Forest Shuffle: Dartmoor is a standalone game in the Forest Shuffle series and introduces a brand-new habitat with new species to discover, each offering unique abilities and bonuses. Just like in the original Forest Shuffle, players in Forest Shuffle: Dartmoor compete to create the most valuable environment by planting trees and shrubs and then attracting species to create an ecologically balanced habitat for flora and fauna.
New in Dartmoor is the introduction of terrain cards, played horizontally, that serve as homes or feeding locations for species other than trees or shrubs. Due to the nature of the terrain, species can only be placed above or below a terrain card. Deer and other species stay away from bogs in the moorland. They need their water, but don't feel safe near springs or streams. Therefore, it's important for players to pay close attention to where they place their species.
Like its predecessor, Forest Shuffle: Dartmoor has a unique back: any of the 180 cards in the deck can be placed face-down to create a swamp, if the action allows. The caves in Forest Shuffle: Dartmoor are now dealt at the beginning of the game, offering asymmetrical starting conditions. Furthermore, the number of tree symbols has been reduced from eight to six to make bonuses easier to obtain.
The gameplay remains unchanged: At the start, each player has six cards in their hand. These cards show either a specific type of tree, shrub, or terrain, or two bog dwellers (animals or plants). These latter cards are divided into two halves (vertically or horizontally), each with a dweller on one half of the card. During a turn, you can either draw two cards—either from the draw pile face down or from the clearing face up—and add them to your hand, or play a card from your hand by discarding other cards to pay its cost, then placing the chosen card into play. At the end, the player with the highest score wins.
