/pic4852372.jpg)
How to play
Grounded in Parks's rulebook — cite-checked answers, not guesses.
Get a straight answer with the exact rulebook passage to back it up.
The easy-to-forget bits, straight from the rulebook.
Game end
The game ends at the end of the fourth Season.
Starting Year cards
Each player is dealt two Year cards and chooses one as their Personal Bonus, discarding the other facedown, or for the first game, just deals one.
Last Hiker moves
When only one Hiker remains on the Trail, the player must move that Hiker directly to the Trail End and choose an action there.
Player starting items
Each player receives two Hikers of the same color, a matching Campfire, and a starting Canteen.
Season end actions
At the end of a Season, all [FOREST] [MOUNTAIN] [WATER] [WILDLIFE] tokens are returned to the supply, all Hikers return to the Trailhead, the Trail Sites are picked up and an additional Advanced Site is added and reshuffled to create a new, longer Trail, and the previous Season card is put on the bottom of the deck to reveal a new one.
New Season start
The player with the [WEATHER_PATTERN] takes the first turn of the new Season.
Starting Parks
Three Park cards are dealt face up into the top slots of the board from the shuffled Parks deck.
To set up the game of Parks, follow these steps: 1. **Board & Resources** * Place the game board in the center of all players. * Place the two token trays, containing all tokens and Photos, to the left and right of the board within easy reach, with their lids removed. 2. **Player Colors** * Each player receives two Hikers of the same color and places them on the Trailhead. * Each player receives a Campfire matching their Hiker color, placed on its lit side in front of them. * Give the First Hiker Marker to the player who most recently took a hike. * Give the Camera to the player to the right of the First Hiker. * Return any unused Hikers and Campfires to the box. 3. **Trail Setup** * Place the Trailhead Site tile on the far left, below the board. * Separate the five Basic Site tiles (Forest, Mountain, Valley, Ocean, Vista) from the four Advanced Site tiles (which have an asterisk in the bottom right). * If playing with 4–5 players, add the Waterfall Site to the Basic Sites; otherwise, return it to the box. * Shuffle the Advanced Site tiles and add one to the Basic Sites to form the Trail deck. * Place the remaining Advanced Sites facedown to the left of the Trailhead. * Shuffle the Trail deck and reveal/place the Sites one at a time to the right of the Trailhead until all are face up. * Finally, place the Trail End to the right of the last Site, ensuring it is not on its SOLO side. 4. **Parks** * Shuffle all Park cards face down to create the Parks deck. * Deal three Park cards face up into the top slots on the board. * Place the Parks deck onto the Parks deck area on the top right of the board.
On your turn, you can do the following: 1. **Move a Hiker**: Select one of your Hikers and move it to a Site of your choice down the Trail, meaning anywhere to the right of that Hiker's current location. * You cannot visit a Site if another Hiker (even your own) is already occupying it, unless you use your Campfire. * You must be able to take a Site's action in order to visit it. 2. **Perform the Site's Action**: After your Hiker lands on the new Site, you perform the action listed for that Site. Examples of Site actions include: * Taking resource tokens such as Forest, Mountain, Sunshine, or Water. * Drawing a Canteen or turning in 2 tokens to take a Photo and gain the Camera at a Vista Site. * Gaining a Wildlife token by turning in any 1 token at a Wildlife Site. * Turning in 2 tokens to gain any other 2 tokens (excluding Wildlife) at a Lodge Site. * Reserving or Visiting a Park, or buying a Gear card at a Lookout Site. * Spending 1 Water to copy the action from another Site occupied by a Hiker at a River Site (Trail End is not a Site). 3. **Collect Bonus Token (if applicable)**: If your Hiker is the first to land on a Site with a token from the Weather Pattern, you take that token into your supply as a bonus in addition to taking the Site's action.
Rules summaries are AI-generated from the official rulebook and may contain mistakes — check the manual for anything critical.
The player with the most points at the end of the game is the winner. Points are scored from: * **Parks** - The points denoted on your Visited Park cards are scored at the end of the game. * **Photos** * **Personal Bonus (Year cards)** - Year cards provide 2 or 3 extra points based on accomplishing specific goals, such as visiting a certain number of Parks with a specific symbol or taking a specific number of Photos. These cards are chosen at setup and revealed at the end of the game. * The player who has the [FIRST_HIKER] also scores 1 point. In case of a tie in points, the win goes to the player who visited the most Parks. If there is still a tie, the win is shared.
At the end of the game, when the fourth Season concludes, players score points from several sources: * **Parks** The points denoted on your Visited Park cards are scored. * **Photos** Points from any Photos you have collected. * **Year Cards (Personal Bonus)** Players reveal their Year cards, which give an extra 2 or 3 points based on how well personal goals were accomplished. These goals can include visiting a certain number of Parks with specific symbols, taking Photos, or having a certain number of symbols across your Visited Parks. * **First Hiker** The player holding the [FIRST_HIKER] token receives 1 point. The player with the most points wins. In case of a tie, the player who visited the most Parks wins. If still tied, the win is shared.
The game ends when the fourth Season concludes, specifically after its Photo opportunity. The four Seasons make up the four rounds of play, and a Season ends when all hikers reach the Trail End. Once the game ends: * All players reveal their Year cards. * Players then score points from their collected Parks, Photos, and their Personal Bonus for the Year. * The player holding the [FIRST_HIKER] token receives 1 additional point. * The player with the most points wins. In case of a tie, the player who visited the most Parks wins. If still tied, the win is shared.