhere to the scoring card rules. 4. Refill the offer: Draw a new habitat tile and wildlife token to replenish the supply.

Scoring

• Landscape Points: At the game's end, points are awarded for larger connected terrain areas, with additional bonuses for matching adjacent terrain.
• Wildlife Points: Refer to each wildlife scoring card for scoring patterns like connected bear pairs or elk herds.
• Nature Tokens: Each remaining token awards you a bonus point.

Winning

The player with the highest total score wins. In the event of a tie, the player with the most remaining Nature Tokens wins the tiebreaker.

Strategic Tips

• Focus on creating vast connected landscapes, as they both directly and indirectly contribute extra points through adjacency bonuses.
• Don’t just consider short-term token placements; ensure your strategy incorporates points both now and throughout the game.
• Use Nature Tokens wisely, keeping them for pivotal moments where strategic advantages can be gained.

Cascadia offers high replay value due to its variable setup and selection options, rewarding tactical thinking and forward planning. Enjoy exploring the beautiful terrains and their majestic wildlife!