Earth (board game)

Officially Earth

Inside Up Games engine-building tableau card game (Maxime Tardif, 2023) — players build tableau of 320+ unique cards (fauna, flora, climate, ecosystem) forming personal ecosystem. Very fluid engine-building; ranks in BGG Top 100. 90-min play; 1-5 players.

⏱~90 min🌤indoor

What is Earth (board game)?

Earth is a tableau-building engine card game designed by Maxime Tardif — published by Inside Up Games (Canada) in 2023 following successful Kickstarter that raised $2M+ from 40,000+ backers. 1-5 players build a personal 4×4 tableau of unique cards from a base + expansion pool totalling 320+ unique cards spanning Fauna (animals), Flora (plants), Climate (weather effects), Ecosystem (biome-modifiers), and Events. Each turn, one of 4 actions: Plant, Compost, Water, Grow — each triggers a chain of activations from cards in your tableau (island-style combo triggering). Building the tableau creates an engine where cards feed each other resources + points. Signature 'green' aesthetic with real-world species art. Ranked BGG Top 100 within a year of release. Nominated for Golden Geek Award 2024 Best Strategy Game. Solo mode is exceptional. Expansion 'Abundance' (2024) added 100+ new cards. Design is celebrated for accessibility (easy-to-learn) + depth (endless combo strategy variety). Comparable to Ark Nova + Terraforming Mars for engine-building enthusiasts but faster + more thematic (real Earth ecosystems).

Quick facts

How it works

Objective

Build tableau engine to score maximum VP through combos of fauna, flora, climate, ecosystem, and endgame achievements.

Match structure

Each turn: pick 1 of 4 actions (Plant/Compost/Water/Grow), trigger tableau chain. Game ends when player fills 16-card tableau. Final VP scoring by tableau combos + achievements.

Rules

Basic rules

4 turn actions: Plant / Compost / Water / Grow
Each turn one of 4 actions triggers chain of card activations from your tableau.
Tableau builds via 16-slot personal board
Play cards to your 4×4 board; each triggers own + adjacent card activations.
Endgame trigger: fill 16 tableau slots
When first player fills all 16 slots, current round completes then endgame.

Advanced rules

Chain combo triggering
Playing a card can trigger nearby cards, which trigger further cards — chain reactions score compound VP.
Terrain + Ecosystem tile placement
Modular tiles under your tableau provide location-based bonuses (Forest, Wetland, Grassland, etc.).
Endgame Achievement cards
Public + secret Achievement cards score bonus VP for specific tableau shapes / types.

Scoring

Sum tableau VP + Achievement bonuses + resource conversion.

Action	Points
Card VP	1-8 per card
Chain combo activations	Multi-card cascade VP
Achievement cards	Bonus 5-15 VP each

Win condition · Highest total VP after endgame trigger.

Equipment

320+ unique cards (Fauna/Flora/Climate/Ecosystem/Event)
Base game + Abundance expansion; each card unique with distinct rules text.
4×4 tableau spaces per player
Personal player board with 16 tableau slots.
Resource tokens (sprout, soil, tree)
Physical tokens tracking resources.
Terrain + Ecosystem tiles
Modular biome tiles adding location bonuses.
Automa deck (solo)
Solo variant with automated opponent.

Positions & roles

Naturalist / Ecosystem Builder
×1
Solo tableau-builder competing on VP.

Officiating

Player-managed rules; game rules are unambiguous.

Group consensus

Penalties & fouls

Penalties

Unable to trigger chain
Turn produces low output; must adapt tableau planning.
Tableau shape mismatch to Achievements
Missed endgame Achievement bonus if tableau doesn't fit criteria.

Strategies

Chain engine early
First 4-6 cards should form a chainable core — Fauna feeding Flora feeding Ecosystem — that scales combo output for the rest of the game.
Achievement-targeted tableau shape
Read public Achievements early; shape tableau to hit 2-3 of them for endgame VP jackpot.
Grow action rush endgame
When your tableau is 10+ cards, Grow-action turns produce massive VP; time endgame trigger to maximise Grow returns.

Terminology

Fauna: Animal cards
Flora: Plant cards
Climate / Ecosystem: Weather + biome modifier cards
Chain trigger: Cascading card activations from action
Tableau: 4×4 personal card board

Major competitions

Golden Geek Award 2024 Best Strategy Game (nominee)
annual · global (BGG community) · since 2006
Board Game Geek Top 100 (post-release)
ongoing · global (BGG community) · since 2000

Where it is played

Governing bodies

Inside Up Games
Founded 2019 · Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Famous names & records

Famous athletes

Maxime Tardif (designer)
Andrew Bosley (artist)

Records

$2M+ Kickstarter 2022
Inside Up Games — Raised $2 million+ from 40,000+ backers on Kickstarter in 2022 — one of largest card-game Kickstarters (2022)
BGG Top 100 within one year
Inside Up Games — Ranked BGG Top 100 within one year of release (2024)
Abundance expansion 2024
Inside Up Games — First expansion 'Abundance' added 100+ new cards + new mechanics in 2024 (2024)

Learn this sport

beginner

1
Solo Automa game
Learn 4 actions + basic chain triggers vs Automa deck.

intermediate

1
2-3 player + Achievement targeting
Compete vs. friends; learn to target public Achievements.

advanced

1
5 player + Abundance expansion + Golden Geek-level play
Full 5-player games + all expansion content + combo-optimisation strategies.

Frequently asked

How does Earth compare to Wingspan?+

Both are nature-themed engine-builders. Wingspan focuses exclusively on birds; Earth spans all ecosystems (fauna, flora, climate). Earth has more chain-combo depth, longer play time (90 min vs. 60 min), and more strategic complexity. Wingspan is more accessible; Earth is more strategically rich.

Is Earth a solo-friendly game?+

Yes — Earth is widely praised as one of the best solo board games of 2023. Automa deck provides genuine challenge; game scales cleanly to solo without feeling like an adaptation.

Sources & provenance

BoardGameGeek — Earth— BoardGameGeek

Last verified 2026-08-29.verified