Review: Symbiosis

Introduction & Overview

Simbiosis is a strategic and fast-paced card game where you must join forces with your neighbors to build the best pond. The objective? To create the most prosperous pond in the region!

This is the premise behind Symbiosis, designed by Jérémy Partinico (Oxono, Yoxii) and Christelle Partinico. It was first published in 2025 by Subverti in a French edition. Illustrations are by Baptiste Perez (Amarok, Dédale).

It is published in Spanish by Rocket Lemon Games (though the game is entirely language-independent, except for the rulebook). It accommodates 2 to 4 players, with a minimum suggested age of 8, and has an approximate playing time of 10 to 20 minutes. The MSRP is €13.50. A review copy of the French edition by Subverti was used for this review.

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.

Go to Personal Opinion

Components

Inside a two-piece cardboard box (lid and bottom), measuring 13×9×2.3 cm (a small rectangular box similar to 6 nimmt!), we find the following items:

• 36 Cards (80×120 mm)
• Scorepad (paper)
• Rulebook

How to Play

Symbiosis is a drafting and set-collection game where each player, over the course of seven turns, must assemble eight cards to form their pond. At the start of the game, each player receives eight cards, arranging them in two rows of four columns to construct their pond, and reveals one of them, in addition to laying out four face-up cards in a common pool. At the beginning of each turn, the active player takes a card from the central pool and swaps it for a card in their pond. If the replaced card was face-up, the player must reveal another face-down card from their pond. The core of the game lies in its variable scoring: cards in your leftmost column score based on the complete pond of your left-hand neighbor, cards in your rightmost column score according to your right-hand neighbor’s pond, and cards in the two central columns score solely based on your own pond. Some cards grant fixed points, while others score according to the color or symbol of the cards. The game ends when all players have all eight cards face-up.

Key Concepts

The fundamental element of the game is the Cards. Each card is divided into two sections: the top half displays one of four possible animals (snail, dragonfly, fish, or frog) along with a background color (pink, green, turquoise, or orange). The bottom half features either a fixed score (with the background color covering the entire card) or a scoring condition (showing an animal or a color alongside a specific point value). Players will form an eight-card tableau, keeping in mind that the position of each card determines which set of eight cards its scoring condition applies to (if it has one). Thus, cards in the leftmost column evaluate the eight cards of the player to the left, those in the rightmost column refer to the eight cards of the player to the right, and those in the two central columns refer to the player’s own eight cards.

That is enough to get started.

Preparación de la Partida

• Shuffle the deck and deal eight cards to each player, which they place face-down in two rows of four. Additionally, form a display with four face-up cards in a row.
• Each player flips one of their cards face-up.
• Choose a starting player at random.

We are ready to begin!

Game Flow

A game of Symbiosis takes place over seven rounds. In each round, starting with the first player and proceeding clockwise, each player must choose a card from the central display and swap it for one of their eight cards. The following cases must be considered:

• If the card replaced was face-down in the player’s area, it is returned face-up to the display.
• If the card replaced was already face-up, the player must also flip over one of the cards that is still face-down in their play area, ensuring that after each turn, the player has one fewer face-down card.

Turn then passes to the next player.

Game End

The game concludes after the seventh round, at which point all players will have all of their cards face-up. Final scoring then takes place, where each player tallies:

• For each card in the leftmost column, the corresponding points generated by applying its criteria (if any) to the cards of the player seated to their left.
• For each card in the rightmost column, the corresponding points generated by applying its criteria (if any) to the cards of the player seated to their right.
• For each card in the two central columns, the corresponding points generated by applying its criteria (if any) to the player’s own cards.

The player with the most points wins. Ties are shared.

Variants

2-Player Mode. Instead of forming a 4-card display, an 8-card market is formed, with the four cards of the top row revealed face-up. If a player selects a face-down card from the display, they reveal it before deciding where to place it. This display also acts as a third player, sitting either to the left or right of the two players, and cards in the corresponding column will score based on those eight cards. If any face-down cards remain in the display at the end of the game, they are flipped face-up before scoring.

Team Mode. Played in pairs (two against two), where each player teams up with the player who is not their direct neighbor. During scoring, each player’s cards in the outer columns (the leftmost and rightmost) reference the eight cards of their teammate rather than their neighbors (who make up the opposing team).

Personal Opinion

Fillers centered on building a card grid and trying to maximize point scoring are among the designs that have proliferated the most in recent years. We have several prominent examples, such as Village Green (tocho-review here), Gods! (tocho-review here), or one of the biggest recent hits, Castle Combo (tocho-review here).

