Harmonies

Players: 1-4
Duration: 30 min
Difficulty: Medium
Age: 10+

Video by Kovray

Overview

Harmonies is a landscape-building game designed by Johan Benvenuto with illustrations by Maëva Da Silva, published by Libellud in 2024. Players build landscapes by placing colored tokens and create habitats for animals to settle in. To win, you must incorporate habitats into your landscape wisely and attract as many animals as possible to settle there.

Game Components

  • 1 central board
  • 4 personal boards (double-sided)
  • 120 tokens in 6 colors:
    • 23 gray (Mountains)
    • 21 brown (Tree trunks)
    • 19 green (Tree canopies)
    • 19 yellow (Fields)
    • 15 red (Buildings)
    • 23 blue (Water)
  • 75 animal cubes
  • 4 Nature’s Spirit cubes
  • 32 Animal cards
  • 10 Nature’s Spirit cards
  • 1 pouch
  • 4 reminder cards
  • 1 scoresheet pad

Game Objective

Build the most harmonious landscape by placing colored tokens on your personal board. You score points for:

  • The different types of landscape you create (mountains, trees, fields, water, buildings)
  • The animals you attract by completing their card patterns

The player with the most points at the end of the game wins.

Setup

  1. Place the central board with the 2-4 players side face up (or 1 player side for solo mode)
  2. Put all tokens in the pouch and mix well
  3. Fill the central board: Draw 3 random tokens and place them on each of the 5 spaces on the central board
  4. Prepare Animal cards: Shuffle the 32 cards and place 5 face up next to the central board
  5. Each player receives:
    • 1 personal board (all use the same side A or B)
    • 1 reminder card
  6. The last player who witnessed a magnificent landscape starts the game

How to Play

Each turn consists of 1 mandatory action and 2 optional actions. You can perform them in any order.

Mandatory Action: Take and Place Tokens

  1. Choose one of the 5 groups of 3 tokens from the central board
  2. Place all 3 tokens on your personal board following the stacking rules
  3. Refill the empty space on the central board with 3 new tokens from the pouch

Stacking Rules

Stacks can be a maximum of 3 tokens high. Each token type has specific rules:

Blue (Water) and Yellow (Fields):

  • Can NEVER be placed on top of another token
  • No other token can EVER be placed on top of them

Gray (Mountains):

  • Can only stack on other gray tokens
  • Can form stacks of up to 3 gray tokens

Brown (Tree trunks):

  • Can stack on other brown tokens
  • Maximum 2 brown tokens in a stack

Green (Tree canopies):

  • Can only be placed on top of 1 or 2 brown tokens
  • They are always the top token of a tree

Red (Buildings):

  • Can be placed on gray, brown, or red tokens
  • Can only be the second token in a stack (not the third)

Optional Action 1: Take an Animal Card

  • Take 1 Animal card from the 5 available
  • You can only hold a maximum of 4 cards in your hand
  • Immediately receive the animal cubes shown on the card’s edge
  • Refill the empty space with a new card from the deck

Optional Action 2: Place Animal Cubes

  • Place animal cubes on your board to complete a card’s pattern
  • The pattern must match exactly with your board’s token arrangement
  • Tree and mountain heights must be exact
  • Once cubes are placed, those tokens cannot be modified
  • When you complete a card, place it in your scoring area

Landscape Scoring

At the end of the game, score each type of landscape:

Trees

  • 1 brown alone = 0 points
  • 2 browns = 0 points
  • 1 green (without brown underneath) = 1 point
  • 1 brown + 1 green = 3 points
  • 2 browns + 1 green = 5 points

Mountains

  • 1 gray = 1 point
  • 2 grays stacked = 3 points
  • 3 grays stacked = 7 points (must be adjacent to another mountain)

Fields

  • Each connected group of 2 or more yellow tokens = 5 points

Water (Side A - Rivers)

Score the longest connected chain of blue tokens:

  • 2 tokens = 2 points
  • 3 tokens = 5 points
  • 4 tokens = 8 points
  • 5 tokens = 11 points
  • 6 tokens = 15 points
  • +4 points for each additional token

Water (Side B - Islands)

  • Each island (group of tokens separated by water) = 5 points

Buildings

  • Each red token surrounded by at least 3 different colored tokens = 5 points

Animal Cards

  • Each completed card scores according to the highest visible number on the card

Game End

The game ends when one of these conditions occurs at the end of your turn:

  1. The pouch doesn’t have enough tokens to refill the central board
  2. You have 2 or fewer empty spaces (without tokens) on your personal board

All players must have the same number of turns. If the end is triggered before everyone has played the same number, the remaining players take one more turn.

Final Scoring

Add up points from:

  • All your landscapes (trees, mountains, fields, water, buildings)
  • All your completed Animal cards

The player with the most points wins.

In case of a tie, the player who placed the most animal cubes wins. If the tie persists, the players share the victory.

Variant: Nature’s Spirit Cards

This variant is recommended after a few games.

Setup

  • Each player receives 2 Nature’s Spirit cards face down
  • On your first turn, look at your 2 cards and choose 1 to use
  • The chosen card occupies one of your 4 card slots for the entire game
  • Return the other card to the box

How It Works

  • Each Spirit card gives extra points for creating specific landscape patterns
  • Place Nature’s Spirit cubes when you complete these patterns
  • At the end of the game, the card scores according to the highest visible number

Solo Mode

  • Use the 1 player side of the central board (only 3 spaces)
  • Try to achieve the highest possible score
  • Check the “Suns” table in the rules to evaluate your performance

Basic Strategies

  • Plan your trees: Trees with 2 browns + 1 green give 5 points, the best ratio
  • Connect water: Long rivers give many points on side A
  • Group fields: You need at least 2 yellow tokens together to score
  • Surround buildings: Try to have your red tokens with 3 different adjacent colors

Advanced Strategies

  • Watch Animal cards: Before taking tokens, see what patterns you need
  • Manage your cards: Don’t fill all 4 slots if you can’t complete patterns
  • Block opponents: Take tokens others need if it doesn’t hurt you

Tips for Beginners

  1. Start with side A of the board to familiarize yourself with the rules
  2. Don’t obsess over Animal cards at first - the landscape gives many points
  3. Pay attention to stacking rules - they are key to building well
  4. Watch what tokens remain in the pouch as the game progresses

History and Fun Facts

  • Designed by Johan Benvenuto with art by Maëva Da Silva
  • Published in 2024 by Libellud (same publisher as Dixit)
  • Nominated for several awards at board game conventions in 2024
  • Available on Board Game Arena to play online
  • The game stands out for its relaxing aesthetic and accessible yet deep mechanics