Rulebook

Game
Punnett
1 Squares Dice Pool Areas
Game Board
Place the Game Board 2
in the center of the play
area. The major areas of
the Board feature Punnett
Squares and Dice Pool
Areas in 4 colors, an Abacus

4
for tracking Research
Upgrade prices, and a
display of available Pea
Plant and Tool Cards.

2 Offspring Dice
and Gene Tiles
Place the 5 Offspring Dice
and 2 Parent Gene Tiles
of each color next to the
Punnett Square of the same
color until they are needed.

3 Coins and
Trait Markers
Place the supply of Coins
and Trait Markers ( )
in reach of all players.
3
(The supply of these
is unlimited; use a
substitute if they run out.)

9a
4 9c
Starting Coins
Place 4 starting Coins on the Board, 1 on
each spot next to the 4 Punnett Squares.

FOR SOLO PLAY:

Genotype can be played as a solo game against
a simulated opponent. After learning
the standard game rules, see
p. 14 for the solo rules.

2
Setup 5 6
Round Tracker Abacus Markers
Start the Round Tracker on 1. Place the 4 Abacus Price Markers
7 on the starting prices for each Research
5 Upgrade (shown as darker beads).

7 Research Upgrades
Place the New Plot Tiles, Dice Slots, and
Assistant Cards next to the Research
Upgrades area of the Board.
6 Draw 3 Assistant Cards face up as the
9b starting options.

8
8 Pea Plant and
Tool Cards
Shuffle the Pea Plant Cards and Tool
Cards, then place these decks face down
next to the Nursery and Tool Shed,
respectively. Draw face-up Cards to fill
the Nursery with Pea Plant Cards and
the Tool Shed with Tool Cards, based
on player count, as shown in the table
below. (3 player setup depicted.)

Players 1-2 3 4-5

9 Player Mats and Pieces Cards 3 4 5

Give each player a Player Mat as well as 3 Action Markers

( )and 3 Phenotype Research Markers ( ) in their
10 First Player Marker
player color (9a). Place the 2 additional Action Markers for
Give the First Player Marker to the Player
each player color with the Research Upgrades (9b)
who has most recently done any garden
Each player takes 1 Coin from the supply, then draws 3 work. You’re ready to begin!
Pea Plant Cards and 1 Tool Card from the corresponding
decks (9c). Players must choose 1 of their Pea Plant Cards
to place in a Garden Plot on their Player Mat, 1 to keep in
their hand, and 1 to discard (next to the Pea Plant deck).

Full Components
list on p. 19.
3
 Genotype: A Mendelian Genetics Game
For 2-5 Players
Gregor Mendel was a 19th Century Augustinian Friar, credited with the discovery of modern genetics
through his work with pea plants. In Genotype: A Mendelian Genetics Game, players take the role of
Research Scientists on the grounds of the monastery where Mendel conducted his experiments.

Players have a Garden of Pea Plants with different

Points
genetic Traits. The Traits are each shown as a pair of Trait
letters called a Genotype. The goal of the game is to Marker
Validate the Traits on your Plants by taking Dice that
match the Traits. Validated Traits are covered with Trait
Markers to track your research progress. When all the Traits
Traits on a Plant are covered, it has been completely
researched, and will earn the Points shown in the corner.

A game of Genotype is played over 5 Rounds, made up of 3 main Phases: Validated

the Working Phase, the Plant Breeding Phase, and the Research Upgrade Phase. Trait
Phase 1 In the Working Phase, players will place their Action Markers to take actions that will prepare
their gardens, acquire funding, and secure access to the Traits they need for their research.

Phase 2 The Plant Breeding Phase is the main way that players will find and Validate the Traits on
their Pea Plants. Players will take turns picking from a pool of Offspring Dice that represent
possible genetic combinations in the plants. The values of Dice are interpreted using Punnett
Squares, scientific tools demonstrating how parent genes are passed to offspring.

= Gg

The Die represents the Genotype g , taken from its row ( ) and column (g).
It may be used to Validate the g Trait on the Pea Plant. (By the same process, the
Dice both mean , the is another g, and the Die is gg).

Phase 3 In the Research Upgrade Phase, players may spend their Coins on
powerful Upgrades to optimize their future turns.

After 5 Rounds, players total up their Pea Plant research and unspent Coins. The
player with the most Points wins!
4
1. Working Phase Action
Space
In the Working Phase, players take turns placing 1 of their available Action Markers ( ) on an
empty Action Space on the Game Board or on their Player Mat. They then immediately take the
corresponding action (all the possible actions are described on the next few pages). Once an Action
Space is covered by an Action Marker, it is occupied for the Round and cannot be chosen again by
any player, though there may be additional Action Spaces for the same action.

The player with the First Player Marker will have the first opportunity to place 1 Action Marker and take an
action. In clockwise order, players will then continue taking turns placing 1 Action Marker and taking the
corresponding action until every player has placed all of their available Action Markers. Players begin the
game with 3 Action Markers in their player color, but may gain more through Research Upgrades.

