Mast Year: Squirrels vs. Oaks 2025

Mast Year is an asymmetric partnership trick-taking game based on the real world phenomenon of a mast year. Two teams of two players each will compete to score points over several hands. Each hand as many rounds (“tricks”) where all players play a single card. The winner of one trick will take the cards and begin the next trick.

Players take the role of squirrels and oaks with asymmetric goals. The squirrels want to take and eat acorns. The oaks want to distribute acorns to the squirrels, but prevent the squirrels from eating them. At the end of a hand, tree coordination or squirrel feasting could cause a mast year or squirrel population boom, adding powerful temporary “bounty” cards to the deck to aid that team next year (next hand).

Releasing at the 2025 PNW Game Market at PAX west.

—description from the designer