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2 & 3 players · Base and Abundance

Earth — the board game: glossary and rules terms

Definitions from the authored tutorial, with stable links for sharing a particular term. The selected edition and scenario determine how each rule applies.

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20 terms

Plant

Active player may plant up to two cards, then draw four and keep one. Others may plant one and draw one. Plant before drawing, pay each cost in full, then activate green abilities.

Rule reference: Earth pp.5–6

Compost

The red action gives the active player 5 soil and 2 blind deck compost. Others choose 2 soil OR 2 deck compost. Then activate red and multicolor abilities. Personal compost is face down and cannot be browsed.

Rule reference: Earth p.7

Water

The active player gains 6 sprouts and 2 soil. Others choose 2 sprouts OR 2 soil. Then activate blue and multicolor abilities. Do not convert sprouts in the middle of receiving the action benefit.

Rule reference: Earth p.7

Grow

The active player draws 4 cards and places 2 Growth. Others choose 2 cards OR 2 Growth. Then activate yellow and multicolor abilities.

Rule reference: Earth p.8

Growth

A Flora holds Growth up to its printed capacity. The last piece is a canopy. Unfinished stacks score 1 per trunk; a completed stack scores the printed canopy VP instead of trunk points.

Rule reference: Earth p.8,14

Sprouts

Place within printed Flora capacity. Each sprout on Flora is 1 VP. Return any 3 from the tableau for 2 soil between effects. Excess is lost in base Earth; Abundance permits unrestricted surplus storage.

Rule reference: Earth p.7; Abundance pp.6–7

Soil

Soil pays planting costs and some abilities. Pay the full cost before resolving a benefit. Unused soil is the first endgame tiebreaker and otherwise has no direct VP value.

Rule reference: Earth pp.5–7,14

Tableau

Your planted cards form at most four rows and four columns. Every card after the first touches an existing card orthogonally or diagonally. Read matching abilities left to right, top to bottom.

Rule reference: Earth pp.5–6

Fauna

Four shared races. Claim when the printed condition is met during a turn; the claim stays even if the condition later disappears. Same-turn ties use active player then clockwise order. The first three tiers are 15, 11 and 8 VP.

Rule reference: Earth p.9

Ecosystem

Two shared and one personal objective score at the end. Read each condition exactly; Island and Climate may count when the card shows their reminder. Use disjoint sets within one objective; the same card can contribute to different objectives.

Rule reference: Earth pp.8,10–11,14

Terrain

Terrain occupies a tableau slot and is planted like Flora, but holds no sprouts or Growth. Some have ongoing or immediate effects; others score spatial bonuses.

Rule reference: Earth p.11

Event

Play a normal Event from hand between abilities, even on another player’s turn. Pay its entire mandatory cost. Keep it outside the tableau; it never reactivates and its VP is scored separately.

Rule reference: Earth p.11; Abundance pp.4–5

Seed

Abundance standard setup gives each player two Seeds. Spend one for 2 soil, 2 Growth, 3 sprouts, 3 blind deck compost, up to 4 hand compost, or Germination. Seeds do not directly score.

Rule reference: Abundance p.5

Germination

Spend a Seed and announce one searchable feature before looking. Search the Earth pile from the bottom, publicly revealing each card. Discard nonmatches and take the first match. Events only match an Event search. If no match, search discard; if still absent, refund the Seed.

Rule reference: Abundance pp.5–6,8

Storage

All opponent-given sprouts enter Abundance storage, even with open Flora spaces. After everyone finishes abilities, you may relocate stored sprouts to Flora. Storage cannot pay costs and scores 0 VP. Restricted surplus cannot be stored.

Rule reference: Abundance pp.3,6–7

Between turns

After every player finishes abilities and relocates sprouts, between-turn Events may be played, beginning with the active player and continuing clockwise. The owner must pay the full cost; others may opt in and pay their own full cost. Then pass the active token.

Rule reference: Abundance pp.3–5

Multicolor

A red/blue/yellow ability can activate on any of those three actions, once per turn. It never activates on green Plant. Optional costs must be paid in full, even if benefits are only partly used.

Rule reference: Earth p.5

Leaves

Each player has five leaf tokens. Use them to mark the chosen action, claim Fauna and claim the first completed tableau bonus. Abundance can permanently convert a leaf into one Seed.

Rule reference: Earth pp.2–3,9; Abundance p.5

Final round

The first 16-card tableau triggers the end of the current round and earns 7 VP, or 11 with Abundance. Finish all remaining active turns so everyone has the same number. Resolve all effects before scoring.

Rule reference: Earth p.14; Abundance p.1

Neighbor

Abundance neighbor icons select exactly one play area: the player immediately left or right. In a three-player game both opponents are neighbors, but their counts are never added together.

Rule reference: Abundance p.4

Sources and scope

Both player counts and both rulesets were checked against the publisher-linked rules and FAQ on 8 September 2026. The app separates official timing from community-informed strategy.

Reading guide reviewed 2026-09-15; based on tutorial v1.0.4. This date records an editorial review of the existing tutorial, not a new rules edition. Strategic suggestions are conditional interpretations, separate from official rules.