
- BGG rank
- BGG #1,637
- BGG rating
- 6.8
Viceroy
- 1–4 players
- 45–60 min
- Complexity 2.6/5
- 2014

2025
Rules assistance for Four Forests
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Four Forests is a board game released in 2025 for 2–4 players, 15–30 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. It was designed by John Jewell and its main mechanics are Hand Management and Set Collection.
In Four Forests, players each take on the role of one of the Guardians of the Enchanted Forests. Prepare your forest for the arrival of various mythical creatures by planting vegetation that has specific appeal to each creature. Ensure that the creatures attracted to your forests are considered the most prestigious by secretly casting votes. In more detail, Four Forests is played across four rounds. Each round, each player draws four plant cards, then takes four actions simultaneously: • Cultivate: Place one plant card from your hand into your habitat. • Harvest/Burn: Place one plant card from your hand face down next to one of the four creatures in play to upvote or downvote their appeal. • Pollinate: Pass a plant card to the player on your left, while receiving one from the player on your right. • Prune: Discard a plant card from your hand. Your hand size increases by one plant card each round, and at the end of four rounds, you score cards in your hand and habitat. Reveal the cards in front of each creature to determine its prestige; if a vote card was played upside down, it counts as a downvote, lowering the value. Score points for each plant card in your habitat and hand based on which creatures they appeal to. Whoever has the most points wins.
Four Forests supports 2–4 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Four Forests is 15–30 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Four Forests for ages 10 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Four Forests belongs to these categories: Card Game, Fantasy, and Bluffing. Its main mechanics are Hand Management and Set Collection. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Four Forests are: John Jewell. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Four Forests as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.