Game Guide Rules verified Sep 2026

Earth

Grow an ecosystem from hundreds of flora, fauna and terrain cards, triggering shared actions so every player develops a living tableau on every turn.

♟1–5 Players◷45–90 Minutes▣2023⚙Medium◆Tableau Engine

Build a personal ecosystem from flora, terrain and event cards arranged in a tableau.

On every turn, one player chooses an action color and all players receive an effect, with the active player gaining the stronger version. Cards then trigger matching-color abilities across each tableau.

Why We Love It

Earth keeps everyone engaged because the active player’s chosen action gives a related benefit to everyone else. Large tableaux grow quickly, and every card can contribute through placement, growth, sprouts, tags or scoring.

About Earth

Build a personal ecosystem from flora, terrain and event cards arranged in a tableau.

On every turn, one player chooses an action color and all players receive an effect, with the active player gaining the stronger version. Cards then trigger matching-color abilities across each tableau.

Game at a Glance

♧

Grow the Ecosystem

Add cards to a personal grid of flora, terrain and ecological effects.

↻

Follow Shared Actions

Every chosen action gives all players something to do.

✦

Trigger Color Engines

Activate matching card powers across a growing tableau.

★

Score Many Layers

Combine objectives, card points, growth, sprouts and ecosystem relationships.

What is Earth?

Earth is Maxime Tardif’s engine-building and tableau-building game for 1–5 players. Players create a self-supporting ecosystem from a deck of more than 360 unique cards.

Inside Up Games emphasizes that every turn is active for all players: one player chooses the action, while everyone receives a related benefit.

How the game works

Players plant cards into a personal tableau, gain soil, draw cards, compost, grow flora with sprouts and growth pieces, and score through ecosystem goals.

The active player selects an action color; all players resolve that action, while the active player receives a stronger version. Planted cards can then trigger matching-color abilities in tableau order.

The decisions that define it

Card placement matters because abilities can trigger in sequence, and later cards can depend on what earlier cards produce. A powerful card may be less valuable if it interrupts an efficient activation chain.

Because everyone acts on every turn, reading opponents’ likely action choices can help you build an engine that benefits even when you are not active.

Who is it for?

Choose Earth if you want a nature-themed engine with high card variety, official solo play and minimal inactive downtime.

Choose Cascadia for a cleaner spatial puzzle or Ark Nova for a heavier conservation strategy game.

Learn Earth in depth

Publisher sources & scope

Checked September 16, 2026. This hub covers the Earth base game, not Abundance or Animal Kingdom.

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