Review: Forest Shuffle – Dartmoor

Introduction & Overview

The rolling hills of Dartmoor provide diverse habitats for plants and animals. While dragonflies and other insects flutter along streams, ponies and sheep graze across the heather-covered moorlands. You will also discover many other creatures living in the air and among the shrubs. Create a unique moorland landscape for all the local flora and fauna, and earn points by taking their preferences into account: some animals need to be near others of their kind, while others prefer to be on their own or live in a specific habitat.

This is the premise behind Forest Shuffle: Dartmoor, a standalone design by Kosch (FYFE) based on the Forest Shuffle system. First published in 2025 by Lookout Games in English and German editions, the artwork is once again handled by Toni Llobet and Judit Piella, who illustrated the original game.

Published in Spanish by Asmodee Ibérica (the game is language-dependent with text on certain cards as well as in the rulebook), it supports 2 to 5 players, with a recommended minimum age of 10 and an approximate playing time of 60 minutes. The MSRP is €27.99. For this review, a copy of the Spanish edition provided courtesy of Asmodee Ibérica as a review copy was used.

Important: if you already know the game and/or are only interested in my opinion about it, you can go directly to the Opinion section. The Content and Mechanics sections are especially intended for those who do not know the game and prefer to get a general idea of how it works.

Components

Inside a standard two-piece cardboard box (lid and bottom) measuring 23×16×5 cm (a medium rectangular box similar to Shamans), we find the following components:

180 Forest Cards (56×87 mm):
- 44 Tree or Shrub Cards
- 56 Top/Bottom Split Cards
- 45 Left/Right Split Cards
- 27 Terrain Cards
- 3 Winter Cards
- 5 Cave Cards
Clearing Board
Scorepad
Rulebook

How to Play

Forest Shuffle: Dartmoor is a card game featuring four types of cards: trees/shrubs (which can hold 4 cards, one on each side), terrain cards (which can hold 2 cards along the top and 2 along the bottom), left/right split cards, and top/bottom split cards. Trees, shrubs, and terrain serve as the foundation for tucking the remaining cards. On each turn, the active player chooses either to play a card (paying its cost by placing the indicated number of cards from their hand into the clearing) or draw 2 cards (from the clearing and/or the draw deck). The clearing is emptied whenever 10 or more cards have accumulated there at the end of a player’s turn. The game ends as soon as the third winter card shuffled into the deck is revealed, leading directly to final scoring.

Key Concepts

Let us start with the Tree, Shrub, and Terrain Cards. These serve as the foundation for the remaining cards. Up to four cards can be played onto each tree, shrub, or terrain card (for trees or shrubs, one tucked under each side; for terrain cards, two tucked at the top and two at the bottom). These cards display an effect along their bottom bar that triggers when played or during final scoring. Looking at card anatomy: the upper left corner shows the card’s cost, the upper right corner displays its associated symbol, and the bottom bar contains its effect. Card costs are paid using other cards from your hand, giving them dual-purpose utility. Certain effects only trigger if every card discarded to pay the cost matches the required symbol. Additionally, any card can be played facedown as a tree, though it will not award any points.

Next up are the Top/Bottom and Left/Right Split Cards. These represent forest flora and fauna, sharing the same anatomical layout as tree cards, except each card is divided into two halves (top/bottom or left/right), with each half effectively functioning as an independent card (complete with its own cost, symbol, and effects). To play one of these halves, in addition to discarding the required number of cards, you must have a tree, shrub, or terrain with the appropriate open slot to tuck the card underneath. Some cards score based on set collection of distinct card types, allowing multiple sets to score if a player has duplicate cards.

All cards form a single draw deck into which three Winter Cards are shuffled during setup (specifically within the bottom third of the deck). Whenever a player draws a card and reveals one of these winter cards, they simply set it aside and draw a replacement card. Once the third winter card is revealed, the end of the game is triggered immediately.

Each player has a Cave Card under which cards can be tucked to score victory points through specific card effects. Furthermore, each cave card features a unique ability that applies throughout the game.

Lastly, there is the Clearing Board, which serves as the central market where discarded payment cards are placed for players to draft on subsequent turns. If 10 or more cards are in the clearing at the end of any player’s turn, the entire board is cleared into the discard pile. An icon in the lower-left corner of the board also serves as a reminder that every time a tree is played, a card must be drawn from the deck and placed face-up into the clearing.

That is enough to get started.