The actions that players may take are as follows:

GARDENING
The Gardening action is used to manage your Pea Plant Cards. Throughout the game, you will draw new Pea
Plants into your hand, and must Garden to move (Sow) them into the Plots on your Player Mat.

When taking the Gardening action, perform each of the following 3 steps, in order:

Draw 1 Pea Plant or Tool Card, either from the face-up options on the Board or from the deck.

Harvest any Pea Plant Cards that have Trait Markers covering all of their Traits. Return the Trait
Markers to the supply and place the completed Pea Plant Cards face down next to your Player Mat
for end game scoring. You may look at your completed Pea Plants at any time.

You may Sow new Pea Plant Cards from your hand, placing them into available Plots on your
Player Mat. These Plant Cards are now available to have Trait Markers placed on them.

GARDENING EXAMPLE:
Marco has completed 1 of
his Pea Plants and takes
the Gardening action with
2 Pea Plants in hand. First
he draws a Graft Knife
Tool Card from the Tool
Shed. He then Harvests his completed 5-Point
Pea Plant, removing its Trait Markers and setting
it aside to score later. (His 9-Point Plant still needs
a Rr Trait and cannot be Harvested yet.) Finally,
he decides to Sow the 6-Point Pea Plant into his
newly available Plot. He may place Trait Markers
on this Pea Plant in future turns.

TEMPORARY DICE SLOT

Place an Action Marker to unlock a Temporary Dice Slot on your Player Mat for the current
Round. This action has no immediate effect, but in the Plant Breeding Phase, you will be able to
take an additional Offspring Die and place it on this Dice Slot.

5
SETTING PARENT GENES COINS ON THE BOARD
Take 1 of the 4 Set Parent Genes actions to modify The 4 Punnett Squares will each have 1 Coin
the corresponding Punnett Square using Parent Gene next to them at the beginning of each Round.
Tiles. These Tiles are placed on top of the Parent The first player to place an Action Marker
Genes printed on the Game Board and change the at either the Set Parent Genes or 1st Shift
Offspring Dice outcomes. Space for the Punnett Square of each color
will gain the corresponding Coin in addition
When taking this action, you may choose to add 1 to taking the action on that Space.
Gene Tile to the Board with either side face up, or to
remove 1 Gene Tile that had previously been placed,
or to leave the Parent Gene Tile as it is. You may not
flip a Tile already on the Board to its other side.

If there was a Coin next to the corresponding

Punnett Square, take it.
ly
Parent Gene Tiles will change the like
eding.
Offspring Traits during Plant Bre

1ST SHIFT
The 1st Shift actions have no immediate effect, but
grant the first pick among the Offspring Dice of the
matching color during the Plant Breeding Phase.

If there was a Coin next to the corresponding

Punnett Square, take it.

2ND SHIFT
The 2nd Shift action has no immediate effect, but grants
1 earlier pick during the Plant Breeding Phase (after the
1st Shift picks).

The 2nd Shift area may hold any number of Action Markers,
adding new Action Markers to the left, and players will
receive their early picks in the same order, right to left. This
is the only unlimited Action Space on the Board.

SET PHENOTYPE RESEARCH GOAL

Set a Phenotype Research Goal to earn
additional Points for specializing on particular
Traits. To take this action, pay the cost shown
on the Action Space (2 or 3 Coins), then place 1
of your Phenotype Research Markers on any 1
unoccupied Phenotype Research Goal ( ).

Each Phenotype Research Goal is located under

EXAMPLE: These 2 Phenotype Research Goals
the Dice Pool Area for 1 or 2 Genotypes. During
pertain to Seed Shape (the blue Dice). During end
end game scoring, the player who claimed each
game scoring, Brandy will earn 2 Points for each
Goal will earn additional Points as shown for each
of her completed Pea Plants with an RR or Rr Trait
of their completed Pea Plants containing the
(Round Seeds). The Goal on the right would earn 3
Genotype(s) shown above the Goal.
Points for each completed Pea Plant with an rr Trait
(Wrinkled Seeds).
6
 TREASURY
Take the Treasury action to gain 2 Coins.

UNIVERSITY
Take the University action and pay the cost shown on the
Action Space (1 or 2 Coins) to immediately Validate any 1
Trait on 1 of your Pea Plant Cards.

ACTION SPACE DIFFERENCES

Some actions have more than 1 Action Space that perform
the same action but differ in cost or availability.
Some actions have Spaces with different costs and are
cheaper for the first player to take that action each Round.

4+ Some Action Spaces are only available in games with

4 or 5 players.

NURSERY AND TOOL SHED

Take the Nursery action to draw 2 Pea Plant Cards from
the face-up options or from the deck, in any combination.
These Plants will go to your hand and can only be placed
onto your Player Mat with the Gardening action.
Take the Tool Shed action to draw 1 Tool Card from the
face-up options or from the deck.

