Disclosure: Meeple Mountain received a free copy of this product in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. This review is not intended to be an endorsement.
Into the Woods
Forest Shuffle made some big waves back in its debut year of 2023. Around the same time, another nature-themed tableau builder, Earth, came out, and it felt like that combination was the flavor of the year. Critters, trees, and bugs—oh my!
I had a chance to return to the lush, green forest to see where all the hype started. Funny enough, before I was sent this review copy, I had only played the game on Board Game Arena, the website that’s naturally culling my physical game collection. It was nice to finally see the gorgeous art by Toni Llobet and Judit Piella outside a screen of pixels (better for my eyes, too).
Forest Shuffle is also the first game in Lookout Games’ Greenline label, a series produced on FSC-certified paper to reduce plastic waste.
Friendly Forest
Gameplay is fairly simple and straightforward. Players build a tableau of synergizing cards before the third winter card is drawn from the communal deck. On a turn, players either play a card into their forest or draw two cards (from either the clearing or the deck).
Played cards can trigger additional benefits if the color-coded cards used to pay match their color. Otherwise, critters are placed above, below, or beside various trees. Most cards require specific conditions that either scale points or provide ongoing powers. Players have a hand limit of ten cards, and when ten cards accumulate in the clearing, the clearing wipes clean.
Every Day I’m Shuffling
At first glance, it seems like an innocent nature card game that could fade into the horde of similar-looking titles. Despite the simple gameplay, there’s a surprising amount of meat under the branches here, and most of it stands out.
The game is very tactical. While the deck presents a forest full of options to lean into, the landscape is dynamic and changes faster than the seasons. The starting hand may suggest a strategy path, but it’s unreliable if the right cards never appear (or show up at the worst time). Many cards reference specifically named cards, and while they offer big points, it’s unlikely those combos will play out perfectly.
Throughout the game, you’re building toward “nice to have” conditions, but success depends on working with what’s currently in hand. Ideally, you’ll chain cards of the same suit for added bonuses—but conditions often don’t cooperate. Since the game is also a race, spending turns to dig for the perfect combo can just accelerate the endgame. When there is only one winter card left to draw, taking cards becomes a lot more dramatic.
That said, I enjoy the flexibility of the multi-use cards. The top bird might not be worth much, but the bottom mushroom could drip out juicy bonuses whenever you play in a specific area. A one-point squeaker might seem useless, but the hare multiplier can be huge. As someone who prefers tactical play over grand strategy, this evolving puzzle scratches the right itch every turn.
Overall, it’s a solid tableau builder. Every choice feels meaningful, and it becomes more fun with each play. I recommend at least two plays before deciding if it’s for you—just to see most of the potential scoring conditions. Future plays help form “strategy templates” that can be pivoted quickly if the cards align. Once I saw the value in the single-point hares, I multiplied as many as I could to score a whopping 49 points from them alone.
Surprisingly, the game can take upwards of an hour depending on player count. It’s not due to lengthy gameplay, but to the decision tree that resets every turn. Those who like to plan extensively may get bogged down in analysis paralysis.
Scoring can be cumbersome depending on how much synergy you’ve built into your forest. Luckily, there are player aids in the form of a card deck, which I actually prefer over a single sheet. Fans on BGG have even created aftermarket scoring tools.
It’s very much a heads-down experience, with only occasional glances to check if another player has more or fewer of a given element. I personally would have liked a bit more interactivity, but maybe that appears in one of the expansions that have come out since.
If you’re a fan of tableau builders, it’s worth giving this one a go. With its variety of cards and evolving combinations, you’ll always be shuffling down a different path each time you visit the forest.
