Cascadia: Rolling Rivers Guide
Explore Cascadia: Rolling Rivers, its special die, four river environments, solo and family play, and compatibility with Rolling Hills.
Cascadia: Rolling Rivers is a standalone dice-and-sheet game for 1–4 players, with a publisher estimate of 15–30 minutes and an age recommendation of 10+. You collect animals, spend them on habitat cards and use the rewards to develop one of four river environments. The central turn system is shared with Rolling Hills, but Rivers has its own special die, habitat cards, advanced modifiers and maps.
Instructions: Open the official rulebook PDF, or use the complete Rivers turn guide. Original Cascadia and Rolling Hills are not required.
What makes Rivers different?
The special die can duplicate one Personal Die or let you collect an animal from an otherwise unused die. Those results create different collection choices from Hills’ reroll and three-dice alternatives. For example, duplicating a personal bear may fill a scarce-animal shortage; collecting one additional species may provide exactly the missing animal for a mixed-cost card.
The biggest map distinction is Sheet D, Fraser (Sto:lo) River. Here you place animal letters into habitat spaces, then score bear pairs, elk lines, surrounded foxes, isolated hawks and salmon runs. It brings a wildlife-pattern problem into the Rolling framework. Hills’ fourth sheet instead concentrates on completed regions, including matching-wildlife regions.
The four maps at a glance
| Map | Activity | Decision to watch |
|---|---|---|
| A: Columbia River | Write habitat-card values into columns. | Keep room for valuable later cards while finishing rows. |
| B: Elwha River | Advance habitat and overflow tracks. | Use track and sun/rain milestones together. |
| C: Tatshenshini-Alsek Rivers | Outline adjacent habitat spaces from two starting stars. | Plan access to bonuses and habitat completion. |
| D: Fraser (Sto:lo) River | Place wildlife allowed by a card’s printed costs. | Combine animal patterns with habitat completion and diversity. |
The lettering A–D describes the map in this box; it does not mean the matching Hills letter has identical bonuses. The map and scoring guide explains which categories to count and the animal restrictions on Fraser.
A game in practical terms
Everyone rolls two Personal Dice while one shared set is rolled for the table. You usually collect one species, but Nature Tokens and the special die can alter that selection. You then decide whether to pay for one visible Habitat Card. You do not take that card away from opponents: everyone can use it, and it can be completed again in another round.
The display advances after each round, changing the discount or bonus associated with each card. There are exactly 20 rounds. This creates time pressure without a race to claim a card before another player. The important uncertainty is whether your animals and the card’s current modifier line up before the card exits the display.
Box contents and edition boundaries
The standard rulebook lists three Central Dice, one Central Special Die, eight Personal Dice, 30 Habitat Cards, four Beginner and eight Advanced Completion Cards, four player aids, 64 double-sided Tally Sheets and 64 double-sided Environment Sheets. Bring your own writing tools.
Flatout Games identifies its mini-expansion as Kickstarter Edition Only. Do not assume it is included in every retail box. These guides cover standard Rivers play; a bonus pack’s extra objectives should be checked against the instructions supplied with that pack.
Solo and family options
Solo follows the same central turn rules. You can pursue a personal best or a scenario with a specified map, Completion Card arrangement, score threshold and other goals. Scenarios 13–20 also use Hills content. Family mode removes the special die and simplifies Nature Token spending; the exact changes are in the rules guide.
For learning, start with one map and Beginner Completion Cards, then change one variable at a time. A new sheet alters how a purchase scores, while new Completion Cards alter the price or reward of the purchase. Changing both together adds more to learn.
Choosing and combining boxes
Choose Rivers if its environments and Fraser wildlife patterns are the puzzles you want to explore. Choose original Cascadia for physical tile-and-token placement. A second compatible Rolling box provides more options and enough Personal Dice for up to eight players; keep one consistent central dice set and a 20-card game deck.
Use the existing Hills, Rivers and original Cascadia comparison for the detailed mixing instructions. For your next play question, read the rules, map scoring or Rivers-specific decision guidance.
Sources and scope
- AEG English Rolling Rivers rulebook — turns, environments, Completion Card clarifications and official modes.
- AEG Rolling Rivers product page — player count, duration and standard contents.
- Flatout Games Rolling Rivers page — standalone content and Kickstarter-only mini-expansion distinction.
Checked October 4, 2026. Researched guide to the standard English game. Tactical suggestions and worked examples are editorial reasoning from the rules, not a claim of firsthand playtesting or measured win rates. Follow the printed tables on your selected sheet for individual scoring values. Editorial policy and corrections.