Preparación de la Partida

Place the Clearing board in the center of the table.
Set aside the three winter cards.
Shuffle the forest deck and remove 45/30/15/0 cards unseen for games with 2/3/4/5 players.
Divide the remaining cards into three roughly equal piles. Shuffle two winter cards into one pile, place the third winter card on top of it, and then stack the other two piles on top.
Shuffle the cave cards and reveal as many as there are players in the game.
Each player draws six cards from the deck to form their starting hand.
Randomly determine the starting player. Beginning with the player to their right and proceeding counterclockwise, each player selects a cave card and applies any immediate setup effects.

We are ready to begin!

Game Flow

A game of Forest Shuffle: Dartmoor is played over an indeterminate number of alternating turns, beginning with the starting player and proceeding clockwise.

On their turn, the active player must perform one of two actions:

Draw 2 cards. The player adds two cards to their hand, choosing for each card whether to draw from the deck or take a face-up card from the clearing. A player’s hand size limit is ten cards; if you have 9 cards in hand, you may only draw one.
Play 1 card. The player plays a card from hand into their play area, placing a number of cards from their hand into the clearing equal to its cost. Any immediate effects on the card are resolved immediately. Some bonus effects only trigger if all cards used for payment share the matching tree symbol. Other cards trigger bonuses whenever cards of a specific type are played later. If a tree card is played, a card must be revealed from the deck into the clearing. To play a top/bottom or left/right split card, the player must have a tree, shrub, or terrain with an open slot on the corresponding side.

If drawing a card reveals a winter card, set it aside and draw another card immediately.

Finally, check whether there are 10 or more cards accumulated in the clearing; if so, discard them all to empty the board.

Afterward, play passes to the next player.

Game End

The end of the game is triggered immediately when the third winter card is revealed. Players then proceed to final scoring, tallying:

Points granted by their tree cards.
Points granted by their terrain cards.
Points granted by their top/bottom split cards.
Points granted by their left/right split cards.
1 point per card tucked under their cave card.

The player with the most victory points wins. In case of a tie, tied players share the victory.

Personal Opinion

Back in 2023, the German publisher Lookout—now operating under the Asmodee umbrella—released a seemingly modest title riding the wave of nature-themed tableau builders. To the surprise of many, they hit the bullseye with Forest Shuffle (read its tocho-review here).

Kosch, whose only prior published credit was FYFE (read its tocho-review here), captivated audiences with an elegant system where cards pull double duty as both playable effects and currency. Paying for a card requires discarding others, turning hand management into a tense balancing act.

Rather than stacking unnecessary mechanical layers, the game leaned into a tight pacing race where players strive to build the most efficient set-collection engine while treating the draw deck as a ticking clock with an uncertain conclusion. Because three winter cards lurk in the bottom third of the deck, the third one immediately triggers the end of the game—a tension-building device seen in classics like Alhambra (read its tocho-review here) or Ethnos (read its tocho-review here).

The core appeal lay precisely in optimizing card synergies under mounting pressure. You start the game in a relaxed state, hunting for specific cards and leaning into synergistic combos.

As the draw deck dwindles, however, the tension ramps up significantly. Once the first winter card shows up, panic sets in because the game could end at any moment (I have witnessed games where two winter cards were drawn back-to-back), introducing a thrilling push-your-luck dynamic where you must weigh drafting cards against hastily playing what is already in hand.

A series of expansions followed, which ended up significantly diluting the deck (at two players, more than half of the total cards sit out of play). First came Alpine (read its tocho-review here), introducing two new tree species and balancing existing strategies. Then Woodland Edge (read its tocho-review here) arrived, marking a clear step forward by adding shrubs that offered ongoing effects and opened up rich tactical paths. Finally, Exploration provided a compilation of promotional cards alongside a solo mode and asymmetric caves.

Now we have Forest Shuffle: Dartmoor, a completely standalone game that is entirely incompatible with previous releases. It is a bold move considering the healthy momentum of the original line. Is it justified, or is it merely an attempt to milk the cash cow? Let us find out—though not before thanking Asmodee for providing the review copy that made this deep dive possible.

Before moving on: while Forest Shuffle: Dartmoor is technically standalone rather than an expansion, I will approach it as one in this section. The core rules and gameplay dynamics remain essentially the same, so feel free to check out the previous tocho-reviews for broader context.

So, does Forest Shuffle: Dartmoor introduce any fundamental gameplay changes compared to the original? A radical overhaul, no. Yet it introduces a subtle shift with far more strategic weight than it initially appears: terrain cards.

