For over 300 million years, something magical has been happening beneath our feet. Trees and fungi have formed an underground symbiotic relationship known as mycorrhizas (pronounced my-co-RISE-ahs), where trees trade carbon from photosynthesis in exchange for essential nutrients extracted by fungi from the soil.
Now, science is just beginning to uncover the complexity of this hidden network—where even tree seedlings may benefit from the support of their towering elders via fungal threads.
In UNDER GROVE, you step into the roots of a mature Douglas-fir in the lush forests of the Pacific Northwest. Your goal: help your seedlings grow into thriving trees, supported by a web of fungal partnerships. The tree that cultivates the most successful and symbiotically rich seedling network wins.
A Forest of Strategy
Each turn, you will choose from five core actions, each one offering meaningful choices that shape your path to victory:
- Reproduction: Spend key nutrients like nitrogen, potassium, phosphates, and carbon to place seedlings and roots in the mycorrhizal forest. Strategic placement opens new opportunities.
- Activation: Trigger powerful effects from connected fungi—at a cost. Convert carbon into rewards, and manage your limited fungal action markers wisely.
- Absorption: Allow seedlings to draw carbon from adjacent fungi. Absorb enough, and they grow into full trees, unlocking bonuses and progressing the game toward its conclusion.
- Partnering: Connect roots to more fungi, increasing your absorption potential and enabling new activation routes. Only fungi linked to your seedlings can score!
- Photosynthesis: Refresh your carbon stores and reset used fungal markers (key for planning your next burst of growth).
Despite its accessible rules, the game offers deep tactical potential. Your forest layout, timing of actions, and choice of fungi all influence your strategy. Each game brings fresh challenges thanks to randomized tile setups and changing goal cards.
If it has not already grown on you, you can try the very complete and nice tutorial done by Nekonyancer, or simply start a game by following the link below:
https://boardgamearena.com/gamepanel?game=undergrove
Let's mention that the game is online on Board Game Arena thanks to the authorization of Alderac Entertainment Group (or AEG), and the game designers, Elizabeth Hargrave (author of Wingspan, also available on BGA) & Mark Wootton.
Let's also thank the work done to adapt this game to our platform, which has been beautifully done by MathCT. It's a remarkable job. We highly recommend you play on a large screen for a more comfortable experience, as there is a lot going on on the screen.
What a release!
That's your Wednesday weekly gift!
Treat yourself well, and until next week, as always...
...Take care and play fair!
POD GAJKOM: Globoke korenine, globlja strategija!
Že več kot 300 milijonov let se pod našimi nogami dogaja nekaj čarobnega. Drevesa in glive so oblikovale podzemni simbiotski odnos, znan kot mikorize (izgovarja se mi-ko-RISE-ahs), kjer drevesa izmenjujejo ogljik iz fotosinteze v zameno za esencialna hranila, ki jih glive črpajo iz zemlje.
Znanost šele začenja odkrivati kompleksnost te skrite mreže – kjer lahko celo drevesne sadike izkoristijo podporo svojih visokih starejših rastlin prek glivičnih niti.
V UNDER GROVE stopite v korenine odrasle duglazije v bujnih gozdovih pacifiškega severozahoda. Vaš cilj: pomagati sadikam, da zrastejo v uspešna drevesa, ki jih podpira mreža glivičnih partnerstev. Zmaga drevo, ki vzgoji najuspešnejšo in simbiotsko bogato mrežo sadik.
Gozd strategije
Vsako potezo boste izbirali med petimi ključnimi dejanji, od katerih vsako ponuja smiselne izbire, ki oblikujejo vašo pot do zmage:
- Razmnoževanje: Ključna hranila, kot so dušik, kalij, fosfati in ogljik, se porabijo za rast sadik in korenin v mikoriznem gozdu. Strateška postavitev odpira nove priložnosti.
- Aktivacija: Sprožite močne učinke povezanih gliv – za določeno ceno. Pretvorite ogljik v nagrade in pametno upravljajte svoje omejene markerje delovanja gliv.
- Absorpcija: Sadike lahko črpajo ogljik iz sosednjih gliv. Če ga absorbirajo dovolj, zrastejo v polna drevesa, ki odklenejo bonuse in igro popeljejo proti koncu.
- Partnerstvo: Povežite korenine z več glivami, s čimer povečate svoj absorpcijski potencial in omogočite nove poti aktivacije. Točke lahko dosežejo le glive, povezane z vašimi sadikami!
- Fotosinteza: Osvežite zaloge ogljika in ponastavite porabljene glivične markerje (ključno za načrtovanje naslednjega porasta rasti).
Kljub dostopnim pravilom igra ponuja velik taktični potencial. Postavitev gozda, čas dejanj in izbira gliv vplivajo na vašo strategijo. Vsaka igra prinaša nove izzive zaradi naključnih postavitev ploščic in spreminjajočih se kart ciljev.
Če te še ni vzljubila, lahko poskusiš [ zelo popoln in priden vodič, ki ga je pripravil Nekonyancer ] (https://boardgamearena.com/tutorial?game=undergrove) ali pa preprosto začneš igro tako, da slediš spodnji povezavi:
https://boardgamearena.com/gamepanel?game=undergrove
Omenimo, da je igra na voljo na spletu na Board Game Arena zahvaljujoč avtorizaciji Alderac Entertainment Group (ali AEG) in oblikovalcev igre, Elizabeth Hargrave (avtorice igre Wingspan, ki je na voljo tudi na BGA) in Marka Woottona.
Zahvalimo se tudi za delo, ki je bilo opravljeno pri prilagajanju te igre naši platformi, kar je čudovito opravil MathCT. To je izjemno delo. Za udobnejšo izkušnjo vam toplo priporočamo igranje na velikem zaslonu, saj se na zaslonu dogaja veliko.
Kakšna sprostitev!
To je tvoje tedensko darilo za sredo! Lepo se imej in do naslednjega tedna, kot vedno ... ...Pazite nase in igrajte pošteno!
