Ecosystem Savanna

Version 1.0 PBM by Howard Bishop 2026
Copyright Genius Games 2022. These rules are for PBM only. There is no attempt to infringe the copyright and the actual rules are on BGG

OVERVIEW

Players will be drafting and placing cards over 10 turns, in order to create two (4 x 5) grids representing wildlife parks of animals and landforms to score points. Each park is scored separately and then in combination.

There are 3 types of Landform cards and 8 types of Animal. Some cards will Flip others (Hunting), enabling other cards to Scavenge.

GAME SET-UP

ORDERS

Each player looks at their hands in turn, selecting one card to keep for each park. They then place that card in the associated grid following the placement rules (see below). The remaining cards are then passed clockwise (Park West) and anticlockwise (Park East) for the next turn.

Each park is a grid of cards 4 high and 5 wide. The first card can be placed anywhere. Subsequent cards can be placed anywhere, as long as the new card is orthogonally adjacent to an existing card and a 4 x 5 grid is maintained.

At the end of the game, players will have 2 unused cards which are discarded. The parks are then scored and totalled.

SCORING (WITHIN PARK)

Ecosystem: Savanna features 3 types of Landform cards and 8 types of Animal cards. Animals and landforms are scored in the following sequence:

• Watering Holes: Score 2 points for each different type of Animal card adjacent to the card.
• Grasslands: Score in groups based on the number of adjacently connected Grassland cards: 1/4/9/16 points for 1/2/3/4+ Grassland cards. A player may score multiple groups of Grasslands, but each single continuous group of Grassland cards scores a maximum of 16 points.
• Trees: Count 2 points for each row and column that has at least one Tree in it.
• Gazelles: Score 2 points each. Additionally, the player with the most Gazelles scores 5 extra points, and second most scores 2 extra points. Tied players score the full points, but if there is a tie for first, second scores nothing.
• Zebras: Score 3 points for each adjacent Grassland.
• Giraffes: Score 5 points if they are adjacent to at least one Tree.
• Cheetahs: Score 3 points for each Gazelle on the same diagonal (in any direction). Once the Cheetahs are scored, flip facedown any Gazelles that were used to score by at least one Cheetah.
• Lions: For each Lion that is adjacent to a Grassland, flip facedown one face-up Gazelle or Zebra and score 4 points.
• Elephants: Score 6 points. Lose 2 points for each adjacent Animal (except other Elephants and flipped cards).
• Hyenas: Score 3 points for each flipped card within one space either orthogonally or diagonally.
• Vultures: Score 4 points for each flipped card lower within the same column.

Example:

Esther's Watering Holes each score 6 points for having 3 unique adjacent Animals.
She scores 9 and 1 for her Grassland groups. She has Trees in 2 different rows and 2 different columns, and scores 8.
Esther earns 6 points for having 3 Gazelles, and an additional 5 points because this was the most Gazelles among ecosystems.
She scores 9 total points for her 2 Zebras, which “share” some of the Grasslands.
Her Giraffes are both next to a Tree, and score 5 points each.
During Cheetah scoring, Esther scores 6 points and Flips 2 of her Gazelles face down (this does not affect Gazelle scoring).
Her Lion is next to a Grassland, so she Flips a Zebra and scores 4 points.
Esther scores 6 points from the Elephant in the corner, and 4 points from her other Elephant: she lost 2 points for the adjacent Cheetah (the Flipped Gazelle does not count against her).
Her Hyena scores 6 points for the 2 Flipped cards it can reach.
Esther has no Vultures.
Adding up her points, Esther has 86 points

SCORING (ACROSS PARKS)

There is an imaginary track between the two halves (parks).
The players score points based on what the tourists see to the left and right as they drive north along that track.
Each row of 10 cards (5 cards from Park West and 5 cards from Park East) is scored separately.
Points are scored based on the number of unique cards on each row (Flipped cards don’t score).