Game Objective

The objective of Bonsai is to cultivate the best possible plant to be chosen for display in the Imperial Gardens. To win, players must score at least 140 points by claiming all 5 available Objectives. Each Objective has different difficulty levels and scoring, and the order of claiming does not matter.

Setup

To set up the game, follow these steps:

• Initial Components: Each player receives a Vase token (chosen color), an initial Seishi token (which indicates stock limits), and a Summary card.
• Place all Bonsai tokens (wood, leaf, flower, fruit) in a common area.
• Shuffle the Zen card deck and place it face down on the board next to the temple. Draw 4 cards from the top and place them face up on the board.
• Shuffle the remaining cards (including Scroll if applicable) and place them on top of the deck.
• Choose 3 random colors and place 3 Objectives of each color next to the board.
• Each player takes initial tokens from the common stock according to the table in the manual.

Note: For games with fewer players, adjust the number of Objectives as described.

Game Flow

The game progresses in turns, clockwise, starting with the oldest player. Each turn includes:

1. Action: Choose between Meditate (no specific action) or Cultivate (place tokens on the bonsai).
2. After the action, check if you can claim an Objective.
3. If you claim an Objective, the turn ends and passes to the next player.

During the Cultivate action, players use tokens from their personal stock and Growth cards to add pieces to the bonsai, respecting placement rules.

Actions and How to Play

There are two main actions:

Meditate

There is no specific action. It is an option to skip cultivation and pass the turn.

Cultivate

To cultivate, follow these rules:

• Use tokens from your personal stock and Growth cards to add pieces to the bonsai.
• Respect placement rules:
  • Wood: must touch another wood.
  • Leaf: must touch wood.