Essentially, terrains act like trees or shrubs, except they are played horizontally. They cannot host lateral split cards, accepting only top/bottom cards—up to two along the top and two along the bottom. They do not carry a tree species icon, but they offer ongoing perks, instant bonuses, or end-game scoring criteria.

Moreover, these terrain cards are crucial for triggering many of the top/bottom split cards included in the deck. In fact, while some cards strictly require a terrain to be played, many others need one to unleash their scoring bonuses.

What might not be immediately obvious is that dedicating card slots to terrain has led to a significant reduction in tree cards. We drop from the sixty-six tree cards in the original game down to forty-four here—a one-third cut that makes trees substantially rarer in hand. This scarcity drives up the value of every tree and shrub, since without them you cannot play powerful side cards. Removing the ability to play cards facedown as saplings further turns every tree into a prized asset.

Five new cave cards are also included, which feel compatible with the Exploration expansion since most provide setup adjustments rather than ongoing disruption. The designers seem to have learned from what felt like a slightly unbalanced degree of opening asymmetry in the past; these new caves feel much more grounded and unobtrusive.

Another highlight of Forest Shuffle: Dartmoor is how seamlessly it integrates the best ideas from previous expansions—most notably shrubs. We get ongoing effects supporting classic strategies like bats and plants, while butterflies make way for dragonflies (which do not have a dedicated shrub).

By now, you have a solid grasp of what Forest Shuffle: Dartmoor brings to the table. Let us tackle the big questions on your mind. First and foremost: as a standalone base box, is Forest Shuffle or Forest Shuffle: Dartmoor the better game? For me, the verdict is straightforward. By incorporating the mechanical refinements from earlier expansions without inflating the deck size, Dartmoor delivers a tighter, better-balanced package. A clear point in favor of Forest Shuffle: Dartmoor.

The second comparison pits Forest Shuffle: Dartmoor against the original Forest Shuffle with all its expansions. Here, the choice is less clear-cut. While a massive deck might sound counterproductive due to strategic dilution, high-tactics enthusiasts may actually appreciate the sheer unpredictability of an open card pool.

You might enter a game determined to pursue a butterfly synergy with gentians, blackthorns, and alpine newts, only to never see a single blackthorn appear. In Forest Shuffle: Dartmoor, thanks to a much leaner deck, key card combinations are almost guaranteed to show up during the game (though who actually drafts them is another story).

I will leave this particular judgment call to your personal taste. If you thrive on tactical adaptation and dealing with shifting availability, go with fully expanded Forest Shuffle. If you prefer higher consistency and strategic control, Forest Shuffle: Dartmoor is the way to go.

What if you own neither? I would recommend jumping straight into Dartmoor, as it is a more complete and cohesive standalone experience. As for owning both: that is strictly for diehard fans who want drastically different card pool dynamics between sessions.

Turning to production values, the quality remains consistent with the original release: lightweight cardstock with a smooth finish and decent spring. Even though the deck is only shuffled once per game, sleeving is highly recommended to prevent wear and facilitate smooth card tucking. The clearing board uses thick, sturdy punchboard, and the added card slot outlines make tracking the market count much easier. The rulebook is clean, logical, and unambiguous.

At the time of writing this tocho-review, there is no companion scoring app available to streamline end-game math (one of the original game’s minor headaches). Whether due to familiarity with the system or slightly streamlined scoring conditions, manual scoring feels far less tedious here. Even so, hopefully Lookout releases a digital scoring tool sooner rather than later.

Visually, Judit and Toni continue to deliver fantastic artwork. Even though the technical execution remains stellar, the muted background palette and chosen wildlife species feel slightly less charming to my eye than the original game’s art. The terrain cards could also have used a bit more visual detail, but looking at the overall illustration quality, the work remains outstanding.

And let’s wrap this up. Forest Shuffle: Dartmoor refines the original formula into a tighter, more cohesive experience by incorporating expansion concepts like shrubs and balanced caves directly into the core box. The addition of terrain cards deepens the decision space, making turns tighter and more demanding due to tree scarcity and the removal of sapling placements. Meanwhile, the streamlined deck trims away randomness, offering greater strategic control for players who want to build reliable engines. On the flip side, total incompatibility with previous content and the loss of the freewheeling tactical chaos of a fully expanded deck may disappoint some veterans. Taking all of this into account, I give it a…