How to Play Cascadia

Last Updated on July 20, 2025 by The Official Game Rules Team

Cascadia is a serene yet strategic tile-laying game set in the Pacific Northwest, where players create harmonious ecosystems by placing wildlife tokens and habitat tiles. As you build the landscape, you’ll aim to match species and habitats to score points, all while competing to create the most balanced and diverse natural world.

With its beautiful artwork, thoughtful gameplay, and endless strategic possibilities, Cascadia offers a peaceful yet competitive experience for nature lovers and strategy enthusiasts alike. In this guide, we’ll explain the rules and strategies to help you craft a thriving and diverse environment in Cascadia!

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85 Habitat Tiles
100 Wildlife Tokens (20 each: Bear, Elk, Fox, Hawk, Salmon)
25 Nature Tokens
20 Wildlife Scoring Cards (4 per animal type: A–D)
4 Starter Habitat Tiles
Scorepad
Cloth Bag
Rulebook

Objective

Create the most harmonious ecosystem by forming large contiguous terrain areas and placing wildlife tokens in scoring patterns based on objective cards. At the end of 20 turns, the player with the highest score wins.

Setup

Prepare the Habitat Tiles:
- Depending on player count, use the following number of habitat tiles:
  - 1 player: 43 tiles (remove 42)
  - 2 players: 63 tiles (remove 22)
  - 3 players: 83 tiles (remove 2)
  - 4 players: Use all 85 tiles
- Shuffle the selected tiles and place them in face-down stacks.
Set Up the Wildlife Tokens:
- Place all 100 Wildlife Tokens in the cloth bag and mix them thoroughly.
Choose Wildlife Scoring Cards:
- Randomly select 1 scoring card for each animal type (Bear, Elk, Fox, Hawk, Salmon) and place them face-up in the center.
- (Optional: For your first game, use the “A” scoring cards marked with an “A” in the bottom right corner.)
Distribute Starter Habitat Tiles:
- Give each player 1 random Starter Habitat Tile and place it face-up in front of them. Return unused ones to the box.
Create the Drafting Pool:
- Flip 4 habitat tiles face-up into the center.
- Draw 4 wildlife tokens from the bag and place one beneath each tile to form 4 tile–token pairs.
Set Nature Tokens Within Reach.
Choose First Player:
- The player who most recently saw any of the animals in the game goes first, or choose randomly.

Gameplay Overview

Players take turns clockwise. On each turn:

Choose a Habitat Tile and its paired Wildlife Token from the draft pool.
Place the Habitat Tile into your environment following adjacency rules.
Place the Wildlife Token onto a legal tile that matches its animal symbol (optional).
Refill the drafting pool with one tile from the stack and one token from the bag.

The game continues for exactly 20 turns per player. When no more habitat tiles remain for replenishment, the game ends and final scoring begins.

Turn Structure

1. Check for Wildlife Overpopulation

If 3 or more wildlife tokens in the draft pool are the same:
- You may choose to wipe and replace only those matching tokens.
If all 4 tokens are the same, they are automatically wiped and replaced.
Set wiped tokens aside, draw new ones from the bag, and pair them with the same tiles in order.
Return wiped tokens to the bag after redrawing.

2. (Optional) Spend Nature Tokens

You may spend Nature Tokens to:

Take any 1 Habitat Tile and any 1 Wildlife Token (not necessarily paired).
Wipe and replace any number of Wildlife Tokens.
There’s no limit to how many Nature Tokens you can use per turn.

3. Draft a Tile–Token Pair

Take one of the 4 available tile–token pairs (or use Nature Token to choose freely).

4. Place the Habitat Tile

Place adjacent to an existing tile (including your Starter Tile).
Tiles cannot be moved once placed.
Matching adjacent terrain types is not required but helps with end-game scoring.

5. Place the Wildlife Token (Optional)

Place on an empty tile that displays the matching animal symbol (1–3 icons shown).
You may place the token on the tile you just played or another valid tile.
If you place a token on a Keystone Tile (marked with a symbol in a white ring), gain 1 Nature Token.
If you can’t or don’t want to place the token, return it to the bag.

6. Refill the Draft Pool

Draw a new habitat tile and place it in the vacant slot.
Draw a new wildlife token and pair it with that tile.

Then play passes to the next player clockwise.

End of Game

Once each player has taken 20 turns (the habitat tile supply is exhausted), proceed to scoring.

Scoring

1. Wildlife Scoring Cards

Score points for each wildlife type based on the objective cards selected during setup.

2. Habitat Corridors

For each terrain type (Mountains, Forests, Wetlands, Prairies, Rivers), score 1 point per tile in your largest connected group of that terrain.

3. Habitat Majorities (2+ Players Only)

2 Players: Largest habitat group = +2 pts. Tie = +1 each.
3–4 Players: Largest = +3 pts, Second = +1 pt. Ties for first = +2 each, second place = 0.

4. Unused Nature Tokens

Score 1 point for each Nature Token you didn’t spend.

5. Total Score

Add up all categories. The player with the highest score wins.

Tiebreakers:

Most Nature Tokens
If still tied, players share the victory

Solo Mode Rules

Use the 1-player setup (43 habitat tiles).
Use standard rules, but after each turn, discard the tile and token farthest from the draw stacks, then slide remaining items and refill.
Bonus Scoring: Earn +2 points for each habitat type where you form a group of 7 or more tiles.

Game Variants

Family Variant

Use the Family Wildlife Scoring Card only.
Skip step 3 (Habitat Majorities) during scoring for a simpler experience.

Intermediate Variant

Same as Family Variant but use the Intermediate Scoring Card, which has more advanced wildlife pattern requirements.

Final Notes

Each game of Cascadia offers unique challenges with different scoring combinations, requiring thoughtful tile placement and token planning. Whether playing solo or with friends, it’s a relaxing but strategic game of nature-building that rewards careful design and flexibility.

“Cascadia” combines strategy, planning, and a bit of luck, creating an engaging experience for players as they build beautiful and balanced landscapes.