These are games where players must fine-tune a card grid, where each card offers scoring criteria largely dependent on its positioning within the tableau and the synergies built with other cards—typically within the same grid.

As you might have guessed, Symbiosis joins this family of games. Considering that there are established genre benchmarks that are very difficult to displace from their privileged spots, will this game manage to stand out? Or will it simply be just another addition to the pile? Let us see how it performs on the table.

At its core, Symbiosis is driven by an open drafting mechanic: on each of the seven turns players get during the game, they pick a card from the shared display and swap it with one in their personal tableau, returning the replaced card to the display where it becomes available for the next player in turn order.

Each card displays an animal and a color, alongside either a fixed amount of victory points or a scoring condition that references a different animal or color, paired with a specific point value. The goal, naturally, is to optimize these scoring criteria.

A player’s tableau begins with one revealed card, providing a baseline starting point to guide early decisions. Sometimes that starting card will already be worth a solid chunk of points, while at other times it might seem to offer very little value. As you will see, however, everything is relative.

Cards featuring a scoring condition evaluate different sets of cards depending on their position within the player’s grid. Cards in the two central columns apply their criteria to the player’s own eight cards, while the cards in the outer columns—the leftmost and rightmost—apply their conditions to the eight cards of the players sitting to their left and right, respectively.

This setup injects substantial tension into every pick. You are not only choosing the most appealing card from the four available, but also deciding where to place it to maximize its output. Furthermore, you must evaluate the card you are returning to the pool, as it might end up being a massive gift to the next player.

For instance, if you have a card in your right column that scores for dragonflies but the player to your right does not have a single one, it is completely useless in that slot. Yet, if your other seven cards contain several dragonflies, discarding that card back to the supply is handing an easy reward to the player on your left, who can immediately draft it and place it in their right column (which points directly at you).

This dynamic generates a layer of player interaction not found in the aforementioned titles. While Gods! features a general discard pile where players can pick up the last discarded card—creating a somewhat similar flow—it happens much more circumstantially, since most of the time you are returning a previously hidden card. While that can happen here as well, the difference is that you are constantly cross-referencing your opponents’ cards.

Ideally, you want to score more than ten points per card; anything less might mean you are better off taking a card with flat points so you do not have to worry about matching symbols. Ultimately, that will depend on the flow of each match.

The reality is that Symbiosis is an engaging game that delivers on its premise and packs a bit more interaction than is typical for this genre. Moreover, games fly by in a flash since they last just seven turns, preventing the experience from feeling repetitive. Furthermore, because the pool of cards in play is “closed” (there is no draw deck during the game), the impact of randomness feels notably reduced compared to other titles.

I personally enjoy it best at two players, where the interaction ramps up thanks to a “virtual” player managed by both opponents through what they return to the supply, since those cards will also be evaluated by criteria in columns pointing toward the market. Even so, it works smoothly at three or four players, producing the chain-reaction dynamic typical of neighboring-board games like 7 Wonders (tocho-review here) or Between Two Cities (tocho-review here).

When it comes to replayability, it holds up very well and hits the table with ease. On one hand, games wrap up in just over ten minutes, it has a tiny footprint, and it can be played anywhere. It is true that the oversized card format requires more table space than strictly necessary (standard-sized cards would need less space without diminishing the gameplay experience). On the other hand, at fewer than four players not all cards are dealt out, creating uncertainty about which scoring opportunities might appear and boosting overall variability.

Moving on to production, we get a compact box housing a deck of good paperweight, smooth finish, and a somewhat stiff yet acceptable snap. Sleeving would be advisable to prevent wear and facilitate shuffling. The rulebook is well structured and leaves no room for ambiguity.

Visually, the game leans into a minimalist aesthetic, featuring black-and-white animal icons over splashes of color. The overall look is functional and clean; while it cannot be called stunning, it is by no means off-putting. Perhaps featuring other animals might have added more visual charm, but it succeeds in establishing its thematic premise of cross-species dependencies.

And let’s wrap this up. Symbiosis is a game that, within the well-trodden genre of grid-optimization card games, manages to stand out thanks to a sharper degree of player interaction that forces you to look up from your personal board. Evaluating not only your own benefit but also what the returned card gives to the next player adds tactical depth that cuts through the usual multiplayer-solitaire feel of such designs. Every turn feels meaningful, and managing synergies requires continuous adaptation. Its cross-scoring system provides a distinct identity, delivering a straightforward, snappy challenge. In short, it is a design that accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do, packing weighty decisions into a tight timeframe and leaving a great impression after every play. For all these reasons, I give it a…