TOOL CARDS
Tool Cards provide one-time benefits. They are kept in your hand until played, then are discarded to the
Tool discard pile. Tool Cards may normally be played at any time during your turn in the Working Phase,
and do not replace your normal action. Tool Cards with may be played whenever the condition to
the left of the arrow is met (in any Phase).
Graft Knife - Play when taking an
Seed Bag - Draw 5 Pea Plant Cards Offspring Die to immediately take
from the deck, keep 2, and discard another Die, which does not use a Dice
the rest. Slot (place it on Graft Knife).

Watering Funnel - Validate Rake - Play when taking an Offspring

any 1 Trait. You must play this Card Die to Validate any 1 Trait of that Dice
immediately when you receive it. color instead of using the Die normally.

Dissertation - Pay 1 Coin to Set a Pollen Brush - Play when Validating

Phenotype Research Goal. a Trait to Validate every copy of the same
Genotype on your Pea Plants.
Flower Pot - Play Flower Pot next
to your Player Mat. Immediately take Hand Lens, Pocket Watch,
1 Pea Plant Card (from the face-up Garden Line - Play when taking
options in the Nursery or from the the Parent Gene, 1st Shift, or 2nd Shift
deck) and place it on the Flower Pot. action (respectively) to gain 2 Coins.
Flower Pot is treated as a Plot in your
Garden until the Plant is Harvested, Grant - Play when purchasing a
then Flower Pot is discarded. Research Upgrade to discount the
cost by 2 Coins. 7
2. Plant Breeding Phase
In the Plant Breeding Phase, players roll and then draft (take turns picking) the Offspring Dice, 1 at a time. As each
player chooses and takes a Die, they must place it on 1 of their available Dice Slots to Validate a corresponding Trait
on 1 of their Pea Plants. Players continue making selections until they run out of Dice Slots or usable Dice.

PLANT BREEDING
The Phase begins with Plant Breeding. The players collectively roll the 20 Offspring Dice and sort the results
according to the Punnett Square matching the color of each Die:

For Dice results of - , locate the matching Die face on its Punnett Square, note the Gene letters shown
in its row and column, and place the Die onto the Dice Pool Area with this pair of letters on the Game Board.
A Die showing the mutation symbol is re-rolled exactly once. If it now shows - , move it to the
appropriate Dice Pool Area. If it re-rolled again, place it in the De Novo Mutations Area for its Dice color.

REROLL

EXAMPLE: Alina gathers and rolls the 5 blue (Seed

Shape) Dice, getting , , , , and . She checks
the Punnett Square to find that represents Rr
and represents rr. She places these Dice in their
corresponding Dice Pool Areas and re-rolls the pair of .

One of the re-rolled Dice shows a and is placed in

the RR Area. The other Die shows again, and is
placed in the De Novo Mutation Area.

enes has
Changing the Parent G
s impossible and
made some combination
anteed.
others (basically) guar

8
SELECTING OFFSPRING DICE
After rolling and sorting all the Offspring Dice, players will alternate Research Shifts (turns) picking Dice to
Validate the Traits on their Pea Plants. Players who reserved earlier picks in the Working Phase will go first,
then all players will continue picking Dice as follows:
First, any players with Action Markers on 1st Shift Spots take 1 Offspring Die of that Dice color.
Next, any players with Action Markers in the 2nd Shift area select any 1 Die, in order (from right to left).
Finally, players continue to take Research Shifts in turn order, starting with the player with the First
Player Marker until all players have passed. Some players may reserve earlier Shifts, but
most Dice are picked in normal turn order.
During each player’s Shift, they take 1 Die from the Game
Board in order to Validate 1 matching Trait on 1 of their Pea
Plants, covering it with a Trait Marker. The Die must then be
EXAMPLE: Alina
chooses the Die
placed in an available Dice Slot on their Player Mat.
(RR on the Punnett
Square) and places it in
In order to take a Die, a player must have an available Dice
the available Dice Slot on
Slot on their Player Mat and must use the Die (it cannot be
her Player Mat. She then
taken for no effect). If a player cannot take a Die on their
adds a Trait Marker to her
Shift, they pass for the remainder of the Phase.
Pea Plant Card, covering
the RR Trait.

DE NOVO MUTATIONS
Dice in the De Novo Mutations Slots can be chosen instead of a normal Research Shift pick,
including during a 1st or 2nd Shift. They are used in one of 2 ways:
1 Gain 1 Coin and place the Die in a Dice Slot like normal.

2 “Mutate” another Offspring Die: Take the Die and another Die of the same Dice color and
place them in 2 of your Dice Slots. You may then Validate any Trait of that Dice color.

Note that Mutating Dice allows players to Validate Traits for which there are no remaining
Dice, or even Traits that would have been impossible with the current Parent Genotypes.

