- BGG rank
- BGG #277
- BGG rating
- 7.5
Calico
- 1–4 players
- 30–45 min
- Complexity 2.2/5
- 2020
- BGG rank
- BGG #11,364
- BGG rating
- 5.9
Trellis
2018
Rules assistance for Trellis
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–4 players
- 20 min
- 10+
- Complexity 1.1/5
For 2 players
Rules assistant for Trellis
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Trellis is a board game released in 2018 for 2–4 players, 20 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. It was designed by Teale Fristoe and its main mechanics are Tile Placement, Hexagon Grid, and Enclosure.
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About the game
Grow a beautiful garden of tiles on which flower meeples bloom down connecting vines of the same color. Players race to be the first to play all their flowers first in this cascade of color and fun for 2-4 players. The twist? When growing the garden, helping others bloom can be really good for the active player - even secure the immediate win! Well chosen tile placement is the key to success in this evolving puzzle of a game that will grow on you. In Trellis, each player has a supply of flower meeples in their unique color that they are working to place in the garden. Each player also has a hand of hex tiles depicting a tangled weave of differently colored vines. On their turn, the active player must plant a tile on the table, growing the size of the garden. Once a tile is placed, automatic blooms happen first. All newly connected vines will bloom flower meeples, if the newly connected vine matches color with the neighbor tile and only if the vine on the neighbor tile has already been claimed with a flower. The active player then places a flower claiming a vine on the tile they placed that has not yet bloomed. Immediately, each unclaimed vine of the same color on neighboring tiles connected to the vine just claimed will automatically bloom for that player. Finally, if any opponents had flowers bloom due to the tile placement, then the active player gets to place a bonus flower - one for each flower bloom they helped their opponent place! If there are no unclaimed vines available on the tile the active player placed, they get to place a bloom on any unclaimed vine anywhere in the garden! The first player to play all fifteen of their flowers immediately wins. Which vines to claim and when to help opponents grow flowers in order to gain bonus blooms for yourself is very furtile soil to ponder during a quick play of Trellis.
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- Breaking Games
Questions and answers
Trellis 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 Trellis 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 Trellis 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.
Trellis has a complexity rating of 1.1 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a 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.
Trellis belongs to these categories: Abstract Strategy. Its main mechanics are Tile Placement, Hexagon Grid, and Enclosure. 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 Trellis are: Teale Fristoe. 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 Trellis 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.