Living Forest

There are few things quite like the feeling you get when you've discovered a new board game. Especially games you haven't heard of before. Living Forest is one such game that had completely slipped under my radar, and when I was given the chance to review it, it was a decision I didn't need to think about for very long.

Living Forest is, unsurprisingly, set in a forest inhabited by both forest spirits and all manner of colourful animals. The game is for 2-4 players, and each player chooses a forest spirit as their playing piece. The playing pieces have no special abilities or the like; you simply choose whichever colour or forest spirit you like best.

The rules are actually relatively straightforward. However, I found it easier to watch a YouTube video, as there were certain minor details - albeit important ones - that weren't explained clearly enough in the rules. Even after I'd understood the rules, having watched the YouTube clip, and returned to the rulebook, it was still a bit of a puzzle to make sense of certain parts. In any case, those of you reading this are surely far cleverer than yours truly when it comes to the rules of board games. But, as I always say: long live rule walkthroughs on YouTube!

In Living Forest, there are three different ways to win. The first is to be the first to extinguish twelve forest fires. You do this using water tokens, which you can acquire in a few different ways during the course of the game (as I'll explain later on). You can win by being the first to have twelve different trees on your game board, and finally, you can also win by being the first to have twelve flowers. For the purposes of this review, I've only played with two players, and on all four occasions we've played, the winner has always won by putting out twelve fires. It feels like by far the easiest way to win, which unfortunately feels a tad boring. It should be added that this might not be the easiest way to win when there are three or four players, but with two players, it's definitely the easiest way to win.

As you can see from the picture above, there's quite a lot to set up before you can start a game of Living Forest. Don't let that put you off! Sure, it takes a little while to set everything up, but lots of bits and pieces doesn't necessarily mean it's a complicated game with lots to keep track of - and this game is a clear example of that. As you can see in the picture, each player has their own game board where they place the trees they've traded for. As I mentioned above - twelve trees there and you'll emerge victorious from the game. I won't go through every single item visible in the picture, but we also have a shared game board where you move your playing piece around. It's not compulsory to move there; in fact, you could play an entire game without moving your own playing piece at all.

Living Forest revolves heavily around the different elements. The colourful animals I described at the start have different elements as well as other markers. For example, some of the animals have water droplets, and you can use these water droplets to put out a fire; if you put out twelve fires, you win. Another example is that certain animals have a specific number of suns, and these suns act as a kind of currency with which you can buy different animals. For example: if an animal costs seven suns and you have seven suns or more available (as well as from animals, you can also gain suns on your game board by purchasing tree tiles and placing them there), then you can buy that animal. The number of suns, or other resources, varies from player's turn to turn as new cards or animals are drawn before each round. So, if you had nine suns on your turn, you might only have three suns the next time it's your turn.

All in all, I think Living Forest is a really fun board game and a relatively simple one once you've got the hang of the rules. At the time of writing, it's just a tiny bit boring that we only ever win in one way, but that might change significantly when there are more than two players, so it's not something that brings the overall rating down. As you shuffle your own pile of animals every time it runs out, each round is different from the last. So, you might have set your sights on putting out twelve fires using water, but if luck isn't on your side, you might get no water - or just the odd one - in your next three rounds. This means you have to rethink your strategy, and I think that's great when it comes to board games. It's good that not everything goes according to plan.

Score: 8/10

Game information:
Recommended age: 10+
Average playing time: 40 min
Number of players: 2-4
Pris: £35