allboardgames.com
The Maiden In The Forest box art
2015 Ranked #7,856

The Maiden In The Forest

A solitaire puzzle game has you rearrange an enchanted ring of trees and turn them dormant to free the trapped mage. Limited day-night cycles and blocked objects make each swap and rotation count.

Abstract Strategy Card Game Area Majority / Influence Pattern Recognition

Players

1-2

Play time

Not listed

Age

8+

Complexity

2/5

Rating

6.37

Harder to teach Highly interactive Deep strategy

Overview

At a glance

Is this game right for my group?

ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.

Teachability 2.3/5

Harder to teach

Replay value 4.0/5

High replayability

Interaction 3.8/5

Highly interactive

Player scaling 4.4/5

Scales well

Strategic depth 4.7/5

Deep strategy

See all 5 specifications

How it plays

How does it play?

Long ago, a maiden mage was trapped in an enchanted forest ring. Through her cunning, and with the help of four magic objects, she attempts to escape her fate.

Core mechanisms

Key systems that shape the decisions players make.

Read the full game description

Long ago, a maiden mage was trapped in an enchanted forest ring. Through her cunning, and with the help of four magic objects, she attempts to escape her fate. The Maiden in the Forest is an 18-card solitaire game using only cards. The rules are contained within the 18 cards. The object of the game is to rotate, then turn over, each of the twelve tree cards from their blooming to dormant side. If you can do this before the end of the twelve clock cycles of day and night, you win your freedom. To begin, shuffle the twelve tree cards and place them in a ring like a clock face. All cards should have their blooming side revealed and the trunks should point towards the center of the ring. Each card also shows one of four objects. Place the maiden card inside the ring at the 12 o'clock position. Set the four object cards to one side. Each day, you perform two actions: 1. Shuffle the four object cards and place them face down in a pile. Draw the top card and view the object shown therein. All tree cards with this object may not be touched by the player during this cycle of day and night. 2. Take the remaining three object cards and use their actions to move, that is, to swap the positions of the tree cards allowed to be touched, keeping their current orientations. You may use these actions in any order and may use none, one, two, or all three of the actions as you choose to. Each night, you perform two actions: 1. You may now rotate blossoming tree cards with matching colors or matching objects that you are allowed to touch this night. Cards are rotated so that their trunks point outward from the ring. Cards previously rotated can then be turned over so that their dormant side is showing. Cards must be rotated (either clockwise or counter-clockwise) or turned over to their dormant side in accordance with the three patterns on the other side of this card. You may use each of the patterns only once during this night, but you may use them in any order you choose. 2. Move the maiden card one position in the ring clockwise to signal the end of this day and night and the beginning of a new turn. If you turn each of the twelve tree cards to their dormant side before the end of twelve clock cycles of day and night, you win.

Browse all classifications

Shopping

Where to buy

No verified retailer offers are available yet. The references below may still help you continue your search.

Editions

Language and publisher variants currently recorded in the catalog.

Edition Year Language Publisher / Region
No editions imported yet.

Player resources

Rulebooks, player aids, FAQs, and solo resources.

No files imported yet.

Game and edition data

All specifications (5)

Play and group

Players
1–2
Best with
2
Play time
15 min
Age
8+
Complexity
2.0/5
Credits and catalog connections

Credits

Designers

1
Todd Sanders

Artists

2
Todd Sanders Fabrice Weiss

Publishers

1
Air and Nothingness Press

Linked items

No published linked games yet.