Forestry
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Your province is covered in trees. You cut them down to build castles, risking floods. You study them, slowing down. The weather changes every round and you don't know what it will bring. In the end, someone will have won the Shogun's favor, but everyone will remember the game where the river burst its banks.
WHAT IT'S ABOUT
Managing a feudal province amidst forests, floods, and the Shogun's demands
Ringyō (林業, "forestry") is set in Edo period Japan, when the country faced a severe deforestation crisis and daimyo began overseeing planting projects to protect forests from erosion. Designed by Charlie McCarron (Four Humours, Skyrockets) and illustrated by Kwanchai Moriya (Apiary, Dinosaur Island), the game blends simultaneous worker placement, environmental management, and competitive strategy into an experience that rewards foresight, adaptability, and respect for nature.
Each player controls a province that starts as a wild forest. You place forestry samurai at key intersections of your personal board to cut down trees, build farms and castles, plant and study new generations of trees, cultivate fields to feed the population, or recruit military forces for the Shogun in Edo. But every choice has consequences: if you clear too much, the province becomes vulnerable to floods. The weather changes every round with a dynamic deck of cards, and you must predict where it will rain, where water flows will bring growth or destruction. The player who accumulates the most favor after five rounds wins, balancing local needs with the demands of the central government.
What they say abroad
"Blends simultaneous worker placement, environmental management, and competitive strategy into an immersive experience."
It blends simultaneous worker placement, environmental management, and competitive strategy into an immersive experience.
— Paverson Games
Ringyō is a game that asks you to think five rounds ahead without knowing what the weather will do in two turns. Choices matter, but nature rules. It's a delicate balance between ambition and sustainability, and the card will be updated as soon as we've played enough games to tell you if that balance holds.
— FroGames
Ringyō
The game supports 1 player from the basic rules. We don't yet have details on how the opponent works (automa, bot deck, modified objectives), so the rating remains cautious until more information or direct testing is available.
FrogScore · FroGames editorial rating · first read: based on rules and official presentation, updated with initial playsElements in play
What you manage in your province
Four types of trees
Each species provides specific materials for different constructions. You cut for immediate resources, but leave the land bare and vulnerable.
Dynamic weather deck
Rainfall changes every round. It aids growth or brings devastating floods. You can scout it out in advance if you invest in forestry research.
Forestry samurai
Workers you place simultaneously at the intersections of your board. Experts in cutting, planting, studying, farming, or military recruitment.
Central Edo
The common board where you compete with other daimyo to satisfy the Shogun's requests. You send advisors, offer resources, gain favor, and immediate gifts.
🎲How to playThe rules in four steps▼
How to play
The flow of each round
Ringyō is played over five rounds. Each round has four phases: simultaneous placement, actions, weather, Edo.
Everyone simultaneously chooses a character card (determines turn order and gives bonuses). Then they place their samurai workers at the intersections of the province board, deciding which actions to perform: cut trees, plant, research, build buildings, cultivate fields, recruit troops.
In turn order, each player performs their chosen actions. You cut trees to get materials (four different types). You build castles and farms. You plant new trees for future generations. You move the marker on the forest research track to unlock extra workers, resources, and tokens that allow you to spy on the weather.
The round's weather cards are revealed. Rain falls on specific regions of the board. If there are trees, they grow. If the land has been cleared too much, the water turns into a flood and destroys fields, buildings, leaving the territory unusable. Floods cascade into nearby areas.
Everyone sends advisors to Edo (central board) to compete in the Shogun's favor auction. Offer resources, meet specific demands, earn immediate gifts and final favor. The first to arrive gets the best opportunities. This phase determines a large part of the final score.
⏱️Your first gameMoment by moment account▼
A game in five moments
What happens at the table
Not the rules. The experience.
Wild Provinces
Game start. Each player looks at their board: dense forest, no buildings, no fields. The Shogun already has requests in Edo. You must decide: do I cut now to build or plant for the future? The first weather card is approaching.
First cuts, first risks
Someone cut down an entire row of trees to build a castle. Someone else planted and researched. The rain comes. Those who had cut too much suffer the first flood: flooded fields, damaged buildings. Those who maintained the forest resist.
The race to Edo
Mid-game. Everyone sends advisors to Edo to satisfy the Shogun. The competition heats up: the first to arrive gets the best gifts. Those who fell behind in construction lose favor. The weather deck changes focus: now it will rain on other regions of the board.
