Harmonies: Pulse vs Crescendo
Learn Harmonies: Pulse vs Crescendo: four-season gameplay, regional clashes, faction strategy, Simulacrum solo mode and optional expansions.
Pulse vs Crescendo
Compare two different types of expansion: ten new Animal cards versus three optional modules that change landscape planning and scoring.
Harmonies has two separate additions from Libellud: Pulse, a small Animal-card expansion, and Crescendo, a box of three modular changes. Both require the original game. The Nature’s Spirit cards and Side B island board are already in the base box; you can try those before buying anything else.
At a glance
| Edition | What it adds | Best reason to add it |
|---|---|---|
| Pulse | 10 Animal cards with three-color habitats and a symmetry reminder | More habitat-puzzle variety with almost no extra setup |
| Crescendo | Sanctuaries, Whispers, and double-sided new personal boards | New ways to build and score landscapes, one module at a time |
Pulse: new Animal patterns and mirroring
Shuffle its ten cards into the Animal deck at setup. These cards use three-color patterns. In addition to turning an Animal diagram to a different orientation, the Pulse rules allow a mirror image. The symmetry option matters for some new complex cards; it does not change how the original base-game cards play. A symmetry reminder card identifies the affected patterns. Everything else follows the usual token draft, Animal placement and scoring flow.
Practical implication: before dismissing a Pulse card as impossible, test both rotation and reflection. That can make a near-finished mixed-color habitat work without rebuilding. Pulse is the simpler purchase if you already enjoy the base game’s exact-pattern challenge and mostly want new Animals.
Crescendo: choose from three modules
Sanctuaries add ten double-sided tiles. A player may take one as an optional turn action, counting toward the same four-card-or-tile active limit as Animals and Nature’s Spirits. An in-progress tile permits its specified unusual token stack. Once built, flip the tile. A completed Sanctuary can accept the final cube of a matching-color Animal card, even if other Animal cubes are already there, and scores three points for each adjacent top token matching either of its two colors. An unfinished Sanctuary has no endgame penalty.
Whispers add ten cards to the Animal deck and use Whisper cubes. You may take a Whisper instead of an Animal card on your turn. It has two cubes and a printed habitat. Unlike Animal cubes, a Whisper cube may share a board space with an Animal or Nature’s Spirit cube. At scoring, each Whisper cube alone is worth two points, while one sharing such a space is worth five. This rewards planning overlapping landing positions.
New personal boards offer two new sides. Side C has a missing center space and makes a Building worth eight points only with four differently colored neighboring top tokens. Side D includes dry spaces that become ordinary when adjacent to water; its fields and trees have altered scoring based on irrigation. All players use the same side. Read the included reminder before treating the new board like base Side A.
Can they be combined?
Yes. Crescendo’s rulebook explicitly allows its modules separately or together, including with Pulse, Nature’s Spirits and base Side B. For a gradual introduction, play one new element per session: Pulse cards first, then Crescendo’s new boards or Whispers, and finally Sanctuaries. This order is our suggestion, not an official requirement.
Which fits your table?
If your group wants a familiar 30-minute game with more Animals, choose Pulse. If the base game now feels predictable and you want new terrain restrictions and scoring, choose Crescendo. If you are learning, play the base box’s Side A without Nature’s Spirits first, then try its included variants. Neither expansion is a standalone game.
Rulebook links: Pulse multilingual rules · Crescendo English rules · Libellud Harmonies page.
Continue: Game guide · Base rules · Strategy · Base scoring.