With the rising sun, the songbirds sing. They call to their mates and declare their territory. In this bountiful forest, only the loudest songbirds singing the most beautiful songs will claim the trees with the ripest berries and prime nesting spots.
Components
- 28 Songbird Cards
- 10 Berry Tokens
- 5 Negative Tokens
- 1 Crow Card
- 2 Score Cards
- Instructions
Object of the Game
Each turn you will play one songbird with a specific volume (number) from your hand into the forest (play area).
You try to win a majority on columns and rows to gain delicious berries (points), but your opponents will be trying to do the same for the secret color they wish to aid.
After two rounds, the forest spirit with the most points wins the game!
Setup
The following is the basic setup instructions for a 2- or 3-player game.
1 Shuffle the Berry tokens face-down. Place 5 Berry tokens in a column, then place the remaining 5 Berry tokens in a row using the top left corner of the play area as a guide. Flip all the Berry tokens face-up. The twenty-five (5X5) spaces where the Berry tokens intersect create the forest.
2 Place the 2 Score Cards above the forest.
3 Leave the Crow card in the box. Shuffle the Songbird cards. Draw one card and place it in the center space face-up.
4 Deal cards to each player according to the total number of players:
- 2 players:13 cards each;
- 3 players: 9 cards each.
This is each player's hand.
Note: In a 2-player game, place the 1 remaining card aside, face-down. It will not be used in the current round).
5 The last player to win a game (of anything!) will be the starting player.
Game Play
Game play begins with the starting player and proceeds clockwise. Each player takes a turn playing a card from their hand and placing it onto a space in the forest. You must place the card adjacent to a card already in the forest.
Example: In the image to the right, you can place a card in one of the seven spaces highlighted in yellow.
Players continue to take turns until all spaces in the forest are filled. All players should have 1 card left in their hand. The color of the songbird on your last hand is your favored songbird, based on which your score is calculated.
End of the Game
The game ends when all spaces are filled in the forest.
Berry tokens are awarded to the strongest songbird color in a column or row. To decide the strength of each songbird color, add up the numbers of the same color in the same column or row. The higher the sum, the stronger the color.
There is a White 5 and a White 1, so the strength of White is 6; there is a Red 2 and Red 3, so the strength of Red is 5; there is only one Blue with a strength of 2. Therefore, White is the strongest color in this row.
The Berry token above a column is awarded to the strongest songbird color in that column.
The Berry token to the left of a row is awarded to the strongest songbird color in that row.
In the case of a tie in a given column or row, the tied songbird colors cancel each other out. The Berry token is awarded to the next strongest songbird color in that column or row.
If strengths all match and/or cancel each other out, the Berry token is not awarded to any color for that column or row.
In the upper row, Green is 7, Red is 7, Blue is also 7 in total, and White is 3. Since Green, Red and Blue are tied, their strengths cancel out and white wins the Berry token of 6.
In the lower row, White is 5 and Green has a total strength of 5, so they cancel each other out. Blue is 1 and Red is 1, so they cancel each other out. No songbird color is awarded the Berry token of 7.
Place the awarded Berry tokens on the Score Cards. In this way, you will be able to easily count up the accumulated value of all the Berry tokens.
After assigning the tokens of the 5 columns and 5 rows, each player reveals their favored songbird. You score victory points equal to the strength value of your favored songbird and the total Berry value of your favored songbird's color.
It is possible for another player to have the same favored songbird color as you do. If you favor the same songbird color, the same calculation applies.
Example: Red 
wins 17 points. You reveal a Red 5 as your favored songbird. Your score is 22 (1 7+5). Another player reveals a Red 3. Their score is 20 (17+3).
Discussion Between Players
You may not show or tell another player what is in your hand.
You may tell another player the space in a forest you would like to keep empty.
You may discuss which player will pick the favored songbird and which color to choose.
Only you may choose which card to play from your hand, but after choosing the card, you may discuss the best space to play the card.
After choosing which card to play from your hand, you may not change it and must play that card.
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