The Hardest Cascadia Scoring Cards and How to Beat Them

The openings lesson sorted the twenty cards into forgiving and demanding. Forgiving cards score something for almost every token. Demanding cards score only for exact shapes, so a half-built shape is worth nothing. This lesson takes the demanding cards one at a time. Every rule here comes from the rulebook’s card clarifications.

The common thread: count complete shapes

For a demanding card, do not think in tokens. Think in finished shapes. You have twenty turns and four other animals. A realistic target on a demanding card is two or three complete shapes. Decide the number early, then build exactly those, one at a time. A shape you finish is worth its full value. A shape you abandon is worth nothing, plus the turns you spent on it.

Bears B: groups of exactly three

The rule: each group of exactly three bears scores 10. Groups may be any shape, but two bear groups may not touch.

The trap: building three groups of two at once, hoping the thirds arrive. If they do not, all six bears score zero.

The plan: build one trio at a time. Finish it, then start the next with a one-tile gap. Two trios are 20 points from six tokens, a strong return. A pair waiting late in the game is worth chasing only if you have a landing spot ready and turns to spare. Nature tokens are well spent here: one that brings the third bear buys 10 points.

Salmon C: runs of three to five

The rule: only runs of three or more score, and the card’s table tops out at five. A run of one or two scores nothing, and a run longer than five scores no more than a run of five.

The trap: a long, happy run on autopilot. On this card, the sixth salmon adds nothing; it is a token that could have started your next run.

The plan: build runs to five and stop. Cap the end of each finished run with a tile that cannot hold salmon, so a stray salmon never lands beside it. Two runs of four or five, kept apart, are a solid target.

Hawks B: alone, but within sight

The rule: each hawk scores if it is not next to another hawk and has a direct line of sight to another hawk. A line of sight runs straight from flat side to flat side and is broken only by another hawk.

The trap: scattering hawks the way Hawks A teaches, all over the environment, so none of them line up.

The plan: put hawks in rows with gaps. Along one straight line of hexes, place hawk, gap, hawk, gap, hawk. Each sees its neighbor along the line and touches none. A tile in the gap can hold any other animal, which also helps foxes and Salmon D.

Hawks D: pairs with variety between

The rule: pairs of hawks score by the number of different animal types between them, not counting hawks. Each hawk may be in only one pair.

The plan: place two hawks at opposite ends of a straight line, then fill the line between them with as many different animals as you can. This card pairs naturally with Foxes A, which also likes mixed neighborhoods.

Foxes B and D: neighbors in pairs

The rules: on B, each fox scores by the number of different animal pairs next to it, not counting fox pairs. On D, each pair of foxes scores by the number of different animal pairs around it, counting the eight spaces around the pair. On both cards, the two animals of a pair do not have to touch each other.

The plan: a fox wants two bears, two elk, two salmon, and so on in its neighborhood. That is a lot of tokens for one fox, so these cards work best when they ride on your other shapes. Put a fox beside your bear pair and your elk line, and it is already counting two pairs.

Elk D: rings

The rule: elk groups must be in a circular formation, as pictured on the card, up to a full ring of six.

The plan: lay a ring of elk-showing tiles before the elk arrive. A ring needs six specific tiles in six specific spots, so this is the card most likely to finish partly built. The card’s table runs from one elk to six, so a ring that stalls at four or five still pays something.

When a demanding card is not worth it

Some sets put two or three demanding cards on the table. You cannot chase them all. Pick the one whose shapes your starter tile and early tiles fit best, and treat the others as places to put spare tokens that cannot hurt you.

Some tournament tables are allowed to leave one card out entirely: at the World Boardgaming Championships, any player may ask for Hawks C to be removed from the random draw. The tournaments lesson has the details.

Practice with the scenarios

The rulebook’s solo scenarios are built for this. Scenario 2 uses all five B cards and scenario 4 all five D cards, with pass lines of 80 and 85. Play them until the demanding cards stop feeling like punishments and start feeling like puzzles.