Morels

SETUP: Shuffle the Morels deck and place it face-down between both players. Each player receives a hand of cards and a cooking pot (or designated play area). Set aside a discard pile for the game.

GAMEPLAY: Players alternate turns. On your turn: (1) Draw one card from the deck into your hand, (2) Play one card from your hand to either your cooking pot or the forest (discard pile). Cards played to your cooking pot are mushrooms you're foraging. Cards played to the forest are mushrooms you're leaving behind—but opponent can sometimes claim them.

MUSHROOM TYPES: The deck contains edible mushrooms worth points and poisonous varieties that reduce your score. Some cards have special abilities that affect play or scoring. Players must carefully decide which mushrooms to cook and which to avoid.

COOKING: Mushrooms in your cooking pot accumulate until you choose to "cook" them, converting them to points. However, if you cook while holding poisonous varieties, they'll damage your final score. Timing is crucial—cook too early and miss high-value mushrooms, cook too late and risk drawing poison.

END GAME: The game ends when the deck is depleted and all cards have been played. Players score points from successfully cooked mushrooms, subtract penalties from any poisons included, and subtract points for mushrooms remaining uncooked in their pots.

2-PLAYER ADAPTATION: Morels plays excellently with two players with no modifications needed. The direct competition is intensified as you both race to secure the best mushrooms before they're discarded. The smaller hand sizes create more strategic depth—every card choice matters since your opponent will see your decisions immediately.

WINNING: The player with the highest final score wins. Victory requires balancing aggressive foraging with careful risk management—knowing when to cook your mushrooms before poison taints your harvest.