EXAMPLE: Marco is looking to Validate the

ff Trait, but the Parent Genes have made this
offspring Genotype impossible. Marco takes
the Die in order to count the Die as an ff
Trait. Both Dice are added to Marco’s available
Dice Slots.

can ove rcome

g D i c e
Mut atin orable
v
s or unfa also
lu c k y r o ll it
un enes, but
Parent G ance to frustrate
a ch !
provides onents’ Research
your opp
9
 Last in t
3. Research Upgrade Phase (Skip in Rou
nd 5) Working he
Phase
is the fi
In the Research Upgrade Phase, players have opportunities to use Coins they have acquired
rst to
Upgrade
to purchase 1 or more permanent Upgrades. Turns are taken in the reverse player order
in this Phase: the player to the right of the First Player Marker has the first chance to buy an
.
Upgrade, then play proceeds counter clockwise until all players have passed.

There are 4 types of Research Upgrades that players can purchase:

NEW PLOT
Take a New Plot Tile and place it next to your Player Mat. You will now be able to
have an extra Pea Plant Card in play.

DICE SLOT
Take a Dice Slot and place it next to your Player Mat. In the Plant Breeding Phase,
you will now be able to draft an additional Die.

ACTION MARKER
Take an additional Action Marker of your player color. In the Working Phase, you
will now be able to take an additional action in subsequent Rounds. Players may
have a maximum of 5 Action Markers.

HIRE ASSISTANT
Take 1 of the available face-up Assistant Cards and place it next to your
Player Mat, gaining its ability. (Assistant Cards are not refilled until the end
of the Round.)

On each player‘s turn, they may purchase 1 Research

Upgrade by paying Coins equal to the current price
of that Upgrade. Each Upgrade price is tracked by an
Abacus Marker, and the prices change over the course of
the game. Each time a player buys a Research Upgrade,
its price increases by 1 (if already at the highest price for
that Upgrade, it stays the same). All prices will decrease
by 1 at the end of the Round.

Players proceed counter clockwise, purchasing 1

upgrade at a time. If a player cannot or decides not to
buy an Upgrade, they pass, and may no longer purchase
Upgrades this Round. When all players have passed, the
Round is over.
EXAMPLE: Brandy
spends 2 Coins to Hire
an Assistant. She takes
an Assistant Card,
and increases the Hire
Assistant price to 3. The
player to her right gets
the next turn.
10
THE ASSISTANTS
Assistants provide powerful ongoing benefits, often enhancing or rewarding other actions. Using an
Assistant does not replace your normal action. Assistants showing may be used once per Round:
turn the Card sideways to indicate that the Assistant has been used, and reset it at the End of the Round.
Assistants showing may be used when the condition to the left of the arrow is met.

Brother Franz - You have

Brother Alipius - When 2 additional Dice Slots during
Gardening, draw an extra Card the Plant Breeding Phase,
(face-up or from the deck). however, you must pay 1 Coin
in order to use them for the Round. (Pay
Sister Elisabeth - Once per before you take the first Die that would be
Working Phase you may Validate placed on either Slot. You only pay once for
a Trait that matches 1 of the both Slots and must pay in any Round that
Phenotype Research Markers you have placed. you use them.)
EXAMPLE: Earlier in the game, Alina set the TT/Tt
Phenotype Research Goal. During this Working Phase, Sister Maria - Once
she uses Sister Elisabeth to Validate a Tt on 1 of her per Plant Breeding
Pea Plants. Phase, when taking a
Die, you may Validate any Trait of that
Sister Anna - Once per Working Dice color instead of using the
Phase you may pay 1 Coin to Die normally.
Validate a Trait.
Brother Leopold - Your Coin
Father Omari - You may costs are all reduced by 1, to a
place an Action Marker on Father minimum of 1 Coin.
Omari’s Card as your turn during
the Working Phase to take a special action. Roll 1 Die Sister May -
of each color, and re-roll any results until they are Whenever you Validate
not . Check the Genotype of each Die result on its a Trait, you may
corresponding Punnett Square. For each Die, you Validate every copy of the same Genotype
may Validate 1 matching Trait among your Pea Plants on your Pea Plants.
as though you had taken the Die during the Plant
Breeding Phase, then return the Dice. (Only you may Brother Eduard - This
take this action.) Assistant acts as a permanent
Extra Plot with its own Pea
Father Anton - In the Plant Breeding Plant that automatically refills.
Phase, you are considered to always When the Assistant is Hired, immediately
be first in the 2nd Shift area (without take 1 Pea Plant Card (from the face-up
placing an Action Marker). After 1st Shifts, you may options in the Nursery or from the top of
select 1 of the Offspring Dice, then proceed through the deck) and place it on the Assistant.
the Action Markers in the 2nd Shift area as normal. When the Pea Plant is Harvested, take
another Pea Plant in the same way.

11
4. End of Round Reset
Once the main 3 Phases have been completed, the Round is over. Perform the following steps:
Advance the Round Tracker.

