Stem & Branch

Stem & Branch is an approachable strategy card game inspired by the animals and elements of the 60-year Eastern zodiac calendar. It was crafted to create a rewarding and fun way to explore the depth of the Eastern zodiac system with your friends and family. You and the other players will compete or cooperate to rebuild the calendar from beginning to end with the guidance of your unique spirit animals. You win by collecting the most years by the end of the game through the support of all the animals.

Summary

The deck of cards directly represents the 60-year calendar, with each card being a single year. Every card is a unique combination of an animal and element with different costs and uses. Your goal is to rebuild the calendar with the assistance of the animals & the unique ability of your personal spirit animal. This is achieved by drawing from the revealed cards and playing cards from your hand into your personal calendar tableau. Card costs are relative to the animal's age and element type, with costs paid by discarding matching cards. Costs are also supported by the adjacent animals in your calendar of the matching element. Only one of each animal type can exist in the shared player calendars, so careful planning is needed to remove opponents' younger versions.

The last round occurs when the deck empties a second time or eight animals have fully ascended. At the end of the game, you add up your accumulated years from each card and each year token. The player with the most years and the longest life cycle wins. There are also two instant win conditions if you have a majority of years or animals relative to the player count.

—description from the publisher