Just like in nature, Loam is a game of balance.

You'll be tasked with using plant signals called inputs to attract creatures into your root zone and create an environment where you can all thrive. Different creature types contribute to your soil in different ways. Some aerate the soil and stabilize its beneficial pore structure, some release nutrients from decaying organic matter, and others develop a food web that keeps plant pests and pathogens in check. For a healthy soil, you'll need to attract creatures that provide a balance of structure, nutrients, and food web, as the benefits of one may be lost if the others are not present. Creatures must also be organized into communities, so larger and more impactful organisms can be supported by the presence of smaller ones. These communities also thrive on diversity, acting at their full potential when they contain creatures of many different types or the full diversity of creatures within a type. Building diverse communities while maintaining a balanced soil health, is the center of the Loam experience, inviting players to make tricky decisions about which creatures to attract when.

Loam is quick to set up and play. Games last 3 rounds, with each round ending when all players have used each of their 3 inputs. Inputs allow players to interact with creatures, either from their own hands or from a communal pool of creature cards in the soil at the center of the table. Clever use of inputs will allow you to find the creatures you need and place them in your root zone. Choose the right creatures and your communities and soil health will prosper!

Whenever a creature is placed into your root zone, increase your structure, nutrients, or food web for each matching icon present in the creature card's top left corner. Remember that creatures must be placed in a community, and that larger level 2 and level 3 creatures can only be placed on top of groups of smaller level 1 creatures.

While building communities in your root zone, you'll also have the opportunity to claim unique behavior cards by placing specific creatures types side-by-side. Behaviors are powerful actions that can be used on your turn in addition to inputs. Different behaviors will be available to claim on each turn, adding a new dimension to how players prioritize placing new creatures.

At the end of 3 rounds, players receive points based on the diversity of each of their communities as well as the balance of their soil health.

Score the most points to win!

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