Arboretum
STRATEGIC HAND-MANAGEMENT + PATH-BUILDING CARD GAME (2015) by DAN CASSAR — players plant paths of colored tree cards in their arboretum. Signature: EACH ROUND you play 2 cards to your arboretum AND discard 2 to the shared discard piles that ANY PLAYER can draft from. Final scoring is asymmetric — only if your color's HIGHEST-PATH condition is met (ties broken by hand-value comparisons). Deeply strategic despite simple rules; hand-management + bluffing + memory.
Quick facts
Category
Board Games
Type
Individual
Players
2–4
Duration
~30 min
Where played
indoor
Country of origin
🇺🇸 United States
Estimated origin
2015 Z-Man Games release; later reprint by Renegade Game Studios
Olympic
No
Popularity
regional
How it works
Objective
Build the highest-value PATH of a color in your arboretum, competing for each color's scoring rights.
Rules
Basic rules
Each turn: DRAW 2 cards + PLAY 1 to arboretum + DISCARD 1 to shared discard piles
Signature 4-phase turn.
PATHS in arboretum must be STRICTLY INCREASING numbers from start to end
Signature path constraint.
PATH SCORING: only if you have the HIGHEST HAND VALUE for that color (ties go to no-one)
Signature scoring restriction.
PATHS start + end with same color = +1 bonus VP
Bonus rule.
END-GAME: score by color — only scoring player of each color gets path VP
Signature asymmetric scoring.
Scoring
Sum path values of colors you have scoring rights to; ties go to no one.
| Action | Points |
|---|---|
| Path of color X you have rights to | Sum of numbers on path |
| Path starts + ends with same color | +1 VP |
| Path length bonus (5+ cards) | Length bonus |
Win condition · Highest total scored VP.
Equipment
Deck of tree cards in 10 (2-player) or up to 10 colors (per player count)
Signature colored tree cards
Terminology
- Arboretum
- Personal display area where players build tree paths.
- Path
- Chain of same-colored cards in ascending order in your arboretum.
- Discard pile (color-specific)
- Shared piles anyone can draft from — track opponent picks.
- Scoring rights
- Only player with highest hand-value of a color gets to score paths of that color.
- Dan Cassar
- American designer, Arboretum is his most acclaimed game.
Where it is played
Sources & provenance
- Renegade Game Studios — Arboretum— Renegade Game Studios
- BoardGameGeek— BGG