The First Player Marker passes clockwise.

Move each Abacus Marker to the left by 1 (Upgrades at the lowest price stay the same).

Discard the remaining Pea Plant Cards, Tool Cards, and Assistants. Refill Tool and Pea Plant Cards based
on player count (see p. 3) and refill 3 face-up Assistants. When any of these decks have run out, reshuffle the
discard pile to continue drawing.

Refill 1 Coin next to each Punnett Square that doesn’t already have a Coin.

Players recover all their Action Markers and return Offspring Dice to the side of the Game Board.

Do not remove or modify Parent Gene Tiles or any of the players’ Phenotype Research Markers Pea Plants,
Trait Markers, or Research Upgrades.
Players then proceed to the Working Phase of the next Round.

End of the Game

The game ends after the Plant Breeding Phase of Round 5. Each player may Harvest any completed Pea
Plant Cards, then players tally up the Points they have accumulated from the following sources:

Completed Pea Plant Cards - Players score the Points printed on their completed Pea Plants.

Phenotype Research Goals - For each Phenotype Research Marker on the Game Board, the player who
placed it scores the indicated Points for each instance of the matching Trait(s) among their completed
Pea Plants.

Incomplete Research - Players score 1 Point per Trait Marker on their incomplete Pea Plants.

Unspent Coins - Players score 1 Point for each unspent Coin.

The player with the most Points wins! If there is a tie between 2 or more players, the player with the most
completed Pea Plants wins. If there is still a tie, then the victory is shared.
3

EXAMPLE: At the end of the game,

Alina completes her final Harvest and
1 proceeds to end game scoring. She has
6 41 Points from completed Pea Plants,
6 Phenotype Research Points from her
pair of completed ff Plants, 1 Point
for the Trait Marker on her incomplete
Plant, and 3 Points from Coins, for a
41 Final Score of 51.

12
 Rules Reminders and Clarifications
In the Working and Plant Breeding Phases, players must take a turn if they are able.

Players may not take an action that requires Coins if they cannot afford it, and they may not take the Set
Research Goal action after placing all of their Phenotype Research Markers.

There is no hand limit for Tool or Pea Plant Cards. Cards may be kept secret.

Tool Cards and Pea Plant Cards are only refilled during the End of the Round Reset, not when taken.
Players may draw Tool Cards or Pea Plant Cards from the deck instead of the face-up options. If a Card
deck is ever empty, shuffle the discard pile as needed.

When Hiring an Assistant, only 1 of the 3 available face-up Assistants may be selected.

There is no limit to the number of Tool Cards that may be played or Assistant abilities that may be used
during a player’s turn.

Tool Card and Assistant abilities may be used immediately when drawn, even during Gardening. For
example, a player might acquire and immediately use a Seed Bag during Gardening to draw new Pea
Plants to Sow.

De Novo Mutation Dice may Mutate other De Novo Mutation Dice of the same color, taking both Dice to
Validate any Trait of that Dice color.

Research Upgrades are limited to the provided quantities. If all of the available copies have been
purchased, they are no longer available. Trait Markers and Coins are unlimited.

TOOL CARDS AND ASSISTANTS

If a player is dealt the Watering Funnel in their starting hand, they must play it during their first turn.

Graft Knife may be played when taking a 1st or 2nd Shift. If played during a 1st Shift, the additional Die
must be taken from the Dice of the same color as the 1st Shift pick.

Graft Knife grants 1 additional temporary Dice Slot. If it is used to take a pair of Dice using a De Novo
Mutation, 1 of the Dice is placed on the Grant Knife and the other on a normal Dice Slot.

Pollen Brush may be used in combination with other Tool Cards, Assistant abilities, and actions. For
example, a player may change an FF Die to Ff using a Rake Card, then play Pollen Brush to Validate
multiple Ff Genotypes.

The Rake Card and Sister Maria’s ability function like a “wild” De Novo Mutation Die: any 1 Die may be
used to Validate any Trait for that Dice color, even Traits that would have been impossible with the current
Parent Genotypes.

13
 Genotype Solo Rules
Genotype can be played as a solo game against a simulated opponent named
Brother Johann, an administrator at the monastery. Johann’s actions are
controlled by a deck of 9 Automa Cards that determine his actions, Dice picks,
and Upgrades. Three double-sided Reference Cards outline the solo rules.

To set up a solo game, prepare the main Game Board and your player setup for a normal 2-player game.
You will have the First Player Marker for the entire game.

Give Johann 3 Action Markers, the 3 Phenotype

Research Markers of his player color, 1 Coin, and 2
Pea Plant Cards placed vertically to form his Garden.
Shuffle the 9 Card Automa deck and place it face
down. Johann does not need a Player Mat or starting
Tool Card. You may choose to play an Easy, Standard,
or Hard game, which will affect how Johann uses his
resources to accelerate his research. For a Hard Game,
Johann begins with an Assistant (see p. 19).

