Cascadia Openings: Reading All Twenty Scoring Cards

Welcome to Level 2. At Level 1 you learned the A cards. Cascadia has four scoring cards for each of its five animals, lettered A to D. One of each goes on the table, so there are 1,024 possible card sets. That is why no two games open the same way. The tiles change, but more than that, the shapes worth building change.

This lesson reads all twenty cards, in the rulebook’s own terms, then turns them into a plan for your first five turns. The exact point tables are printed on the cards; where the rulebook’s scoring example gives a number, we use it.

Forgiving cards and demanding cards

Before the details, one way to sort any set:

• Forgiving cards score something for almost every token you place, and more as you add. Bears C, Elk C, Salmon B and D, Hawks A, and Foxes A and C tend to work this way.
• Demanding cards score only when an exact shape or condition is met. Bears B, Salmon C, Hawks B and D, and Foxes D tend to work this way. Elk B and D sit in between: a lone elk still scores a little, but the big points need the exact shapes.

A set with three demanding cards wants early commitment, because unfinished shapes score little or nothing. A set full of forgiving cards lets you stay flexible longer.

Bears

Bear groups can be any shape, but two bear groups may never touch, and each group must have exactly the size the card shows to score.

• A: pairs. Points rise with how many pairs you have. In the rulebook’s example, two pairs score 11.
• B: groups of exactly three, 10 points each. A group of two scores nothing.
• C: groups of one, two, or three, each scored by size, plus a 3-point bonus for having one group of each size.
• D: groups of two to four, scored by size. Bigger groups pay more per bear.

In the opening, leave a gap of tiles between bear groups so they never merge by accident.

Elk

Unlike bears, elk groups may touch. Each elk still scores only once, and when groups connect you count them in whatever way scores the most.

• A: straight lines, connected flat side to flat side, in any direction. In the rulebook’s example, a line of two scores 5 and a line of three scores 9.
• B: the exact shapes pictured, in any orientation: a single elk, a pair, a triangle of three, and a compact group of four.
• C: any connected group of elk, any shape, scored by size. The table keeps climbing up to eight or more.
• D: circular formations, as pictured, building toward a full ring of six.

Elk A and D reward planning tiles before tokens. Lay tiles that show elk in the line or ring you want, then fill them.

Salmon

A run is a group of salmon where each one touches no more than two other salmon. A triangle of three counts as a run, but nothing more can attach to it. No other salmon may touch a run.

• A: each run scores by size, up to a maximum of seven. A run of four scores 12 in the rulebook’s example.
• B: each run scores by size, up to a maximum of five.
• C: only runs of three or more score, and the table tops out at five.
• D: each run scores 1 point per salmon, plus 1 point for each animal token next to it, of any kind.

Salmon A wants one long, snaking run. Salmon D wants runs surrounded by other animals, so it pairs well with cards that crowd animals together.

Hawks

A line of sight is a straight line from flat side to flat side. Only another hawk blocks it.

• A: each hawk with no other hawk next to it counts, and the points climb with the number of those hawks. Four lone hawks score 11 in the rulebook’s example.
• B: like A, but each scoring hawk also needs a line of sight to another hawk.
• C: 3 points for each line of sight between two hawks. One hawk can be part of several lines.
• D: pairs of hawks, scored by how many different animal types sit between them, not counting hawks. Each hawk can be in only one pair.

Hawks A is one of the most forgiving cards for a slow start: one hawk anywhere, away from other hawks, already scores.

Foxes

Each fox scores on its own, by what sits in the six spaces around it. On card D, a fox pair scores together, by what sits in the eight spaces around the pair.

• A: each fox scores by the number of different animal types next to it, other foxes included. In the rulebook’s example, foxes touching three, five, and three types score 3, 5, and 3.
• B: each fox scores by the number of different animal pairs next to it, not counting fox pairs. The two animals in a pair do not have to touch each other.
• C: each fox scores by how many of one animal type surround it. Only the most common neighbor counts, and foxes do not.
• D: each fox pair scores by the number of different animal pairs around it, not counting fox pairs.

Foxes score on their neighbors, so place them early, with open space around them that your other animals will fill.

Your first five turns

1. Pick two main animals. Usually one forgiving card and one demanding card you can see a path to. Note which habitats your starter tile already gives you.
2. Place tiles for shapes, not just habitats. A tile that shows elk, set where your elk line will run, is a promise of points later. Tokens can land on older tiles, so build the frame first.
3. Start two corridors. Pick the two habitats with the most matching edges on your starter tile and nearby. Five small corridors score little.
4. Take keystones with their animal. A keystone paired with its matching token earns a nature token right away, and early nature tokens give you choices later.
5. Keep flexible tiles open. Tiles that show two or three animals are your best landing spots. Do not fill them with a stray token you do not need.

If a rival’s environment starts looking like the shape on a demanding card, notice it. The midgame lesson is about what to do with that information.