
- BGG rank
- BGG #775
- BGG rating
- 7.2
Living Forest
- 1–4 players
- 40 min
- Complexity 2.2/5
- 2021

2025
Rules assistance for Living Forest Duel
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
For 2 players

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Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Living Forest Duel is a board game released in 2025 for 2 players, 20 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. It was designed by Aske Christiansen and its main mechanics are Race, Push Your Luck, and Tile Placement.
Living Forest Duel or how to experience all the thrills of the award-winning Living Forest in a tense and tactical two-player showdown! SUMMARY: In Living Forest Duel, two players face off as the spirits of Summer and Winter, each striving to save the sacred forest and be recognized as its ultimate protector. Although their goals are similar, only one season will claim the honors. Your goal? Be the first to achieve one of the four victory conditions: Plant a 3×3 rectangle of Guardian Tree cards in your Forest Have only cards of your season on the recruitment line Collect 8 Fire tokens Move the Onibi creature to your opponent's side once the Onibi card is in their possession. The game is played in alternating turns. On each turn, choose one of the following options: Draw 1 guardian animal card from the shared draw pile and add it to the shared help line Use 1 action token on 1 guardian animal card in the shared help line • Draw a guardian animal card Draw a card from the shared draw pile and place it face up on one of the three help lines: the shared help line if it’s a neutral animal your help line if it’s an animal of your season your opponent’s help line if it’s an animal of their season Each animal provides elements that you can use later with one of your two Action tokens. Be careful: revealing too many solitary animals can be detrimental. After 3 solitary symbols, you lose an Action token, which will significantly reduce your ability to act. • Use an action token Place one of your Action tokens on a card to point to the last element corresponding to the action you want to perform. Count all elements of this type visible from the start of the common aid line OR from the last Action token pointing to this element. Possible Actions: Recruiting one or more Guardian Animals Extinguishing the fire by collecting one or more Fire tokens Planting one or more protective trees Advancing Onibi toward your opponent • End of the turn The turn ends when both Summer and Winter have used up their 2 action tokens. Add up the value of the fire tokens in the clearing: the value of each fire token is determined by its location. Then, add up your water values. Check to see whether the fire value in the clearing is strictly higher than your water value. If so, add a fire varan card corresponding to your season to the shared discard pile for each fire token present in the clearing. Next, place a fire token on each of the cards on either side of the Onibi standee. Retrieve your 2 action tokens back in front of you, and place all of the cards in the help line, as well as the cards in the players' personal lines on the shared discard pile. ——————— No prior knowledge of Living Forest is required to enjoy Living Forest Duel. —description from the publisher
Living Forest Duel supports 2 players according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.
The listed playing time for Living Forest Duel is 20 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 Living Forest Duel 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.
Living Forest Duel has a complexity rating of 2.5 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Living Forest Duel belongs to these categories: Card Game, Fantasy, and Animals. Its main mechanics are Race, Push Your Luck, and Tile Placement. 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 Living Forest Duel are: Aske Christiansen. 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 Living Forest Duel 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.