Johann’s Cardinal Rules New Plant

Added to
Johann has 4 Cardinal Rules that apply at all times.
the Top
Johann’s Pea Plant Cards are kept in his Garden,
arranged in a vertical column of Cards.
ed
Complet
When he receives a new Pea Plant Card, it is Plant is
tely
always added to the top of Johann’s Garden.
Immedia ed
Completed Pea Plant Cards (with all Traits Harvest
Validated) are immediately Harvested and set aside
for end game scoring (slide the remaining Cards down).

Johann’s Garden holds a maximum of 4 Pea Plant Cards.

If he already has 4 Pea Plants and would gain another,
he Validates a Trait instead.

When Johann would Validate a Trait (for any game

effect or instead of gaining a 5th Pea Plant), he Validates
New
Traits are
the bottom-most uncovered Trait in his Garden.
Validated
at the
Bottom
14
 Support
Working Phase Action C
ard Card
You will always be the Starting Player, and you and Johann will
alternate turns in the Working Phase, until you both run out of
Action Markers, like normal.

For Johann’s turn in the Working Phase, draw 2 Automa

Cards. The first is the Action Card, which will determine his
action for the turn. The second card is the Support Card,
which is used to make any decisions for that action based
on the Gene Trait letter or pips shown on the bottom right
(explained below). If there is an invalid action or choice on
either Card, redraw that Card (for example, if Johann cannot The Action Card determines Johann’s
afford to pay Coins to take an Action Space or would choose a action and the Support Card makes
Phenotype Research Goal that is taken). Joann’s decisions requiring a Gene Trait
letter or Card position.
When Johann draws Automa Cards for his turn, the Action Card
will indicate where to place his Action Marker, resulting in one of the following actions:

Treasury - Johann takes 2 Coins.

University - Johann takes the cheapest available Space and pays the indicated Coin(s) to Validate a Trait
(as per his Cardinal Rules, he Validates the bottom-most uncovered Trait in his Garden).

Nursery - Johann will add 1 Pea Plant Card to his To the top of Johann’s
Garden
Garden and discard a second Pea Plant Card from the
Nursery. The pips on the Support Card will show which
Card to take from the 3 slots. If that Card is not available,
he will take the next available Plant Card to the right
(wrapping around to the left if needed). If there are no
Plant Cards available, he will draw the top Card of the
Pea Plant deck. After taking a Pea Plant, he will discard
the next available Plant to the right of the one taken.
EXAMPLE: Johann draws the Nursery
Tool Shed - Johann will discard 1 Tool Card from the Tool Shed Action Card. The Support Card pips
and Validate a Trait. As with the Nursery action, the pips on the indicate which Plant Card Johann takes,
Support Card will show which Card to discard. then he discards the next Card to the right.

Set Parent Genes - Johann will change a Parent Gene Tile and take the corresponding Coin (if available).
The Support Card Gene Trait letter will indicate which Action Space Johann takes. If there is already a Gene Tile
on the corresponding spot (Top or Left, according to the Card), he will remove it. If there is not a Gene Tile in
place, he will add it, on the side shown by the Support Card.

EXAMPLE: Johann draws the Left Parent

Gene Action Card and the f Support Card.
He will place his Action Marker next to the
Flower Color (f) Punnett Square. If there is a
Gene Tile on the Left spot, he will remove it.
If there is not a Gene Tile there, he will add it
on the “f f” side.
15
 Claim 1st Shift - Johann will claim the 1st Shift Space matching the Gene Trait letter on the
Support Card, taking the corresponding Coin (if available).

Set Research Goal - Johann takes the cheapest available Space and pays the indicated Coins
to set a Phenotype Research Goal, indicated by the Gene Trait letter on the Support Card. A
capital letter indicates the Dominant Phenotype and a lower-case letter indicates the Recessive
Phenotype. For example, "F" corresponds to the FF/Ff Goal, and "f" corresponds to the ff Goal.

Gardening - Johann takes a Gardening action by Validating 1 Trait for each Assistant he has, then
gaining a Pea Plant Card from the top of the deck. (Set 1 of his Action Markers on the Action Card
Space to indicate that the Action Marker has been used.)

One Card has the symbol instead of a Gene Trait

Letter. If this is the Support Card, treat as the
Gene Trait letter from the Action Card. In this example,
Johann would set an RR/Rr Phenotype Research Goal.

Automa Phase
After all Action Markers have been placed, Johann has a special Automa Phase for maintaining his
Garden. Note: Johann’s Research Upgrades behave very differently than yours. Do the following:

1 If Johann had placed any Action Markers on 1st Shift Spaces, move
them to the 2nd Shift area, in the back of the line.

2 Johann Validates 1 Trait for each of his Assistants.

3 Johann gains 1 Pea Plant Card (from the top of the deck), then gains 1
additional Pea Plant Card for each New Plot he has acquired as a Research
Upgrade. All new Pea Plants are added to his Garden. As usual, if his Garden +
is full, he Validates Traits instead.

