My partner surprised me with a little nature card game a while back and it quickly became one of my favorite games for a chill night in. It's cozy, contains cute forest animals, and is also FSC certified. What more could you want from a nature-themed engine building card game?
Forest Shuffle hasn't made its way onto the best card games list yet, but if I had my way it would be top of the rankings. Right now you can nab this spicy little acorn-scoring number for $24 on Miniature Market, as opposed to the usual $30.
For those in the UK, you can get the game for £22.39 at Zatu Games, in case you fancied following suit (aha get it? Card game, suit?).
Should I buy Forest Shuffle?
In Forest Shuffle you build your own forest, pairing animals with different types of trees, undergrowth and mushrooms to forge the most profitable ecological engine, as it were. "I'm going for the bat strat" has moved into common parlance in my household, and because there are so many combo moves you can make when building your engine, there's endless replayability.
It's one of those little gems of a card game that's easy to learn and loads of fun to play. The setup is minimal, and you're afforded heaps of freedom to play the way you like. I've had so much fun playing Forest Shuffle and telling little emergent stories about the goings on in my forest that I wrote an entire post on it on my MythMash Substack.
You can get out, explain the basics, and watch the cogs start to turn as people (2-4 players) start to form complex plays in their head that will net them all the points, provided they can somehow draw and place a Roe deer before all the winter cards are revealed.
For more discounts, be sure to check out the latest the best D&D gifts. As for last-minute present ideas, why not drop by our gifts for gamers guide?
