Winter and Summer compete to assert their influence over the forest!

Under the constant threat of fires caused by Onibi, each season needs to use strategies to be the first to achieve one of the four victory conditions and thus save the forest.

The forest is once again in peril, but Summer and Winter are here to defend it with the valuable help of the guardian animals.

In Living Forest Duel, two players face off as the spirits of Summer and Winter, each striving to save the sacred forest and be recognized as its ultimate protector. Although their goals are similar, only one season will claim the honors, so plan your strategies carefully.

The 4 Victory Conditions

Each player must achieve one of the four victory conditions first to win the game:

Create a harmonious forest: Plant a 3×3 rectangle of Guardian Tree cards in your Forest.
Dominate the Recruitment Line: Have only cards of your season on the recruitment line.
Extinguish the Destructive Flames: Collect 7 Fire tokens to protect the forest from Onibi's devastation.
Repel Onibi: Move the Onibi creature to your opponent's side once the Onibi card is in their possession.

Playing the game

The game is played in alternating turns. On each turn, choose one of the following options:

Draw 1 guardian animal card from the shared draw pile and add it to the shared help line
Use 1 action token on 1 guardian animal card in the shared help line

Draw a guardian animal card

Draw a card from the shared draw pile and place it face up on one of the three help lines:

the shared help line if it’s a neutral animal
your help line if it’s an animal of your season
your opponent’s help line if it’s an animal of their season

Each animal provides elements that you can use later with one of your two Action tokens.

Be careful: revealing too many solitary animals can be detrimental. After 3 solitary symbols, you lose an Action token, which will significantly reduce your ability to act.


End of the turn

The turn ends when both Summer and Winter have used up their 2 action tokens.

Add up the value of the fire tokens in the clearing: the value of each fire token is determined by its location. Then, add up your water values. Check to see whether the fire value in the clearing is strictly higher than your water value. If so, add a fire varan card corresponding to your season to the shared discard pile for each fire token present in the clearing.

Next, place a fire token on each of the cards on either side of the Onibi standee.

Retrieve your 2 action tokens back in front of you, and place all of the cards in the help line, as well as the cards in the players' personal lines on the shared discard pile.

2 players
10 years old and up
20 minutes



Released: 25 February 2025