4 In a Standard or Hard difficulty game, Johann gains 3 Coins.

5 Finally, reshuffle the Automa Cards for the Plant Breeding Phase.

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16 researc
Plant Breeding Phase
In the Plant Breeding Phase, Johann will compete with you for
Offspring Dice to advance his research. Roll and sort the Offspring
Dice like normal, then proceed in the regular Shift order.

Johann does not use Dice Slots to limit his picks. Instead, he
draws 1 Automa Card on each Research Shift, regardless of the
number of Dice he takes. He takes a total of 3 Research Shifts,
plus 1 additional Shift for each Dice Slot Upgrade.

For each of Johann’s Research Shifts, draw a Card from the Automa deck and place it to the right of
the top-most Pea Plant in his Garden that has not been paired with an Automa Card. The Automa Card
shows a single arrow and a double arrow, which may line up to Traits on the Pea Plant. For each arrow
pointing to an uncovered Trait, check whether any corresponding Offspring Dice are in the Dice Pool.
If at least 1 is found, Johann Validates the appropriate Trait and removes 1 Die for a single arrow and 2
Dice (if available) for a double arrow. Johann doesn’t use Dice Slots, so the removed Dice are set aside
until the next Round.

Additionally, if the Automa Card shows a section with a Dice, Johann will check the De Novo
Mutation Slot of the matching Dice color. If at least 1 Die is available, he will take 1 to Validate the
bottom-most Trait for that characteristic in his Garden (check the bottom-most Plant first, proceeding
up until a match is found). If there are no matching uncovered Genotypes, he takes a Coin.
Johann's effectiveness may vary: he may find no matches
at all, or he may end up Validating 3 Traits on one turn!

EXAMPLE: On Johann's first Research Shift, he draws an Automa

Card with arrows pointing to the F and T Traits on this Pea Plant
Card. There is no F Genotype on this Pea Plant, but it does have
a TT Genotype. Two available TT Dice are removed (for the
double arrow), and Johann Validates the TT Trait, covering it
with a Trait Marker.

On his second Research Shift, he draws an Automa Card pointing to

the FF and g Genotypes, as well as an R De Novo Mutation. There
are no remaining FF Dice, so Johann can't Validate that Trait, but
he does remove a g Die and cover that Genotype. Additionally,
he removes 1 of the Dice to Validate the bottom-most RR, Rr,
or rr Genotype in his Garden (in this case, on the top Plant).

Johann will continue drawing an Automa Card during his Research Shifts, placing it with the next-
lowest Pea Plant Card and taking the corresponding Dice. As usual, his completed Pea Plants are
immediately Harvested. If every Pea Plant has been paired with an Automa Card, discard all the
Automa Cards and start back at the top.

17
 Research Upgrade Phase
Johann may use his Coins to buy Research, if he can afford them. In each Upgrade Phase, he will take 1 turn
to buy 1 Upgrade in an Easy Game or 2 turns to buy 2 total Upgrades in a Standard or Hard Game.

Since you are the Starting Player, Johann will have the first
chance to buy a Research Upgrade. Draw an Automa Card
and check the position of the double arrow against the list of
Upgrades on the Abacus. If Johann has enough Coins, he will
purchase the corresponding upgrade, paying the Coin cost and
adjusting the price appropriately. If he can’t afford that particular
Upgrade, continue drawing until he finds an Upgrade he can buy.

The Research Upgrades grant Johann the following bonuses,

some of which differ from their normal uses:
New Plot - Johann will receive an extra Pea Plant Card during each Automa Phase.
Dice Slot - Johann will take an extra Research Shift to draw another Automa Card during the Plant
Breeding Phase.
Action Marker - Like normal, Johann will have an extra Action Marker to place.
Hire Assistant - Johann will Validate a Trait during the Automa Phase and any time he takes the
Gardening action. When hiring an Assistant, draw a Support Card to decide which Assistant to hire.

If Johann acquires a New Plot, Dice Slot, or Assistant, place it next to his play area (Assistants are placed
face down). Johann only uses Upgrades as described above; their normal rules are ignored.

Ending the Round and the Game

Follow the normal End of the Round instructions, except that you keep the First Player Marker.
Reshuffle the Automa Cards for the next Working Phase.

End game scoring is the same as in the multiplayer game. If you have the most Points, you win!
Perhaps you have a future in running the monastery instead of Johann...

18
Hard Mode Assistants
To play on the Hard difficulty, give Johann 1 of the following Assistants from the beginning of the game,
with special rules. If he hires additional Assistants during the game, place them face down as normal.

Sister Elisabeth - During setup, draw a Support Card to place one of Johann’s Phenotype Research Markers. In
the Automa Phase, Johann will Validate the bottom-most Trait in his Garden matching any 1 of his Research Goals.

