Oh Shiitake!

Foragers race to complete three mushroom lifecycles. A lifecycle is one card of each growth stage (Spore, Hyphae, Mycelium and Fruiting Body) from a single species, drawn from six real ones: Shiitake, Chanterelle, Reishi, Oyster, Lion's Mane and Enoki. Wild cards can fill a gap in any set.

Every card does two jobs. Play it for its effect, or stash it face-up in your nutrient shield to use as currency. Stashed cards pay debts at full value while cards in hand pay half, so deciding what to bank and what to keep is the heart of the game. Action cards let you drain nutrients from opponents, lift a card from their shield, make them discard, or steal a finished lifecycle outright. Spore-ry, No! lets anyone cancel an action aimed at them, and Metabolize lets you burn a card or fish one back out of your own shield.

Turns are quick: draw two cards, make up to three plays, and pass. The first player to lay down a three completed lifecycles wins, but finished sets sit face-up and can be stolen until the very end, so the real tension is when to commit. A game takes about 20 to 30 minutes.

—description from the designer