A bonsai is a living work of art in the form of a perfect miniature tree. It is a microcosm that holds all the secrets of the universe and, apart from its size, remains completely unchanged.
Become a professional bonsai master and grow your own bonsai. Show off your green fingers and earn a place in the imperial gardens to display your masterpiece.
On your turn, you perform one of these two actions: meditate or cultivate. If you meditate, you choose one of the face-up cards on the board and take it, along with any bonsai tiles depicted underneath it.
If you cultivate, you may place the tiles from your personal stock into your bonsai. You may place as many tiles as the total number of symbols shown on your Seishi tile and on all your Growth cards combined.
Each symbol allows you to place one tile of the corresponding type. During the turn in which your bonsai meets the requirements of a target tile that is still in the centre of the table (i.e. the target tile has not yet been claimed by another player), you must immediately choose whether to claim that tile or to pass in order to attempt to achieve a more difficult target tile.
When the last card in the deck is revealed, the end of the game is signalled. Each tile in your bonsai is worth a certain number of points. The player with the most points is the most professional bonsai master!
In the solo game, you can try to complete the extra scenarios, which alter some rules and objectives, and ultimately attempt to meet the Emperor’s challenge.