Father Omari - Johann’s last Action Marker in each Working Phase will be placed on Father Omari’s Card
and resolved as normal, Validating the bottom-most matching Traits in Johann’s Garden.

Brother Franz - Johann pays 1 Coin in each Plant Breeding Phase and takes 2 additional Shifts.

Sister Maria - When placing Automa Cards in the Plant Breeding Phase, if any arrows point to a Genotype
with no matching Trait Dice, Johann Validates those Traits anyway, without removing any Dice.

Brother Leopold - Johann’s Coin costs are reduced by 1 (to a minimum of 1) and he will purchase 3 Research
Upgrades each Round, if he can afford them.

Sister May - Whenever Johann Validates a Trait, he will also Validate every matching Genotype among his Pea Plants.

Credits
Designers John J. Coveyou, Paul Salomon, Ian Zang

Development John J. Coveyou, Paul Salomon, Steve Schlepphorst

Artists Tomasz Bogusz (Art and Graphic Design),

Amelia Sales (Assistant Portraits)

Graphic Designers Sarah Lafser, Will Meadows

Rulebook Writing Steve Schlepphorst, Sarah Lafser, John J. Coveyou,

and Editing Daniel Dávalos, Andreas Boehm, Al Cann, David Haskins

Playtesters Swarnava Banerjee, Patrick Fitzgibbon, Anthony Burchett,

Tyson Gajewski, Paul Brumleve, Shelly Rosset Daniel Dávalos,
Ian Rosebrough, Hillary Rupert, Carli Watson, Mac Watson,
Shelby Hemker, Monique Hemker, Sandy Hemker,
Nathan Arnold, David Augustine, Jenn Wainscott

©2020 Genius Games. www.GeniusGames.org

Components
1 Game Board • 20 Offspring Dice • 8 Parent Gene Tiles • 1 Round Tracker • 1 First Player Marker
34 Trait Markers • 20 Coins • 5 New Plot Tiles • 8 Dice Slot Tiles • 4 Abacus Markers
1 Rulebook • 1 Science Behind Booklet
97 Cards: 50 Pea Plants • 25 Tools • 10 Assistants • 12 Solo Cards
5 Sets of Player Pieces: Player Mat • 5 Action Markers • 3 Research Goal Markers
19
1. WORKING PHASE SUMMARY
In player order, players place 1 Action Marker on an available Action Space and take the corresponding
action. Continue until all available Action Markers have been placed.
GARDENING: Draw 1 Tool or Plant, Harvest completed Plants, Sow Plants from hand.
PARENT GENES: Add or remove a Parent Gene Tile, but you may not flip a Tile on the Board.

2. PLANT BREEDING PHASE SUMMARY

Roll the Offspring Dice and sort them by Trait according to the corresponding Punnett Square.
are rerolled once, then sorted normally or placed in the De Novo Mutations Area.

Beginning with 1st Shift, 2nd Shift, and then player order, players take turns selecting 1 Die to Validate
the matching Trait on 1 of their Pea Plants, placing the Die in an available Dice Slot on their Player Mat.
Dice may be taken with a second Die to Validate any Trait for that Dice color, or may be taken to
gain 1 Coin. Continue until players run out of Dice Slots or valid picks.

3. RESEARCH UPGRADE PHASE SUMMARY

In reverse player order, players may spend Coins to purchase Research Upgrades, then increase the
price by 1, until all players have passed. (Rounds 1-4 only.)

4. END OF ROUND RESET

Advance the Round Tracker, pass the First Player Marker, and reduce Abacus Marker prices.
Refresh Plant and Tool Cards, Assistants, and the Coins next to the Punnett Squares.
Players recover their Action Markers and return Offspring Dice.

TOOL CARDS
Seed Bag - Draw 5 Plant Cards, keep 2 Rake - When taking a Die, Mutate it
Watering Funnel - Immediately Validate 1 Trait Pollen Brush - When Validating a Trait, Validate every
Dissertation - Pay 1 Coin to Set a Phenotype copy of the same Genotype
Research Goal Hand Lens / Pocket Watch / Garden Line - When
Flower Pot - Take a Plant Card; Flower Pot taking the action, gain 2 Coins
becomes a temporary Plot until Harvested Grant - When purchasing an Upgrade, discount 2 Coins
Graft Knife - When taking a Die, take another (no
Dice Slot required)

ASSISTANTS
Alipius - When Gardening, draw an additional Franz - Pay 1 Coin in Plant Breeding for 2 Dice Slots
Card Maria - When taking a Die, Mutate it
Elisabeth - Validate a Trait matching your Leopold - Your Coin costs are reduced by 1, to a
Phenotype Research Marker minimum of 1
Anna - Pay 1 Coin to Validate any Trait May - When Validating a Trait, Validate every copy of the
Omari - Place an Action Marker to roll 1 of each same Genotype
Dice color, Validating the Traits Eduard - Take a Plant Card when empty; becomes a
permanent New Plot
Anton - You always lead the 2nd Shifts