What Parks Is
Parks is a game for one to five players about hiking through national park landscapes. Each player controls two hikers who walk a trail, stop at sites along the way, gather resources, and use them to visit Park cards and collect other scoring opportunities. The artwork is inspired by the Fifty-Nine Parks Print Series, and the game is usually described as worker placement with some set collection.
This page is a plain-language overview, not a replacement for the rulebook. Different printings and the second edition differ in some setup details, so check the booklet in your own box for exact numbers.
Where to Find the Parks Rules PDF
Most readers searching for a PDF want the official rulebook. The most reliable places to look are:
- The publisher’s own site and the official game site, which have historically hosted rulebooks and how-to-play videos.
- The Files section of the game’s page on BoardGameGeek, where publishers and fans upload rulebooks and player aids.
- Digital versions of the game, such as the Board Game Arena adaptation, which enforce the rules for you and help while you learn.
Be careful with third-party copies. Some sources describe different editions and disagree on details such as the number of seasons, so match the rulebook to the edition you own.
Components in Brief
- A trail made of site spaces, along which hikers travel.
- Two hikers per player, plus a player board or reference for tracking items.
- Resource tokens, commonly described as sun, water, soil and wildlife.
- Park cards, which you buy with resources and which score points.
- Gear cards, offered in a small face-up market.
- Passion cards in the second edition, which give each player a personal bonus goal.
- Season bonus tiles in the second edition.
Setup
Set the trail out, lay down the Park cards deck and reveal a few face up to form a display, and do the same for the Gear market. In the second edition, each player is dealt a Passion card, and Season Bonus tiles go face up on the board. Each player takes their two hikers and the starting items listed in the rulebook, and a first player is chosen. Follow your edition’s booklet for the exact starting resources and turn order.
How a Season Plays Out
The game is played in rounds called seasons. Sources disagree on the number: the older rules are often described as four seasons, while at least one summary of the newer edition mentions three. Treat your own rulebook as the authority.
During a season, your two hikers move forward along the trail one at a time, stopping at sites. Stopping at a site lets you take that site’s benefit, which commonly means gaining resources, and some sites interact with Gear or other items. Hikers only move forward, so choosing how far to walk, and which sites to skip, is the heart of the game.
Taking Actions at Sites
Each trail site offers something different. Typical outcomes include:
- Gaining resources to spend later.
- Taking photos of scenic spots, which are another source of points.
- Meeting wildlife, which can be used as a resource.
- Picking up Gear that helps in later seasons.
Some spaces on the trail are shared, and occupied spaces can limit your choices, so timing matters when several players want the same site.
Park Cards and Gear
Park cards are the main scoring engine. You pay the listed resources to claim a Park from the display, and it scores points at the end of the game. Gear works similarly but supports your engine instead of scoring directly. Both are drawn from face-up displays that refill as cards are taken, so the market changes over a game.
End of the Season and End of the Game
A season ends once the hikers have finished their walks along the trail, and between seasons the board and the players’ positions reset for the next one. After the final season, you add up points from Parks, Photos and your personal bonus. In the second edition this includes your Passion card. The player with the most points wins.
Tips for Your First Game
- Plan which Park you want before you start walking; hikers cannot go back.
- Do not ignore Gear early, since it can pay off over several seasons.
- Watch the display, because opponents may take a card you were saving for.
Related Games in This Cluster
If you enjoy the calm, nature-driven theme of Parks, you may also like the drafting game covered in our Planted rules guide or the cooperative herbal adventure in our WildCraft rules guide. For a quick card game with a different style of scoring, see our Faraway rules guide. Players who want something heavier can look at the Arcs rules overview or the dice-drafting White Castle rules guide, and negotiation fans can try the Chinatown rules guide.
Common Questions
How do you play Parks in one sentence? You walk two hikers down a trail, collect resources at sites, and spend them on Park cards and other points.
How many players can play? One to five, according to most sources.
Is Parks hard to learn? It is generally considered approachable, though the rulebook should be read once before teaching it.