Calculated risk or chaos
Round four. Someone has spied on the weather cards with research tokens and protected the at-risk areas. Someone else went all-in on Edo and ends up with a devastated province. The choices of the first rounds show the consequences: those who planted now harvest mature trees.
Final favor
Last round. The constructed castles, accumulated favors in Edo, and completed research are counted. Those who balanced cutting and planting have stable provinces and a high score. Those who deforested too much suffered cascading floods. The Shogun proclaims the preferred daimyo.
🐸Things to know before you playThree honest things, from friends▼
Things to know before you play
Three things to prepare for
The simultaneous worker placement makes Ringyō seem faster than it is. In reality, it has many layers: spatial puzzle of the board, resource management (four types of wood), research track, dynamic weather, competition in Edo. The BGG weight is 2.6, but the first games can take more time to metabolize all the interconnections.
Even with careful planning, an unexpected flood can destroy fields and hard-built castles. You can spy on weather cards by investing in research, but it remains a high element of unpredictability. If you seek total control, this system might be frustrating.
With few BGG ratings (31) and no consolidated reviews, we don't know if the game scales well from 1 to 4 players or if certain player counts are more balanced. Competition in Edo might be too open with 2 players or too tight with 4. Initial assessment: we await confirmation from a wider audience.
🏆Victory and defeatWhat the ending rewards▼
How it ends
How to win
After five rounds, the accumulated favor points are counted. The player with the most wins.
Victory conditions
- Build castles in your province and in Edo: they give immediate favor and final points
- Satisfy the Shogun's specific requests during the Edo phases: first arrivals get extra gifts and favor
- Complete forest research tracks: each milestone is worth favor and unlocks permanent abilities
What makes you lose ground
- Deforest too much and suffer cascading floods: you lose buildings, fields, future actions
- Ignore Edo and don't compete for the Shogun's favors: opponents accumulate an advantage
- Don't balance immediate resources and long-term planting: you get stuck without materials or forests
Ringyō promises an unusual worker placement where the board changes radically every game and the weather dictates as much as your decisions. If the idea of managing feudal forests with dynamic floods intrigues you, keep an eye on it.
💬Frequently Asked QuestionsQuick answers before checkout▼
Frequently Asked Questions
Ringyō FAQ
Is it an eurogame or a thematic game?
Ringyō is in the middle. It has solid Euro mechanics (worker placement, resource optimization, light engine building), but the theme of sustainable forest management and the dynamic weather system are tightly integrated. It's not an abstract game with a skin: floods have both narrative and mechanical sense.
Is the weather completely random or can I predict it?
You can spy on the round's weather cards by investing in the forest research track. This gives you advanced information and allows you to protect at-risk areas or use the rain to grow trees. There's still an element of unpredictability, but it's not pure blind luck.
How much downtime is there between turns?
Worker placement is simultaneous, so everyone plays in parallel in phase 1. Actions are resolved in turn order, but each player works on their personal province board, so downtime should be limited. The Edo phase is competitive and might require more collective attention. We don't have enough feedback yet to say if it works smoothly with 4 players.
What mechanics does Ringyō use?
Simultaneous worker placement (you place samurai at the intersections of your board), resource management (four types of wood, building materials), spatial puzzle (where to place buildings and trees to minimize flood damage), programming (predict the weather, plan five rounds ahead), competitive auction (Edo phase for the Shogun's favors).
Is it available in Italian?
The edition for sale is in English. The game includes text on character cards, weather cards, Edo objectives, and the rulebook. No Italian localizations have been announced at this time.
The people behind the game
Who invented it, who designed it, who publishes it — and what else they've done.
Ringyō is a forest management board game set in Edo period Japan, for 1-4 players aged 14 and up, lasting 45-90 minutes. Designed by Charlie McCarron and published by Paverson Games, it combines simultaneous worker placement, spatial puzzle, and a dynamic weather system that brings floods and growth. Each player manages a personal province: cuts trees to build castles and farms, plants new generations to protect against erosion, competes in Edo for the Shogun's favor. The BGG weight is 2.6, with mechanics of resource management, long-term optimization, and indirect interaction. Available on FroGames.it.
Frequently Asked Questions
The answers you're looking for, no beating around the bush.
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