The Story

The last Demigod of Trees recently fell prey to the enticements of power from Maion, the God of Decay. Fisaven (pronounced Fiss-ay-vin), the God of Growth, discovered this so the position for Demigod of Trees is now vacant and Fisaven is looking for a nature spirit to fill the role.

You, as well as many others, are vying for this position. To prove that you are the most worthy, you must go out and scavenge for Branchlets to grow a tree superior than the rest. Earn the

Favor of Fisaven and the Blessings of the other Gods in order to become the Demigod of Trees!

Components

• 16 Root Cards
• 42 Branchlets
• 8 Flowers
• 4 Trunk
• 8 Blessings
• Instructions

Setup

Give each player two Roots labeled 'A' and two Roots labeled 'B', setting any unused ones aside.

Separate the Trunks from the Branchlets and give one Trunk to each player, setting any unused ones aside.

Slot the Roots and the Trunk together perpen- dicularly as shown below.

Shuffle the Branchlets and divide them into 3 equal piles in the center of the table.

Arrange the Flowers around the Branchlet Piles.

• In a 4 player game, use all of the Branchlets.
• In a 3 player game, remove 3 Branchlets from each pile and set them aside.
• In a 2 player game, remove 5 Branchlets from each pile and set them aside.

If you want to focus on the strategy of Tiny Trees, select and reveal two Blessings at random, setting any unused ones aside.

Game Play

The tallest spirit, as they are most like a tree, goes first. Play then proceeds clockwise.

Scavenging and Growth

To scavenge, choose and pick up a Branchlet from the top of one of the Branchlet piles OR a Flower. Since you are not a very large spirit, you can only pick up one Branchlet or Flower at a time.

You must immediately grow a chosen Branchlet or Flower to your tree. Growth is slotting the Branchlets or Flowers together along the cut dotted lines.

After you have grown a Branchlet or a Flower, you cannot change its location on your tree.

Fallen Trees

As part of proving your worth to become the next Demigod of Trees, Fisaven is also observing the stability of trees you grow to see if they will withstand the test of time.

• The tree you grow is made from scavenged Branchlets and thusly is not stable. You must balance the weight on each individual Branchlet as well as the entire tree to keep it from falling flat - figuratively and literally.

  Even though you cannot rearrange your tree after you grow a Branchlet or Flower, you can adjust the angle of your Branchlets to make your tree more stable.

• If a Branchlet from your tree touches the ground as a result of growing a new Branchlet, you must return what you most recently grew to the bottom of a pile of your choice.

• If this happens twice , you have shown to Fisaven that you are not worthy to become the Demigod of Trees, and thus CANNOT win.

Grow your Branchlets as perpendicular as possible when slotting them together in order to prevent this!

Flowers and Branches

The Flowers that you can grow are imbued with the power of the elements. They draw energy from the tree's roots, through the Branchlets, and store the energy within the petals to make them better offerings, and earn more of Fisaven's Favor.

You CANNOT grow a Branchlet nor a Flower onto a Branchlet with a Flower.

Growing a Flower creates a Branch. A Branch is the shortest path from a Flower to the trunk. Branches are NOT the same as Branchlets. Branchlets are hexagonal cards while a Branch is a series of Branchlets that end in a Flower

Earning Favor

At the end of the game, each spirit earns the Favor of Fisaven. Earning Favor can be accomplished in three ways: Branches, Lifeforms, and Blessings.

• If you want to focus more on creatively growing your tree, it is recommended that you only earn Favor for Branches.

• If you want to balance strategy and creativity, it is recommended that you earn Favor for both Branches and Lifeforms.

• If you want to focus on the deep-rooted strategy of the game, it is recommended that you earn Favor for Branches, Lifeforms, and Blessings.

Branches

A Branch is the shortest path from a Flower to the Trunk. A series of Branchlets is not a Branch unless it has a Flower at the end.

• There are three types of Branchlets: Laurel, Cherry Blossom, and Maple. These can be distinguished easily by their unique leaves and bark.

• For each Branch on a tree, find whichever type of Branchlet occurs the most.

• You earn Favor equal to the greatest number of Branchlets of the same type.

If there is an equal number of types of Branchlets, you only earn Favor for one of them.

Branches

Lifeforms

As you scavenge for Branchlets, some have Lifeforms that are attached to them. Since Lifeforms flourish over time, having them on your tree pleases Fisaven and earns more Favor at the end of the game.

Certain Branchlets have Lifeforms on them. The three types of Lifeforms are Birds, Beetles, and Mushrooms.

Count how many of each type of Lifeform you have throughout your tree. Refer to the table on the next page for how much Favor you earn from each type of Lifeform.

A Lifeform does not have to be on a Branch to earn Favor. Each type of Lifeform earns Favor independently.

Example: Sam has a tree with 3 Birds, 2 Beetles, and 1 Mushroom. The Mushroom earns 1 Favor, the Beetles earn 2 Favor total, and the Birds earn 4 Favor total.

Altogether, Sam earns 7 Favor from their Lifeforms.

Number of a Type of Lifeform	Favor Earned
1	1
2	2
3	4
4	6
5	9
6	12

Blessings

The nature gods and Demigods are observing the competing spirits and give recommendations to Fisaven if the spirit follows their decrees. Having the Blessing of one of the gods can either make a spirit look more favorable in the eyes of Fisaven or grant the spirit additional abilities for a short period.

• If a spirit grows their tree in a manner to fulfil the requirements of a Blessing, they gain the effect of the Blessing.

• Some Blessings are exclusive, some have immediate effects, and others alter the methods of earning Favor.

• You do not have to follow these requirements while growing your tree.

End of the Game

The game ends when either:

• Two of the Branchlet piles run out OR
• All eight Flowers have been used and one Branchlet pile runs out.

The spirit that earns the greatest amount of Favor wins and becomes the next Demigod of Trees!

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